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There are good points and there are bad and ugly points. Unfortunately, the bad and ugly get

Posted By: SOS on 2005-10-27
In Reply to: The latest with Keystrokes - Ronnie MT

deleted.  Just the other day there was info and it seems to be more positive.  Like any MT job, some love it, some hate it.  But, having been employed there, the bad parts are/were true.   The changes sound great but not great enough to make me change my mind about working for them.  I do say she pays well for the area.  She is one of the rare business owners who actually started out as an MT..I think that makes a big difference in pay.


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The good, the bad, and the ugly.
I just transferred a whole group of on-site hospital MTs to a MTSO (I'm currently a recruiter). The money they made was amazing, and was killing the hospital. They all now work for a national.

On the flip side, I just went back to work for a hospital as an MT, the job was advertised recently on an MT board. Great bennies, I know the docs already as it is a local account, great pay. They were once with two major national MTSOs, decided they could do a better job themselves...and from what I've seen, I'm sure they do.
Good, bad or UGLY
Geez guys, I see no work, slow work, and when there is work - "it's bad". What does it take to make you people happy???????
Good, bad, ugly...
I've worked for several MT companies and have seen "it all" (no flames, I'm sure there are MTs here who have been working longer than I've been breathing). Anyway, have seen MDs who dictate every few words and expect us to fill in the blanks, had MDs who question in the beginning of the report "I wonder how many days until I get this job back, they must type them on the moon or something" etc.... Then there are the gems out there too, ie "I'm sure you can tell I'm dictating from my car, first of all sorry about that, but I'm on my way to a Steelers game, I sure hope you like the Steelers" As with any profession "Takes all kinds" :)
Precyse. Good, bad, ugly?

thanks!


Platforms - the good, bad, and the ugly!

Would like to know what platforms are user-friendly and which ones slow you down.  Currently working on one that slooooows me down so much!!! 


A lot of good points, especially one (sm)
I also like to stop and do other things.  Constantly popping laundry in and out of the washer/dryer, running back and forth cooking in the kitchen, etc.  So I agree that by the line is probably the best. 
And very good points. nm
x
Good points. nm
x
I have had the good, the bad and the ugly in QA people in the past sm
It shapes the way I do my job, on both sides of the equation.

Right now, I am teaching an MT to do acute care with my feedback. I must be doing something right (she is too and trying very hard) because she is progressing so nicely. She does rad too and she said that my help is making her a better rad MT as well.

I so rarely send anything to QA at my other FT job and I had to send one yesterday, the first in over a month! I was so p o 'd, but the doctor threw some obscure equipment at me and I had 7 blanks, but that was for only 3 words I could not document well enough to suit me. My favorite QA gal grabbed it and gave me some feedback on the words and she went on to tell me what a good job I did (not!) because she said that most MTs have 10 to 20 blanks for this same doctor. I almost never have a blank with him, but this one time...it was a complex lower extremity interventional vascular procedure and I am not up on the equipment for those just yet with the switch to cardiovascular from OP notes. I felt like a fool, but she was great.

I have some really awful ones and there is one in particular who comes to mind because of her extremely condescending and childish manner. I actually have the QA position for a gal who was fired because of a similar attitude problem.

As QA, we are around to be the MT's safety net. We here for an extra set of ears so that the document is as full and correct as possible. Providing feedback helps an MT so that the quantity of their work going to QA will diminish. If you really want a justification for your existence as a QA, it is in the number of blanks you fill in and low numbers of jobs you have to review. IT IS NOT a promotion! IT IS NOT job advancement! It is using the knowledge you have gained to help others.

I can sort of understand the attitude because MTs seem to be having more issues with quality than they used to, or so it seems to me. The quality most lacking is a sincere wish to do the job well.
You make some good points.
.
you make some good points

Your post is encouraging.  Maybe we need to study these people you mention and learn the ropes from them. 


