Working on VR and have 30+ years in
Posted By: Janie on 2009-02-15
In Reply to: This is a different topic really and I don't - mean to hijack, but
I consider myself a very good transcriptionist. When first starting (same platform, same hospital) on VR around 5 years ago I was shocked to see that the training period for the VR was about 2 weeks and then it was up and running. I personally do not think the MTs can train. Our platform (same one, remember) was working really good and then it was like the bottom fell out. It is now not numbering, not doing period at end of sentence (although next word capitalized), not putting in physician names in reports when they are said, not putting in numbers when said in the dictations, just lots of salad. Why the change? I can work exclusively on VR all day with no straight (which I am paid more for) and still average around or over $20.00 an hour. I thank God for having VR now because ours definitely captures probably more of the ESLs than I ever could. Working yesterday probably about 85% all day were the ESLs and very hard to understand at that. I definitely never see VR as taking the place of transcriptionists. I am very pleased, even with the lower salary, because my income no longer depends on my paycheck alone and even if it did, I could make enough because of having the knowledge and having the speed also to make VR very workable.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Been working on a laptop for 6 years.
Definitely need an external keyboard and I would also recommend an external mouse instead of using the touch pad, unless you have a keyboard that has a touch pad. Unless you plug in an external monitor too, the smaller screen may be an adjustment, although several of the newer laptops have 17 to 17.5 screens now. A major plus to a laptop is if the power goes out and you download via wav files you can work, at least for a little while, using the battery. I have cable internet, but I also get 20 hours/month dial-up with that, so I can use the dial-up to download/upload and use my battery to work for 3+ hours. You can also get an inexpensive inverter to plug into your cigarette lighter in your car and plug your laptop into that to charge your battery, or use for working in the car while traveling. I have a box about 1-1/2 inches tall that all my power cords plug into and I have my laptop sitting on that and it makes it the right height for typing.
Laptops generally run considerably more than a desktop, though you can find a decent laptop now for $800.00 or less, though most will run you around $1000.00/more depending on what bells and whistles you want.
After 30+ years of working in this field
on VR I make 4 cents a line and 8 cents for straight. Most now is VR. Knowing that my pay would go down this way, having typed 2000+ a day with straight, just decided I would have to do over 3000 lines per day on the other and do that to bring my pay up. I love it myself and would never want to straight transcribe again all day long.
Please tell me you are not working for .07-.08 per line with 15+ years experience. SM
Sweetie, I would rather work at Walmart than settle for this. Not sure if you were referring to yourself; however, this is what is driving our payscale down. Speaking for myself only, I will not even consider working for a national who pays under .10 line (bare minimum). I have many years of experience and truly appreciate and understand the need to have a job in this field, but there is a fine line to draw. Let's avoid desperation and take back our pride.
I have been working at home 4 years in March...
I worked in an office for 4 years before that...prefer being at home by far...
Amazing, we must have been working in the same places over the years (NM)
NM
years of working at home, some of 'us' might forget how to
Its not what you say, its how you say it. DUH
oops cut myself off....working at home with 3 years experience.
';
Nope. Many years working at the School of Medicine. SM
An MS4 is a med student till June graduation. He's "Mister So-and-So" then in June when he graduates, he's "Doctor So-and-So."
A 4th year resident is something else entirely. He is an R4 (or that's what they call them here). HE is an MD. The MS4 is not an MD.
My goal every year is $52k, which I have done for the past 2 years working sm
for Keystrokes. I do radiology only, I should mention. I took the amount I wanted (actually needed) to make in a year, divided it by 52 weeks, divided it by 5 days, came up with $1000 per week or $200 per day. I divided that by 8 hours and by my report rate ($1.25). I know that I need to transcribe 20 reports per hour on average. I keep a tally. Some days, it takes me longer to do than others, but I sit down and do my 8 hours every single day. I use my Expander a LOT (literally for all but a few words). I am on one account, so I know those doctors inside and out. If I am short at the end of the week, I ask if there is work available on the weekend for me to do. The most I end up with 2 hours to make up what might have been short during the week.
At $40k, you would need to make $153.85 per day, or $19.23 per hour. At $0.07, you need to type 275 lines per hour, or 2200 for the day. This should be very easy to get with using an expander and sitting down with a set schedule.
