as a general rule...
Posted By: MTBlab on 2006-10-08
In Reply to: I need suggestions please (sm) - txmt
I use an "f" after any abbreviation that I want to expand. I just use the standard abbreviation plus f, so I do not forget what they are. My ShortHand is full of things like this.
ex: cbcf tcpf tshf
Works for me!
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I was always told as a general rule
it was double. Most of the time, however, I think it is slightly over that.
General rule is 3-5% a year. sm
If you currently get 8 cpl, ask for a raise up to 8.25 or 8.5 cpl, that almost covers cost of living and inflation.
Generic numbers here to show the math based on the 8 cpl with the raises:
200 lph at 8.00 cpl = $16 hourly/$33,280 yearly
200 lph at 8.25 cpl = $16.50 hourly/$34,320 yearly
200 lph at 8.50 cpl = $17.00 hourly/$35,360 yearly
When you ask for a raise, provide them with verifiable data to prove you DESERVE a raise. Say you are 99% accurate, remind them. If you type 250 lph or more, remind them. If you work OT on days off, remind them. If you come at them with your homework done and good reason to give you more, they will be more apt to say yes. (I have never been turned down for a raise, once even got more than I actually was looking for because I didn't specify how much of a raise I was wanting.)
You RULE!
What a win-win situation!
I wish the animal shelters took better care of our pets (since they are a part of the government and all). I don't know why those shelters smell so bad; the shelter in my county stinks so bad that you are constantly aware of it. Taking care of displaced or hurt animals should be a big part of their job, and they could take measures to ensure the animals don't get sick. I understand all about their being overworked, but then someone should report to the higher ups what is needed, and then there should be no problem meeting those needs.
In a neighboring county where I live, the public went toe-to-toe with the director over the animal division; demanding answers about the operations and procedures. (That director said he needed a new building, but the public thought the changes should be made in their operations and procedures.
When I want a dog, I always adopt (so far over the years I've adopted 2 beagles).
Nice post!
First rule of being an MT
That's what I was taught. Everyone is in the same boat and has to take the bad with the good. Refusing to do the hard stuff makes it worse for the other MTs on that account, and they will not appreciate it. Until the problem doctors go poof and disappear, nobody has the right to say they can shove all the bad jobs onto the next MT because THEY are here to make money (everyone is, and someone has to type it). And there is such a thing as Karma - one day you might log on to find ALL the work is the dictator you dread, because all the MTs that came on before you felt entitled to leave the crap work for YOU. You really won't make any money on that shift, as opposed to doing a few bad jobs each shift. So type them as you get them, like the rest of us.
If everyone got together and went to management about the problem guy, that's one thing (and yes, we all feel this way about at least one doctor). Deciding you don't have to do it because you don't want to is quite another, and often grounds for disciplinary action. Work is often just that, hard work, and with time and practice it becomes easier. Nobody promised you a rose garden, challenges are what this job entails.
MY first rule, before being MT. is I have to
x
The first rule of being self-employed is that
you set your own line rate. However, we all know that NONE of the MTSOs hiring IC MTs allow us to set our own rate. They "offer" a rate, and we accept if it's OK.
I worked for a real cheapo doctor when I first started out. He paid hourly and kept riding my backside to type faster because he only wanted to pay for the actual time dictated instead of the time it took to transcribe. More than once I told him that it takes an average of 3:1 typing to talking ratio to get it done. It worked out to be $.03 per line. I dropped him like a bad habit. He bounced through a few other transcriptionists who all quit on him before he wound up having to pay to outsource to a service.
date rule
Thanks. My mind just blanked and I couldn't remember. It seems like it has changed so often over the years!
I have been an MT for 33 years and the rule has always been...sm
to use mg when preceeded by a number.
and there are so many exceptions to all those rule! lol
that's the english language for ya! I really don't know.
My rule for semicolons
is that if the two statements support each other and each statement could be a separate sentence, I use a semicolon. Example: He underwent an ultrasound in March 1999; AT THAT time he was noted to have BPH. The sentence you asked about should be done like 'NM'says: He underwent an ultrasound in March 1999, at which time he was noted to have BPH.
