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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

We make it look easy

Posted By: USMT on 2006-02-09
In Reply to: And I'M taking a 6-month neurosurgery course online!" n/m - ...would be my response!

The reason so many people think it is such a glamorous job is because those of us who have been doing it for years make it look so easy.  We can sit in front of our computer (at home) and breeze along through the toughest ESL dictators without picking up a book.  Why wouldn't everything thing they could do this.


Reality will show your friend that there is a lot more to being an MT than just typing.  I think back to the days before internet when I had to use a book to look up every difficult or new word.  Very time consuming.  At least new MTs have internet resources.




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Easy mistake to make! (nm)
nm
Repetitive = easy, so no, they usually don't make more.
But there are exceptions to every rule, of course. As was stated in another post on radiology, the software is usually maddeningly inefficient, so sometimes it is hard to find and retain MTs for certain facilities. But the reason the software is bad for MTs is that they usually bought it with the hope they could change over to VR, thereby putting most of the MTs out of work. Radiology can be fun if you find a place where you can work in-house, have the skills to win the respect of the radiologists and learn to be able to read their minds, which helps you a lot when they misspeak.
It is NOT an easy way to make money
and most companies advertising at-home training and promising the moon are out for your money. Medical transcription is a CAREER and not a JOB. Stick with engineering and do some crafting on the side to make "extra money."
You make it sound so easy, BUT
I believe medical editing is more difficult than straight transcribing, especially if the MT lack years of experience. If the VR text indicates an incorrect term but it looks and sounds close to the accurate term, it would be very easy for an inexperienced MT to not realize that mistake and not make the proper correction. I only hope the physicians are reading their reports. Unfortunately, many of them do not because of time constraints.

With my 20+ years' experience,I do foresee potential problems with VR in the hands of inexperienced MTs. Unfortunately, many MTs will lack the necessary editing skills to acquire a 100% accuracy rate. They have mainly been taught to transcribe verbatim.

We will have to wait and see if any major issues present themselves with VR. I think it could be a very efficient system, but I do not believe the job of editing should not be taken too lightly. I think editing VR text could be easier if you are simply editing for a few physicians, but not for a multitude of dictators in the hospital setting.
Poll: Please yes or no, don't explain, make it easy.

Is it sensible to rebuild New Orleans below sea level?


They are boring but easy, and you can make a lot of money. nm
x
Thank you. All of us at SS do our best to make it easy. I am so happy to see when it works out wel
We are here for our employees. We just have to know if there is a problem and we will do our best to fix it. Thank you for you vote of confidence in us!
sorry - ....make them easy targets for the scam. nm
x
so easy to make your own baked chicken and tastes better.
Just wash a whole chicken (clean inside, as well) Then salt inside.

Put it breast-side DOWN on small baking rack in shallow baking sheet (I line the pan with foil first), bake at 350 for 30 minute, then turn the bird over onto its back (drain the cavity when you turn it over, put those droppings in the bottom of the cookie sheet). Bake for another hour, turn over (and drain cavity again) for 15-30 minutes, and then turn back on its back for a little longer. I do put some foil over the bird for the first hour or so just to save splatters on the oven. With whole chicken at 69 cents a pound, you just cannot get an cheaper, easier meal than this.
Well, I would like to applyl. I hope you can make a go of it but it will not be an easy road. If
:+
Easy to use! You can see old reports & copy to make templates from them, look up doc/Pt
s
kettle corn is great, easy to make, and you can spice it up...
and there are pretzels, potato chips, veggie chips. you can quickly roast any kind of nut and spice or sweeten them up. I use sucranat for sugar, or turbanado, anything not bleached.

yummy fruit, fresh or frozen.

lots of things you can do...
7 cpl gross and counts blank lines, IC status-- make a ton of money because it's easy work...nm
x
I agree. Bean-counters desperately wanting to believe the exaggerated claims for SR make them easy
x
The easy answer, taking all the easy work and
x
Well, Word is easy to buy and easy to install. Word 97 works great. Cheap. SM
I still would not work anywhere I could not use a spell checker with grammar checker and a Steadman's Medical Spell Checker.

IF they want people to TRANSCRIBE MEDICAL REPORTS, then I guess they better get the programs they need.

It's like probably 110% easier to buy and install Word 97 than to try to program their own programming. And, yes, I do mean Microsoft Word 97. Why? Because you can install it unlimited times, in case you need to install the operating system again. And it has a few features that Microsoft, in its un-wisdom, took away in Word 2000 and 20003 and 2007. So, yes, I'd go with Word 97 for its cheapness and it works better than the later versions. Just my opinion, with 20 years experience being an MT. So what if they "don't have it" on their computer? It's easy to get.
Easy easy money they are!