It takes a while to get used to making sure you hit your internal quota every day. I have to think of it daily and make it up on Saturday or Sunday so that I never start a week behind my personal goal.
I also take an incentives that are handed out (for instance if they are asking for help in a backlog situation at increased rate) and work at least a partial shift on holidays. If I am ahead at the end of the week, I carry it to the next week and know that I have some lines in my internal quota bank.
I know this sounds weird, but it works for me. I have helped a few others to get to their goals as well, and this seems to work for them too.
I would also look for something that is more in the 0.08 to 0.09 per line range. Ask your lead for production tips. Ask other transcriptionists. It is very possible for us to make good money, we just have to focus on our goals.
I have a sales background, which involved sales quotas. This is easier as I am in control of my daily production, not on someone else's decisions.
Good luck!
I've been home working with my kids for 10 years now sm
I worked outside of the house for one year after my first boy was born. I hated leaving him. So I was home working by the time he was a year old. I really enjoyed it. 10 years later, I'm still working at home, and have a 6 y/o boy too. Both my kids are in school. I'm so thankful to be home so that I can get them off the bus, attend parties at school, go on field trips with them. I can take care of house chores and keep and eye on my three dogs. The only thing is sometimes I miss being around people, being able to leave my work at my job (at home it's here all the time). My hubby works midnights, so he's home during the day too, but sleeps. Sometimes I feel like I have no "me time". After my boys get a little older, I may get out of the house to work. Sometimes I would like to actually change my career to sometime more hands on with patients. I love the medical field, I've been doing transcription for about 14 years. Another plus for working at home with kids is if they are sick, you don't have to call out of work. You can do your job and take care of your kids. You don't have to look your best either, on those days or any days. I'm guilty for sitting here in my PJs a lot, not having any makeup on or hair fixed.
Good luck in the future.
After working 2 years, I average 220-250 lph for clinic work.
nm
my friend just finished her BSN 2 years ago, working 32 hr/week making $60K with benefits nm
x
No social life. I now have a fear going out in public! Working from home for 8 years now will do t
nm
I have 13 years experience and just started a hospital job working from home making $16 an hour
and with a really good incentive plan. I live in the Kansas City area. $10 seems like a low starting point even with only two years experience which is the usual benchmark for hospital MT jobs.
It's been my experience that the low end of the pay scale for hospital employed MTs was around $12 an hour. Also, it's been my experience that the pay offered is usually based on years of experience and how well you perform on the transcription test.
I would say if their pay is that low, they should at least be making it up with incentive and it doesn't sound like they are.
JMO
You get more working the evening or night shifts and working w/o benefits. And producing like a mad
,
Ditto....granted I am not working much these days, but am currently trying out a new way of working
when I do work which seems to be helping. I am timing myself and keeping a log of how long it takes to to type however many minutes. I am averaging anywhere from 13-18 minutes of dictation an hour now doing this. Granted the time fluctuates between who I am typing, and if I have to look up names, addresses, etc., just depends on the division I am doing at the time. But work that used to take me 3 hours to do is now taking me under 2 hours, I am also trying to put in more macros as I go along, which slows me down initially but pays off in the long run of course. I was working "all the time" before but took forever to get done since I was not applying myself. This new "attitude" has helped me a lot. My goal, in the Fall, is to do 90 minutes a day consistently at 6 hours, and then maybe get up to 120 minutes a day at 8 hours, still while having at least half of the day free (do 60 minutes at night, and the other 60 by Noon). Thereby doing 1200-1400 lines a day. I have never really buckled down and done more than 8000 lines per pay period, so it will be a nice change. Maybe you can do something like that and have a specific knock off time as was suggested below. 
Working holidays? Out shopping in stores where someone IS working
that holiday you refuse to work? Grocery stores, food joints & seems any store is open on holidays and you expect them to be fully staffed, so why shouldn't we?
Yes, I took off for the first time on Christmas day, in 18 years and it was great, but I worked Christmas eve and this whole past weekend.
Someone has to do it!
working IN A HOSPITAL is different than working at home.
Someone can steal you identity from the internet if they want to. Why would you go to the time and trouble to jeopardize a job that requires some level of skill to steal someone's identity or medical records? You could get a job as a retail clerk and get info easier than going through the testing required to become an MT.