Thought that was already a rule
Hmm...I thought that that was already in effect, that no US Govt transcription contracts could go overseas/be outsourced - at least the V.A. has that standard in place...
Rule Books and AAMT
AAMT sure brought this profession to the forefront. However, when they started publishing their own Bible (BOS) there are a lot of grammatical errors in there. Also, the styles they use are not accepted in this part of the country and will be considered "errors" by the client, hospital or clinician who do not want their reports set up in this manner. It is wrong to test people on a style that is not accepted in their part of the country. You are only forcing people to learn a "new style" which the facility in your area will consider completely wrong. Then the private company will comply with that particular hospital and change the set-up. Sadly, the person who took the test and did not use the BOS has a lousy score and is not considered for the job although s/he meets the set-up criteria for hospitals in the area where they live. Go figure, spend all that money for the book, or just test and get 100 per cent and then study the style of the facility who is paying for the work and then be 100 per cent right. Don't judge all tests by style, wait and see what the hospital is paying you wants for the style. You are putting the cart before the horse. Been in long enough to know that the BOS is absolutely not the "Bible" and the testing companies should take this into consideration. You could study this book until you're blind and then have to "unlearn" it to comply with the paying $$$ facility who is the ultimate "boss" of how the work will be turned in and accepted. Kabish? If I turn in a discharge summary in my local hospital according to the BOS style, I would be considered a total idiot. If I used the local hospital style for testing nationally, I would probably rate a 65% on what the hospital would consider 100% correct for style and grammar. Can't win.
It's the AAMT new BOS rule on numbers.
x
you two are the exception to the mommy rule(sm)
Most MT mommies got into this business solely for the purpose of staying at home and making a little extra cash on the side. They try to juggle the kids and MT and the diaper changes always come before that STAT report. And, yeah, I know what I'm talking about because I used to work in the hospital and that was always the way with the at-home mommy MTs. There was always an excuse as to why they couldn't do this or couldn't do that.
Well, my husband and I rule the menu here.
We're sure not going to let the kids do it, otherwise it would be pizza, tacos, and hot dogs daily and everyone would keel over from clogged arteries at the age of 30! Beside, like Kikki said, it's not good to let the kids call the shots. That's why the good Lord made parents! 
No one said the kids should rule the menu
But if you love your kids then you understand that they are people too, with their own tastebuds. Just because they might have a suggestion doesn't automatically make it JUNK. Just different.
Trust me, my kids know who the boss is. Geez!!!!!
My rule of thumb is a $100 minimum
Of course, closer relatives and friends receive more, but always at least $100 for graduations, wedding gifts, etc. when someone is an acquaintance.
Please cite the HIPAA rule. Thanks
x
The HIPAA Privacy Rule...(sm)
...requires a covered entity to make "reasonable efforts to limit use, disclosure of, and requests for PHI to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose." The only AHA-approved HIPAA training program, HIPAA Academy, specifically states in its training materials that HIPAA intends that personal information be limited to document headers unless absolutely required I will quote page 4-56:
"In practice, we expect the minimum-necessary requirement to lead to compartmentalization of the medical record so that one portion of the record (the body of the report) may be readily disclosed for one purpose without compromising the privacy of the entire record."
By limiting PHI to headers, reports can easily be redacted of personal information; when the PHI is scattered throughout the reports, this information cannot be redacted.
First rule of computers: Whenever anything goes wrong...
....reboot!
That will take care of about 95% of problems.
If you have two identical toolbars, then you may need to go to View, then Toolbars, and then Customize (way down at the bottom of the list). On the Toolbars tab, see what is checked.
If both Standard and Formatting are checked, this is where you may have your duplicate. Try unchecking either one of those and see if that puts your toolbar back the way you want it.
If that doesn't work, come back and we'll try again!
My company has a 2-minute rule
We are supposed to spend around 2 minutes looking for something. If we can't find anything, we blank it; my boss says that's what they pay their QA for.