I don't mind seeing those puppies filter in at all.  Same for H&Ps.  They are always different though, so can't really pop in the same pre-formatted autotext, but it's usually WHAMMO 2-3 pages at a time.  Give them a shot...you may just be pleasantly surprised! 



I think I smell either VR on the easy stuff, or offshoring of the easy stuff.
d
You spending 3K in gasoline to make 4K plus all that time on the road?That doesn't make sense Pat




How nice that the world revolves around what you make and no one else could possibly make more. sm

Marla in So. California pays 11 cpl for a 55 ccl, Oracle pays 9-1/2 cpl, MDI-MD 11 cpl, JLG 10 cpl for gross line, etc.


Of course, these are rates negotiated and paid to qualified MTs.


When I see mistakes I repeatedly make, I make a quickcorrect for it (sm)
for example if I type we plant o instead of "plan to" I have a quick corrct so that if I type plant o, it replaces it with plan to, etc. It is hard - I was with the same company for 8 years. I do not work for anyone with an accuracy requirement though.
When you make the copay, make them give you a sm
receipt for the amount you pay them.  I know they don't like to do this because it takes time, but if you are really stern and insist on a receipt they have to give you one.  Then, the next time you get billed for something you already paid, tell them to look for their copy of the receipt and let THEM do the work. 
Yes, unfortunately you do have to make a pest of yourself to make it work, but.....
as the years went by that is why I stayed away from those type of companies.  BTW, Noni is a fabulous product, I absolutely do not care for the "marketing techniques" they use.  One of the facts of this type of industry is you cannot just recruit to make it, you have to retail.  Ever since I "overhauled" my techniques and system...I never had to ask another person to some on board again.  Well, nuf for now.  Take care and have a blessed week!!
lol cut myself off. Anyway, I'll make close to what I used to make with MQ,
ddd
it's all easy to say when it's not you

If the mom wasn't in Aruba throwing a fit and crying on TV, we would all speculate about why she wasn't there and why she doesn't care.  Either way, whatever she did, there would be someone there complaining about how she was doing it. 


I would say until it is your daughter or son, maybe we should just keep our mouths shut and not pass judgment on them. 


Also, I don't care what kind of bad decision or how drunk the young girl was, wrong though it may be, that doesn't mean she deserves to be murdered or raped.  It makes me sick that we are always so eager to jump on the victim and the family at times like this. 


We are doing it now - it's not so easy for my DH

He began the process of buying a new business in April. It was supposed to be completed by July 15, but there have been so many delays and things getting dragged out, it still isn't done.  At first he was very excited about spending the some time home with the kids this summer, but I can definitely see for the last month or so he's gotten very depressed, sleeping more, not getting motivated, doesn't want to do anything with the kids anymore.  I think men in general need to be productive (at least the good ones do), and unfortunately, raising kids doesn't offer a lot of immediate gratification.  It's fun for a little while, but they eventually need more.  I can't want for him to be gone so I can be "mom" again.  


 


That's easy enough to do when you get the
same dicators on a routine basis. I type for a very large hospital with many outside facilities and rarely do I get the same dictators on a regular basis. Therefore, my paycheck is considerably less than cherry-pickers. What these people do is listen to a few minutes of the report and, if they don't like what they hear, they send it back. Also, of note, these are not necessarily the mumblers, ESL, or speed talkers. Many of these are reports that have a problem, i.e., wrong MR# so I have to enter all of the demo info (not paid for), wrong report type so I have to change it and make a note to send to the hospital, no date of service given with again a note to the hospital, etc. All time-consuming, frustrating, and cutting into my paycheck.
very easy. I have my 2 as well as
my parents next door networked, a total of 4. make sure to have your network password protected.
that's an easy one
Worked for an owner-operated MT company and the owner was an alcoholic. She expected no less than 18 hour days 7 days a week and if you asked for even ONE day off per week, she would start cursing and carrying on and saying she would give the accounts away. Then when she got really drunk, she'd start messaging all this personal stuff about her husband and former husbands and their sex life and all that. She was this astrology nut who hired on the basis of the "signs" of the transcriptionists and if she would call to curse you out about something (even if it didn't pertain to you) she would say it was the person's "aura" that was bad for the company. Yup there are real nuts out there.
That's easy. sm
I have been a fry cook, nurse's aid, farm worker, receptionist, clerk in a U-Totem.  I kind of enjoyed all of them.  My worst job was waiting tables.  It's grueling work, for little pay and you have to rely on your tips to get you through.  It's more demanding physically than most people can imagine and you never get to sit down.   Plus, you deal with attitudes all day long.  Never again.
That's an easy one...
Congratulations!! You are now qualified to do most every job in medical records, except for the supervisory roles. We, MTs, would make awesome coders!! We are also qualified to do positions in medical offices, receptionist, coder, referrals, etc. Start putting out your resume!! You'll see!! And, by the way, when the Transcriptionist is on vacation, you are the automatic fill-in. More money!!!
Not easy, but this is what we do. . sm