Somehow working at home translates into not really working
My in-laws are the worst. Whenever they plan something last minute and my husband says that I had to work, they say, "but she works at home!". When I one time mentioned I had a "schedule" and basically punch a clock and work full time, I don't think they believed me. They will sometimes call mid-day during the week if they are in the area to see if I want to go for lunch, etc! The best is, my husband doesn't make all that much money, so where is it coming from, the money fairy? I am ready to strangle someone! So I know how you feel and I'm sorry it upset you. You are not alone.
58, AHP/self-taught, trained at hospital 5 years, now with 2 of my own accounts for 10 years, employ
Also worn out 2 keyboards in 4 years. I will never retire. DH will come home some day from work and I'll be slumped over my keyboard. I put in 14 hours a day 7 days a week.
Pack years = packs smoked per day x years of smoking - sm
25 pack-years = 25 years of 1 pack a day, or 12-1/2 years of 2 packs a day.
I don't think pack-years applies to someone who smokes only cigars. But I don't know for sure.
I worked for Cbay for 3 years. I was also part of their lay off back many years ago. sm
Even though I got stuck in a lay off era, I still love the company. They paid well then. The people were nice (exception of 1 person) and if I had the opportunity I would go back again. Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on how u look at it), I have a great paying job right now, so I am not looking for a change. I do know that at one time, they asked management to accept late paychecks, but never sure of the reason why. My check was never late.
I know it used to be 5-10 years back, but the laws changed within the last 2 years. They can only g
x
6 years legal then switched to medical 17+ years ago. sm
I don't mind doing legal and will do it now from time to time, but be prepared to be totally bored out of your mind.
At least that's the way I feel. I love to transcribe, learned legal in college, went on to get my paralegal degree, etc., etc., but I did temp work when the kids were younger, which was about 90% medical and I would never go back to legal except for once in a while.
Booooooring.
Only 3 years away from reaching total years for retirement
but if I had to do this and raise a family, would feel exactly like you do. The pay is terrible compared to what I used to make. I work 32 hours a week, hope to be able to continue even after full retirement age. I have worked on VR now and unless places get to where they really do not care about how their reports look, think they will need MTs. I very seldom do a report and it is 100%, just cannot remember 1 like that and most take a lot more editing. Working now because want to, not have to anymore, thank goodness!!
I daydream about NOT working while I'm working.
There are so many other things I need and want to get done. I've been working way too hard lately, and summer is just slipping by again. Well, I'm outty.
I dumped my ex 20 years ago, but got lucky 13 years ago
It would take me all night and pages and pages to describe what a bad person my ex-husband was. After six years of putting up with his OCD, verbal abuse and alcohol, I left him the house, took the kids (5 and 1) and didn't look back. That was 20 years ago.
I wasn't looking to get married again, but I did. After 13 years I only complain when hubby doesn't see things my way. :)
My older kids, who were 5 and 1 when I left, are married and have kids of their own now. My husband gets the Father's Day cards. Their "real" father sits alone in the perfect little house I left behind and let him have and he drinks himself into oblivion every night because nobody is "perfect" enough, including his kids and his grandkids that he never sees.
Sad, but true. So glad I smartened up and got out of there when I did.
We have been supporting other countries for years and years now.
What is the big deal. Look at your clothes, cars, items in your house. You will see mostly China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan etc., etc. We have not supported our own people like we should have for years now!!!!
Only 2 in 13 years for me. First Edix for 8 and now Webmedx for nearly 5 years. nm
.
When I trained, back years and years ago
We did not have spell checking nor the internet (Google for instantaneous help). OMG, how did we do it? We used Correcting Selectrics with the lift-off tape to correct errors- you only had dictionaries, both English and medical, to look up things so yes we did have to learn to spell all those big longgggggggggg words.
MT: 24 years. Same company: 11 years same co. after buyout.
x
Grammar Question: 9 years' ago or 9 years ago? *sm*
 I have a terrible time trying to remember this rule! HELP!
Worked inhouse for years and years
Inhouse transcription from 1973 to approximately 1992 and we had no downtime for answering the phones and when the physicians came into the room (or others) needing some assistance, just part of the job. I did not feel bad about doing it then and I dont see why you would either. You don’t realize that probably you are making right now more than if you are outsourced, right? You have hourly salary plus incentive. Guess how many of us have that now? Probably inevitable about outsourcing so I would say just enjoy while you can. The pay our here now sinks further and further. I make, for instance, 4 cents a line for voice recognition and 8 for straight. Now, more complaining?