Yes, I've seen the pictures of the MTs in India.  Reminds me of typing class in high school.  And that's what I'm saying, just like you -- how long can this last?  You question how long before they get carpal tunnel.  Great point!  How long before they get burned out?  You can't work people like that, not at this job where you have to listen so intently and be so absolutely correct.  Transcribing a difficult dictation is akin to doing a hard math problem.  The brain can only take so much at a time.  Couple that with trying to understand a dictator whose language is not your primary one and speaks in slang or idioms you never heard.  If they work the overseas MTs like that, there's going to come a point where something has to give.  The quality of their work might suffer, even the good ones, due to burnout.  Will the American companies still want them?  How desperate are they for our work?  Desperate enough to endure those conditions?  Do they have other choices?  We see them as the foe, and yet as you say, we are turning into that kind of situation with many of our companies but we do have other options, fortunately for those who want to pursue another career. 


The medical record must endure.  There must be good MTs.  You can't work people to burnout either here or overseas.  In this country, you need to make the job inviting in order to keep the workforce up.  Lowering salaries here is not how to do that.  Running sweatshops there is not how to do it either.  Something has to give at some point.  Then maybe people will take us seriously again and this job will be what so many of us want and need it to be. 


You're right about the middle class.  Something has to happen -- this is affecting too many jobs, too many sectors of society.   


Good points, another consideration is (sm)
whether or not a service does correspondence work. I worked for a small MTSO that began doing a 65-char line before most of the others, and she chose to do it because we had clients who were requesting certain fonts and type sizes. Going to a 65-char and adjusting rates meant that she could offer different fonts and styles and the pay would be fair across the board.

It was funny, though, we always had certain clients who wanted tiny little type fonts no matter how many times we explained to them that it wasn't saving them any money. Didn't matter to us typing it; we were in WP51 and so it looked the same, the only difference being it "ran off" the right side of the page and made proofing harder!
As wtih every company, they have their good and bad points - sm
As long as you do not end up with L.L. as your account supervisor, you will do just fine! There is more bad than good about this company, huge turnover, etc. But you can easily make $$ with them, especially because you get paid for spaces and returns.

I did well $$ with them when I was not being moved to different accounts all day long. If I was on one or two accounts for the day, I did great, but needless to say management has other ideas.
Well, I will say this for you, you have the AAMT talking points down really good! sm
It's still BALONEY, but you repeat it well.
Thanks for your response. You made some very good points. sm
I guess I have to figure out what is most feasible for me. Luckily, I have had the same transcriptionists with me for a long time and they are all quality workers, but I still like to quickly check all reports before they go to the client.

Thanks for your input.
Someone who unfairly grabs the easy stuff instead of doing the good, bad, and ugly,
x
I meant it in a good way, and I will not turn this into a huge ugly post.
I am not a "paranoid mass of jelly", for Heaven's sakes! But I have lived thru having neighbor children try to poison my puppies over our fence in similar circumstances - not identical, but similar.  These same kids used to stuff picked flowers in my mailbox, and I never knew how to take it.  I just asked that she be extra cautious. Obviously you ladies have been blessed with not being confronted in life with strange "encounters" like this - I have, and have tried to learn from it. There used to be no more trusting person than myself.  I have learned, though, to be cautious in situations like this - not paranoid, just cautious. Wisdom, some would call it? For what its worth, my sister is a psychiatrist, and she thought the flowers creepy as well, but in a different analytical light - with her mother's and sibling(s) death of late, and her expressing that she wanted the puppy killed, to my sister, she said they could be symbolic of flowers on a grave.  Not paranoid - she's nearly 60 years old and deals with school-aged kids on a daily basis. Her "job", so to speak. Again, probably a 100% innocent gesture, but to those of us who have had encounters with the "children from H*ll", it could be eery.  My post was meant out of genuine concern for Puppy Mom!
Emdat platform?? Good, bad or ugly? Any info is appreciated. Thanks in advance. NM
/
Don't go there!!! It is ugly, ugly, ugly.
x
ugly. nm
x
No, I wasn't trying to be ugly to ANYONE. I truly was
trying to make some peace.

Goodness gracious.