Four kids. Birthdays are 2 in mid September, 1 end of October and 1 two weeks before Christmas!   We now have a new grandson who is just a month old, so we can just add on to the pre-Christmas insanity for next year as I'm sure he won't expect much this Christmas. :) 


My poor hubby's birthday is 2 weeks after Christmas. We usually just make him a card or something. :)  Nothing until my birthday in May, but I get the homemade cards too. Must make mental note to buy construction paper. :)


I never bought BIG for my kids at Christmas. I spend about $500 total. I make a lot of stuff too. My parents are gone. His parents just want school pics of the kids.


I guess I'm lucky. Our whole family from grandparents right down to my youngest don't see Christmas as "I want, I want." They know that Christmas is about giving and that presents should come from the heart. I still have every badly glued Christmas ornament that my kids ever made me hanging on the tree every year.


Every year, no matter how much or how little money we have, we always pick a name off from one of the local "giving trees" to buy a gift for a child from a needy family. Usually these requests are for socks or  boots or something, but we always include an age appropriate toy or book or game.


We donate food items to the Christmas food drive and  would never even dream of walking by a Salvation Army Christmas donation kettle without putting in at least a dollar or two.


These furniture ads that scream, "WOULDN'T DAD LOVE A NEW FLAT SCREEN TV FOR CHRISTMAS?" make me ill.


Re: Not easy...

<<we always pick a name off from one of the local "giving trees" to buy a gift for a child from a needy family. Usually these requests are for socks or  boots or something, but we always include an age appropriate toy or book or game.>>


I'd like to share my story about those 'giving trees.'  Last year, I was going through a divorce.  My ex decided to stop paying child support, dump all our bills on me and leave the state.  I was also sick and racked up several thousand dollars in medical bills.  The school counselor put my kid's names on the giving tree at Wal-Mart.  My kids got really, really nice gifts, and it was wonderful.  Those gifts meant the world to my kids.  It really made them feel great that a stranger cared to give them something when we were going through so much.  This year I've pretty much gotten back on my feet financially and things are much better.  We were at Wal-Mart last week, and my kids saw the giving tree.  They both decided to spend their birthday money that they have been saving on a child from the giving tree.  They each spent $40.  My daughter, who is 10, said that she thinks the most important present she is going to give every year is to the giving tree.  It was really hard going through my divorce and the financial difficulties, but I think it taught my kids a really important lesson that they couldn't have learned any other way. 


Not easy 50K

I can't say it was an easy 58.5K this year but I did it.  It was 50K for me as I paid 8.5 to my subs who work 5 to 6 hours per week for me. That is all they want to work.  But I did it and hoping to go above 60 next year, we will see. 


 


 


UR very welcome - nobody said it was easy biz.NM
xx
something easy!
I just can't get into heavy duty cooking.  I  think it will be chicken fajita salads, have the chicken thawing that is already southwestern spiced!  Hubby will eat about anything, lucky for me!
It is easy enough

At first it was a little difficult but once you get a routine established it is okay.  My daugter is 3 months and we have it so I nurse her more in the morning before I start to type and  she sleeps for a food 4-5 hour stretch.  It will just take a little time.  Be patient, it will all work out.