19 years old...married 26 years. nm
n
they've been doing this for years and years (nm)
IMHO
People have been saying that for years and years - SM
however, I am working fewer hours and making more money. I think maybe the answer here is working as an IC for a one-owner company. MTSO was an MT for many years and she knows the secret to making lots of $ is putting your MTs doing what they do best and leaving them alone.
I don't think it is the "national" part of services that hurts. I think the low wages can be gauged by the number of suits in the company. More suits = less $.
And why pay QA? Just hire people experienced/good enough to do the work correctly the first time.
I have been doing Radiology only the last two years after several years (sm)
of acute care. I love it and find it easier although not as interesting as acute care. I was told by those who hired me that a good medical Transcriptionist will be able to do Radiology even with no experience in it. There are some specialized terms but easy to learn. I would never go back to acute care unless there were very good dictators and good sound quality.
30 (!) years; OTJ (don't think there were schools 30 years ago) nm
:)
Years ago it was 7 years. Not certain as to status now.
10 years here, too, and making 8.4....same as i was 5 years ago. nm
f
Shame on me.. Am I the only one with 4+ in 2 years, but with my last one 2 years.
Lots of little "stints" in between, just trying to keep my head above water.
24 years MT, 7.5 years with the same hospital nm.
x
22 years, same company 10 years nm
nm
32 years, longest was 28 years at same co. (nm)
*
28 years, 9 years at 1 hospital..sm
9 years at one hospital, 8 years with 2 services, then went out on my own (11 years ago) and got a bunch of surgeons and I moonlight on weekends for a national (9 years with national).
If I knew what I know today, with how the MT business has gone down $$-wise for us over 20+ years, if I had my druthers and could start over again, I would have stayed with CODING/BILLING instead of MT work (though I love MT work) as billing/coding is still lucrative in this country....
just my 3 cents 
32 years, 18 years at hospital...
7 at Medquist, 7 at Spheris. Starting at Transtech Medical tomorrow.
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
Working. LOL What else? nm
..
working out
Spinning is great if you only want aerobics, but a personal trainer deals with weight training. That's for building muscle, which speeds up your metabolism. You really need both (aerobics and weight training) if you want to slim down and shape up.
In either case, make sure you drink ice water. The body's reaction is, "What the heck is this stuff?! I'm getting cold here. Turn on the shiver mechanism." That's another way to speed up your metabolism.
Working for self
It is harder now to break in than it was 15 to 20 years ago when I started but there is still accounts out there. I got started part-time when working for a local hospital -- not even doing medical transcription. I was an Admin Ass't but had done this in the past and one of our physicians on one of our boards could not get anyone to do his transcription so I started doing it part-time. I had been a CMA, CMT, x-ray tech in the old days. But had not kept up on my certifications when I went to work in the hospital. But this started the ball rolling. Since my hubbie then was a truck driver I did it to keep me out of trouble when he was out of town. Then I started doing it full time. I get accounts from the private docs that no one really wants, larger companies, and still do tapes, printing, delivering and pick ups. I advertise and send out flyers and seem to get a bite when I need a new account. I have 2 Surgical Oncologists, 2 IM's, 1 Plastic/Hand surgeon, and 1 Psych. I have one permanent part-timer and one that helps out with overflow. I charge from 10.5 to 12.5 cents a line depending on the account. My rates are going up this month. I also work in a clinic doing electronic charts but that is as an employee. These docs are small and I keep my prices lower because I know what they get back from insurances, etc. are not that great. I am paid within 3 days of receipt of invoice (usually the next day) have never had my line count questioned, have never had a check bounce and they make me a part of their team. And yes, I am the one from six months ago that said I would bake them cookies and you know why. But all I can say is look through the County AMA directories or phone books or if your hospital has physician offices in them, see who works alone and try sending out flyers or going door to door -- never hurts to bring cookies either. But have been doing it for 15 years fulltime and make enough to support myself through a yucky divorce and pay an attorney $10,000 -- barely but did it. Good luck. Maybe if enough would do this for themselves much cheaper than the nationals we could all go back to making a good living. Am going digital here in the next six months or so, but only to pick up a new account as my docs still prefer the tapes. Trying to get them to change.
You can E-mail me for any more questions.
It will get better--just keep working..nm
nm
|