Sorry folks.
"Because she is fat and ugly and looks like
and she is Amish too
ugly names
I used to work with a woman named GayDonna -- yes, that was her REAL name!!!
What is up with that lately. It sounds so ugly!
lol
Star Jones gets even more ugly

Butt ugly comes to mind! LOL...nm
s
I dont think these are ugly but I'm so sick of
nm
Kinda ugly?...she's scary looking...

She's way too young to have had all that work done.  My guess is it was a mistake when it said Kat's family and friends... apparently she doesn't have anyone except her parents and grandma!


 TAYLOR! TAYLOR! TAYLOR


 


Do not be ugly to people on their accomplishments. NM
nm
Well, Gretchen, I'm old and ugly, but agree...sm
Rude, cruel, insulting people definitely eat roadkill. Best to blow them off. :D :D
Two points

According to the BOS:


1.  You are supposed to substitute mL for cc.

2.  When quanity and unit of measure immediately follow a heading such as estimated blood loss, use numerals.


two points
what is a sentence ends and the next sentence starts with...
80% how do you do that?
Just a few points

Okay...here goes...


So, currently I work in-house at my local hospital.  (Probably shouldn't mention this cuz it's rude, but just trying to give accurate information)..I make 16.47 an hour, plus benefits.  I love my job and it is supporting me and my husband (who is in college at the time...graduating in JUNE!!!)...So, it's worth it.  However, I have to deal with a LOT of crap from the other MTs in-house.  Lots of bitterness, competitiveness, bi*chiness, etc.  I am dealing with it because I know I am not going to do this forever.  Which brings me to my next point:


Don't stay in this job for a long time!!!  You won't go anywhere with it, if anything you will probably get laid off due to outsourcing.  I, myself, am starting school for medical coding.  I will be done with school ($2000) in June and then get started in my new career.  If have been a medical Transcriptionist for 6 years and have done everything from psychiatric to internal medicine to sleep studies as an IC (and it's not worth being and IC in my opinion because of all the taxes you have to pay...big bucks) and my best job yet has been working in-house at my current job.  However, like I said, MTing is not going to get you anywhere fast.  If you want a job that takes you to the next level, go into coding.  There are a lot more career opportunities out there and you can eventually work from home being a coder as well. 


If I had to do it over I would have gone straight into coding (except for the fact that I got a lot of medical experience working as an MT).  Good luck to all of you who decide to stick with MTing, but I don't think it will reward you in the future.  I believe it is a dying profession and we all need to move on while the opportunity is here. 


I pray for all of us to be able to support ourselves and our family!  I know it's tough out there and we all are struggling to make end's meat.  Just keep on keepin on and we'll all make it through some how. 


 


Points well taken, thank you.
Your points are well taken. I was being a bit vague in what I was actually thinking - there are times on this board that things turn really nasty and hateful, and some of the MTs who are on this board appear to turn on each other, squabble about meaningless points. I really didn't want to encourage a hate-fest against anything, that's all. I think that is indeed unproductive.

BUT, you are right... we can't just be all happy we want fair pay and expect things to change or that we will be heard. We do have to have a stance and a mission and goals. After posting, I did a search here on AHDI and found that I'm hardly the only MT who feels this way, and saw some really great posts back in Sept 2008.

And, I do agree, there are times when it pays to be against smoething (and risk appearing "negative").

So, where do we go from here? Most of these threads seem to die out... and maybe this one will too. I'm hoping it won't, but I really don't have a clue where to go from.

My thought is to brainstorm and continue this dialogue - but I'm not sure MT Stars is the correct venue?

What does anyone think about an email list - that would mean using our real names and emails - to interact off of this forum. I may be way off here - if so, please, opinions welcome! I am not sure going on and on about it here is the momentum that is needed... nor am I sure talking about it on an email list is either, but it's the only idea I have. I don't have the knowledge or time to create a website forum for a group to form via that method.

Maybe this will all sputter out after we all vent again here, I dunno, but I really hope not. Someone mentioned to me today it may well be too late, that trying to organize could push VR and offshoring even faster... I don't want to believe that.

I have a ton of ideas and thoughts and have seen so many good points and posts about how AHDI has hurt U.S. MTs.

We need to band together.