Too easy...
You do control K, then control B, and type in Physical Exam how you want it to be, and then controk K again and unbold. I had this problem not long ago, and someone on here helped me, so will pass it on.
Very easy
to use. Microsoft word based. I loved it when I worked with it.
Not easy
I don't blame you.  For 20 years as an MT, I thought "boy I'd like to work in administration, that's gotta be easy."  Boy oh boy was I wrong!!  I had one person I just had to let go who claimed to have been head of QA for a larger company and honest to goodness, my new grad does better work.  I simply told her that her work did not match her resume and the proofing time was too extensive for her to continue working for us.  After she called me every name in the book, she said it was my fault for not paying her enough!  I could have paid her 20 cpl and the work still wouldn't have been good.  We hear the moaning about how we don't reply to emails...that's another issue.  I put in my ads exactly what I expect to see in the email and what I want in the subject line and maybe 1 out of 20 will follow the instructions.  I give out a detailed information package on the accounts and they don't read them. I had one CMT who said she had never followed specifics and wasn't about to now, that she knew what she was doing.  I had one hired on Monday and on Wednesday she asked for a week's vacation.  I get them who sign up for a specific number of lines then don't bother, a good portion "forget" to send in their work.  I had one lady hired who lived only 6 blocks from another MT and she didn't work for 3 days claiming they had severe storm damage and no power.  I had one say her father was going to be sick in July so she needed time off.   It's really sad because the good people get worked to death while we constantly try to fill in the gaps and keep the accounts going.  If we are too easy going, people don't work at all.  If we try and toughen up, then I'm a you-know-what.  Salaries just aren't going to go much higher, if at all higher, because the work is leaving and it's leaving fast.  I get no less than 4 emails when I post an ad, emails from foreign companies offering to do the work for 3-8 cpl.  At 3 cpl, it would be cheaper for us to send it out and then have it totally read through, but we are trying like h*** to keep the work here.
They are so easy and you don't get
PAs and NPs dictating them. 
Definitely not easy
It is hard enough to *train* our own family to respect the fact that we are WORKING, so of course it is practically impossible to get visitors to understand. I would definitely think about a different location. If that isn't possible then maybe just a different location when the in-laws are visiting. Short term fix for that week or 2 anyway.

Good luck!
Easy

Hi...I use a very simple method with my two accounts.  I use Olympus digital recorders.  Two of my docs are using the old ones, the DS330, and one is using the newer one, the DS2.  Of the two, I prefer the DS2.  I provided the recorders for the docs.


Anyway, the recorders come with software that you install on your computer.  It is very simple to use.  The docs dictate into the recorder just like they would a taper recorder, but there is no tape inside, it's all digital.  Then they just connect the recorder to a computer with a USB cable and the work is transferred into the computer via the software program, DSS Player.  After the voice file is transferred into their computer, they can then attach the voice file to an email and send it to you to transcribe.


I don't know, maybe others have better methods, but this has worked just fine for me and my docs are happy.  I've never had a problem.  I used to pick up tapes and deliver work too and this is sooooo much better.  I hope I explained it well, because I'm having one of those days where I don't know if I'm coming or going, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  Good luck.


No one said it would be easy.

But, you can make the best of it.  I have been there, done that, and still doing it!  Whether you work on-site, off-site, in your basement, or on your roof, when you are a mother/wife/caregiver, you will have obstacles!  Bottom line.  Any others agree?  I mean my daughter was sick the last two days!  Oh my, I still got my work done, gave hugs, kisses, ran to the store for soup, Motrin, etc.  She's 6-years-old for goodness sakes.  If you have enough fire in ya' to work at home, then know that NOT all of your expectations will be met, and just go with it.  No one on this board has the magical answer.  I think Minnie is just trying to express that why work at home, and then say you are not meeting your line count and expect someone here to fix that for you.  Lower your expectations a little, geez.  Thanks for listening!  Kimberly will find her way.  Maybe she was just feeling like she needed some support.  Well, you've got it.  There are so many others here doing the exact same thing. 


I like it. Very easy to use.
nm
Easy to say when there's always someone
Unless you are pretty sure the account will keep you.  You risk losing that account to another MT who will type for cheap.  JMO.  One other thing, be ready to explain why you need the raise other than the fact that you feel you are underpaid.  
Easy does it -- if you do it right -- Thanks nm
m
here's an easy way to do it
Do control K then hit control B, type your text that needs to be bolded, then do control K again and then control B for unbolding it, that's all folks
it was easy to get used to actually sm
The day I got it, I hooked it up and never missed a beat. The number pad being on the inside is kinda wierd though. That took some adjustment.
It was not an easy day
...it "snowed" in my neighborhood on 9/11, it was ash from the towers when they collapsed. Entire pieces of paper floated over to where we lived, and that was across a river. I remember walking with my husband outside where it was "snowing" and saying, "this is local to us but I think it's going to make national news." He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "What, are you kidding -- this is international news!" Then for the longest time I never knew if we were being bombed when I heard any noise -- once a ConEd (our power company) transformer blew up down the street and I thought we were being bombed.
very easy
but its taken me awhile to catch on to a few things, like having the cursor outside the text box to get page-up and down to work, or noticing the link on the screen to the transcription manual that had some tips i could have used for expansions earlier...but program is easy and MT friendly.