I like your company...good rule/sm
Some places make you feel like if you don't search and search then you are inadequate. But I don't get paid to research, I get paid to type. I will research a reasonable amount of time and that is it.
HIPAA Privacy Rule
http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20021100/35theh.html
In general
All caps and no abbreviations. Headings for PE and ROS underneath. Account specifics may differ.
In General....
An employer cannot set a specific schedule for an IC. This link addresses the issue here :
http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1179.html
An excerpt fron the site above notes :
"According to the IRS, workers are employees if they must comply with the employer's instructions about their work, receive training or direction from the employer, provide services that integrate into the employer's business, render their services personally (can't subcontract), have a continuing working relationship with the employer, must follow set hours of work, work full-time for the employer..."
As is noted in the site linked above , the consequences for the employer are quite severe if the IRS determines that the company actually was treating you as an employee rather than an IC.
In general,
in a given occupational group the upward pressure that unions place on wages and benefits has the net effect of raising the income and standard of living of poor folk up to the level of middle class folk while the absence of unions tends to drag the income and standard of living of middle class folk down to the level of poor folk. That upward pressure on wages and benefits not only helps union members but everybody else working in that occupational group. Without the organized upward pressure, wages will sink like a rock.
Guide for HIPAA PRivacy Rule
Covers for Stedman's books are designed by the graphic artist who works with them.
OLD typing rule I have in my head, whether it is accurate I do not know, hence I said IF---nm
x
You are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to kids w/o fathers.
x
My family now has a hard and fast rule... (lm)
Nobody who is incapacitated/confused/at all unaware is EVER alone in the hospital.
Family comes from all over if we have to, but that's what you do. Family takes care of each other no matter the inconvenience, and having good friends, good neighbors, and a good church helps, too.
We learned that after my father suffered a head injury and was confused and combative and kept trying to get out of his bed, pull out his IV, etc. Someone from the family was with him most all of the time. Family only left when someone from the church or a friend or a neighbor came to stay. (The church had people sign up to come stay with him so that we could get a break, and neighbors would just show up and say "go get something to eat. NOW! ". God bless them all...)
Thank God, my father made an almost complete recovery. He has some personality changes and hearing loss, but nothing we all can't handle. I would NEVER leave a loved one alone in the hospital unless they were FULLY alert and oriented.
Rule of thumb - THERE'S NO FREE LUNCH
If you don't want to do much, don't expect to make much. That's just the way it is.
Rule of thumb in the NE is October & April when
the time changes. Daylight Savings starts in April and Standard Time in October. It always works for me. Change all the clocks and change all the batteries.
For those who haven't done so yet, though, better get changing. 
Personally, I like the new rule. I think it looks terrible to type
The patient has had intermittent diarrhea for four to five days.
Instead of:
The patient has had intermittent diarrhea for 4-5 days. Do much easier to 'quickly read' the number of days as 4-5.
You are an exception to the rule. After 20 years, I'd like to be making
dd
Jon's files use a set rule of ABCZ and that works for everybody.
xx
In our home, we call it the Red Rule - see message
The Red Rule means that we do not bother mama if she is working unless somebody is bleeding or the house is on fire - Red Rule. :O)
Can some explain the grammar rule for comma use in --sm
in the following sentences?
1. Stable, broad-based posterior disc bulge effacing the ventral aspect of the thecal sac with resultant mild to moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. Stable associated mild facet arthropathy. --comma after small
2. This is felt to most likely represent nonspecific demyelination, and multiple sclerosis cannot be excluded. --comma after and
Was counted off for these by QA as 'necessary commas' but do not know why.
What is wrong with prayer, and what rule are you talking about?
Many people have different beliefs and it is not just Christians who pray. I would greatly respect any doctor, no matter what his religious beliefs, who takes a moment to acknowledge the importance of the task before him and that he can use a little help from above. We humans, no matter how hard we try, are imperfect. Why are you so offended by someone who prays? And as for a rule ... maybe you are thinking about prayer in schools that is not allowed.
Let me guess ... you are not offended by the doctor who cusses up a storm in his reports, or are you looking up rules for that one too!