So. From here I make the suggestion that anyone interested in participating in an email list (where we can send a group email by hitting reply all and sharing our thoughts and hope and ideas for a mission and how to get something organized) write to me via email.

I'm not interested in being a leader of this per se, but I am willing and motivated to try as best I can to get some sort of ball rolling.

Let's do this?! I hope the MTs who were posting about this way before I did, back in 2008, will reply too.

Tech Support, your thoughts are exactly what I am envisioning us doing on an email list. Let me know what you think of this and if you want to participate. Thank you for responding so thoughtfully.

Any other ideas, please!



Points well taken, thank you.
Your points are well taken. I was being a bit vague in what I was actually thinking - there are times on this board that things turn really nasty and hateful, and some of the MTs who are on this board appear to turn on each other, squabble about meaningless points. I really didn't want to encourage a hate-fest against anything, that's all. I think that is indeed unproductive.

BUT, you are right... we can't just be all happy we want fair pay and expect things to change or that we will be heard. We do have to have a stance and a mission and goals. After posting, I did a search here on AHDI and found that I'm hardly the only MT who feels this way, and saw some really great posts back in Sept 2008.

And, I do agree, there are times when it pays to be against smoething (and risk appearing "negative").

So, where do we go from here? Most of these threads seem to die out... and maybe this one will too. I'm hoping it won't, but I really don't have a clue where to go from.

My thought is to brainstorm and continue this dialogue - but I'm not sure MT Stars is the correct venue?

What does anyone think about an email list - that would mean using our real names and emails - to interact off of this forum. I may be way off here - if so, please, opinions welcome! I am not sure going on and on about it here is the momentum that is needed... nor am I sure talking about it on an email list is either, but it's the only idea I have. I don't have the knowledge or time to create a website forum for a group to form via that method.

Maybe this will all sputter out after we all vent again here, I dunno, but I really hope not. Someone mentioned to me today it may well be too late, that trying to organize could push VR and offshoring even faster... I don't want to believe that.

I have a ton of ideas and thoughts and have seen so many good points and posts about how AHDI has hurt U.S. MTs.

We need to band together.

So. From here I make the suggestion that anyone interested in participating in an email list (where we can send a group email by hitting reply all and sharing our thoughts and hope and ideas for a mission and how to get something organized) write to me via email.

I'm not interested in being a leader of this per se, but I am willing and motivated to try as best I can to get some sort of ball rolling.

Let's do this?! I hope the MTs who were posting about this way before I did, back in 2008, will reply too.

Tech Support, your thoughts are exactly what I am envisioning us doing on an email list. Let me know what you think of this and if you want to participate. Thank you for responding so thoughtfully.

Any other ideas, please!



Its not that I'm worried about bidding, but if the seller is ugly in
response to neutral or negative feedback I don't wan to deal with them, I don't care if they have a 99% rating.  Sure there may be hundreds of positives, but it is their response that I'm looking for to see if I want to deal with this person/company.  
Oh, and to the smart-mouthed poster below trying to be ugly to
those who are wanting to know more....SHUT THE H*** UP. You're not helping anyone.

I had to learn how to use macros, word expanders, etc., to get faster and there is no reason why these MTs shouldn't be given insight, hints, and tips to do it either.

Go mind your own business and stop being a snotty jerk.
Fat can be lost but ugly is forever. It must suck
xx
dress in black and ugly jewely

nope - not a pretty picture and he got ugly..LOL..nm
x
Do you have to wear those ugly black burkas?
8
that was just plain ugly, sorry I read that post (NM)
xx
I agree with you on several points

That is, if you have a reputable daycare that is organized with caring people educated in childhood development. My neice was recently changed from a nursery (2 yrs old) because she was found lying on the floor in a corner at the nursery by her mother who came to pick her up at 5:15 p.m.. She had a 103 degree fever, and no one had bothered to call my sister about it. Anyone knowing that child would know she would have to be sick to be lying around when other kids are present. The new nursery is the different in night and day. She gets a report every day from what the child eats to even how many times a day she poops. It's wonderful and the child's attitude when she gets home... a world of difference. My sister thought she had a caring daycare, until she moved. Now she knows what one is really like. To all who have to put children in daycare, KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOURS!