Rule of thumb on dictation. A dictated
minute on average takes 3 to 5 minutes to transcribe. So, at the top, 60 minutes of dictation can take up to 5 hours to transcribe. Would not do it for less than $20 personally, and then based on what I do now I would be losing money.
attorney general
good idea. I have contacted an attorney already (I am a corp by myself so I have access to an attorney) and he states that legally there is nothing right now that I can do. I can possibly sue them later down the road, but they have not done anything illegal. He suggested to try and "sugar" them into paying me. I will contact the attorney general's office. The company and I are in the same state, so that helps tremendously.
Go to Dollar General. sm
I'm amazed what i can find there for $1. You never know what you're going to find, but cleaning supplies, household stuff, things that are definitely more than $1 even at Wal-Mart...as long as you're willing to not be picky. When the hurricanes were looming, I got mutli pack of name -brand batteries for $1, tons of candles, etc. You just have to search the whole store, but definitely worth it.
MT and medicine in general
The greedy guts smelled the ability to MAKE A PROFIT in the field of medicine
and "there went the neighborhood."
It used to be a sign of respect to be a doctor - now they just work for the company store and are running out the door with the nurses at quitting time - throwing any patient they may be seeing to the winds. One even told me to hurry up and make up my mind because she had to go pick up her kids at daycare!
And so has medical transcription - some guy in a tie said QUANTITY OF LINES COULD = MUCHO PROFIT...
Of course those people don't care if a few people die along the way because of errors. - well not at least until it's their leg that's amputated by mistake.
Is that the one for a general transcriptionist?
c
In general no, but your client may need you to
nm
dogs in general
As a pet owner, I can understand the devestating feelings that you have regarding the horrible death of your dog/child. (I say child because my 2-year-old Weimaraner is like one of my kids) Please remember that any dog can be made to be vicious, there are no vicious dogs by nature. Dogs are a direct result of the environment that they live in and if they are mistreated then they are going to be mean and unsafe. My brother had what is called a Mastif bulldog and it was the biggest baby I have ever see at 100 pounds. Neighbors were okay with this dog in the neighborhood (all their kids loved him) until a picture of his breed was put on the cover of Time magazine. In this picture, the dog was snarling and looked very vicous. My brother ended up having to get rid of the dog because so many people were then afraid, even though before they loved the animal before. There is "prejudice" when it comes to dogs, just as there is "prejudice" when it comes to people.
too general a question - please be.....nm
General Transcriptionist
Im trying to begin my career in MT. I've ordered a at home study course and im waiting for it to arrive but in the mean time i heard that general transcription is the route to go until you become efficient enough to begin in MT. Does anyone know of how I need to get started in this and what I need to do to begin?
Thanks
Jodie
General Dissatisfaction
I read all these board and it seems that overall no one is happy where they are. Is it because this is the most God awful boring profession possibly? I am so bored that to keep me occupied I find things that could be done better or quicker. I just switched companies because I couldn't stand same old same old another minute. Just the new platform and dictators make for a better day. Am I alone in this thought process? No, changing jobs is not an option right now kids at home and raising them comes before me..Just a theory
Your question is too general...
You need to post on the company board for a specific company. We cannot answer your question as currently presented!
General MT questions
Recently, I was asked the following questions by a friend who is helping to revamp a medical transcription course. These questions are also asked by individuals who might be interested in medical transcription and are posed at seminars.
I would appreciate your input if you would be so kind. Also, what is the industry-wide expectation on required number of lines per day and number of minutes per day (8-hour day).
1. On average, how long does it take a medical Transcriptionist to produce 1 hour of dictation?
2. Besides Word, is it essential for transcriptionists to purchase any of the transcription software that’s available?
3. Is it common for doctors to transcribe into templates, which eliminates the need for medical transcriptionists?
4. How many lines an hour should an average MT be typing?
Thanks I appreciate any and all input.
what general area are you in
A gal I know up in a western metropolitan area got 14 cpl 5 YEARS ago, but she says the prices up there are like that. I wonder what they get in New York?
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