Also, you second point, the shyness... I was also raised at home by my mother and never put in daycare and I was "painfully" shy when I got to school. I had a hard time throughout my school years because of it. Now as an adult, I don't think there is anything holding me back, but I had to work hard to get out of the shyness. I think because I was at home, I didn't know other kids but they knew each other and I never seemed to fit in.


 


 


great points...sm
You've really given me a lot to think about this early Thursday mornin'...thanks! You're right, though. A lot of the issues you bring up, I have NEVER thought of.  Wow, pretty eye opening post! It's about time something worth reading was posted...
Here's some points to ponder....sm

1.  You can go ahead and cash the checks you received and it 's guaranteed money.


2.  You can wait and join the class action suit if you haven't and not cash the check; however, remember that in class action lawsuits the only true winners are the lawyers.  They end up getting most of the money in the end and generally the plaintiffs end up with a very small amount.  It irks me to see things like class action suits that results in the attorneys receiving millions of dollars in legal fees and the plaintiffs end up with less than  $100 because the legal fees ate the money available up.   Look at people who sue insurance companies over automobile accidents for example.  Say an attorney gets them $500,000 - well the attorney gets $250,000 for legal fees and the injured party receives $250,000 - and in situations where they receive large monies it's generally because the person is going to have permanent health problems related to the accident that future insurance companies will exclude paying for.   $250,000 isn't a lot of money if you have an injury that will cause chronic problems throughout your life.


3.  Remember that if you do join the suit that this will probably be tied up in court for years so don't expect a quick settlement if they do decide to settle.  Agreeing to settle a case outside of court doesn't mean the defendant is guilty - sometimes it's cheaper to settle out than to continue racking up costs associated with the lawsuit.  


As a note I don't work for MQ - I've just been out there in the legal world to see very commonly that what people think will happen isn't what happens in the long run.  The best you'll get is checks for any amount you weren't paid properly and possibly some interest, but don't expect to get a truckload of cash because they messed up your paychecks.  Instead if you wait on the lawsuit then you may end up having to share the back wages with the attorneys. 


You made several of my points..
With hard work and encouragement, the helping hand from the government helped produce productive citizens.  You had the advantage at least of an intact family.  Think of a poor baby born to an uneduated teenager mother with no father.  Without a lot of hard work and self determination, no amount of money from the govt. is going to end that vicious cycle.
what is their points review
doesn't sound like its in our favor, is it part of the new mt/me rewards plan??
I agree with some of your points. sm
I didn't post my original post to argue. I simply offered a different opinion and what I thought were some good suggestions. I didn't realize everyone here had to have the same cookie-cutter opinion or they would be broad-sided. I agree that everyone needs some alone time. Never said they didn't. I just don't think a vacation is the way to accomplish that. And I never said I take my kids with me everywhere I go, and for you to make these assumptions is pretty rude. What I said was that I don't take a VACATION without my kids -- I think it's wrong. My opinion, and I'm entitled to it. And I have a very healthy relationship with my kids. I never said they were angels -- that's your assumption (again). But I did say that my kids are treated with respect, they treat me with respect, and we enjoy each other's company. Sorry if you don't understand that. I'll try to keep my opinions to myself from now on in case they conflict with the prevailing cookie-cutter opinion.
Excellent points! (sm)
I like the idea of the letter serving double duty both as information about and an example of your transcription.

[I also like how you broke your post up into small paragraphs -- so much easier to read online where solid, dense paragraphs appear so inpenetrable.]

Cold-calling and mail solicitations rarely yield immediate results, but within 3 to 6 months inquiries should start trickling in from the managers who were impressed by the presentation and filed the letter for future need.
a couple of other points
This is not only about our jobs - this is about our medical records - the quality of what is done overseas is not the same as what is done here.  Errors made in medical records should be taken seriously.  Secondly, our privacy is protected we are held accountable for that in the US - do you think for one minute we could prosecute someone in India who does not follow the rules?
Excellent points. Very well said.