understanding jobs...
Posted By: Julie Messerer on 2006-05-25
In Reply to: another example of people not - understanding jobs...
AMEN!!! Try telling that to my husband and family!! I work at home, but just because I am "at home" doesn't mean I am "home."
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That was my understanding, too.
I appreciate the information. This is exactly what my friend says is deducted from her SE check at MQ.
it is my understanding
The long gas lines were only in the north, i.e. NY, where I was living at the time and remember things vividly.
It's fun to get out of your car, ready to deliver, and there are about 50 cars ahead of you. People are like, "Get her to the front of the line, fast!!!" 
my understanding is this
If you work exclusively for *one* service, the IRS classifies you as a statutory employee (services pays employers share of your SS tax). If you have your own account, even one (i.e. local doctor), you are an independent contractor.
But as an independent contractor ... you call the shots. You can work for 20 services if you want. You work on "contract" rather than production. You're not locked into, say, 1200 lines per day. But the service can say, "You are responsible for meeting the 24-hour turnaround for St Katrina Hospital."
You can't go by the 20 questions ... too many variable, especially as it pertains to who has the element of control.
Best solution ... talk to someone at the Small Business Administration. These people are former business owners, and some have been also been connected with the IRS.
thank you for understanding...
That sounds more like my way of doing things. It would be the best way, rather than just closing down and shutting her off. You're right, it would sever our relationship completely, or kill her inside, if I were completely up front. She is dependent on this man, and she is so afraid of being alone. Its a delicate subject better handled the way you suggested.
my understanding
for many, MANY years is that the state abbreviations are two capital letters. These abbreviations are for postal services, so having it written otherwise on a job application may be okay. Unless the job is with the post office ;-)
And thank you for understanding ; ) nm
x
Thanks for understanding
Wow! You have been on that long? I still have several hours to go. Thanks for understanding. I love your icons, I agree with the thud specifically. Not to pun, but maybe today the "turkeys" dictate LOL. I could say something about us not being chicken to transcribe today but that would be too much! OK so, I am going loony, with these dictators who wouldn't! LOL.
it is my understanding
that noise-blocking headphones can actually block out dictation, esp if there is noise up close (ie, xrays flapping) that makes the dictation comparable to background sound.
If I am understanding
your post correctly, you just have your keyboard sitting on your desk. If that is correct, I would say you need a keyboard tray. When your hands are on your keys, your arms should be bent at the elbows and straight to your keys ... your forearms should not angled up or down.
I use a keyboard tray and, in fact, had to add spacers to lower it even more, as I am tall and have long arms. Just over an inch extra (lower) made all the difference in the world! I was having a lot of trouble with my right hand being weak and extensor muscle soreness, causing me to have trouble gripping my mouse (also phone and various other things).
A little bit can go a long way!
My understanding...
is that you need to determine which 3 categories your expenses fall under: Direct, indirect, or unrelated. If the expense is indirect, which I would consider Internet since it is used for purposes besides MT, then it would be deducted as a percentage based upon what I posted above. If your Internet is used solely for your business, then it should be deducted differently, 100%. OP, I think your best bet is to speak to a tax professional regarding this. No one on this site can give you 100% reliable tax information for your particular situation.
Understanding VR/SR
Google front-end speech recognition and/or back-end speech recognition and it'll help you understand how some of this stuff works. The site below was interesting and helpful to me. I found it by Googling back-end speech recognition. One is when the Dr doesn't even know he/she is on a VR system and one is where the Dr does most of the training/editing. The site name doesn't seem to be coming up as a valid site on my message but you don't need to put www in front of the name. http://speechrecognition.wordpress.com/
Hunting Understanding II
Thank you to all ladies on this board that feed their families the OLD FASHION WAY! They don't just buy any old meat in the store with a label on it! HA!HA!HA!
totally not understanding
I am totally not understanding what you are looking for then. Avg line counts per hour depend on your own speed, but I know many places require 125-150 lines/hr.
MT work is ridiculous because there is no one standard for line counting - gross lines, 65 char w/sp, 65 char w/o sp, 55 char w/o sp, per report. Totally absurd!! So that all counts in factoring how many lines.
What are you not understanding about my post??....sm
I am not saying that all NM businesses are bad. For goodness sake, I'm talking about Quixtar and Quixtar ONLY, not the entire network marketing industry.
Understanding the basics.
First, it would help if you understood the basic terminology. Spend some time reading the Help file in Word. Simply put, you insert the information, give it a bookmark name, and then insert a reference to that bookmark in the correct location(s) throughout your document. Jumping between the fields is something that you do using a form; more info on that in the Word help files. There's just too much information to post here. Spend some time playing around with it before making your template. (There are a couple are other options that you may come across that may help to automate your work for you, like the ASK field.)
Also With A Non-Understanding Hubby
I understand completely! It took me a couple of years to start making good money, and it wasn't until recently when I jumped ship from the large MTSO that I was working for and joined a smaller, private company that I really started making the big $$. In first learning these new accounts, I was working 15- to 18-hour days, but now about 3 months later, I've got it down to an 8-hour day and I'm hitting right at $950 per week!
I think the key is finding the situation that works best for you. I have decided that the smaller companies work best for me. I started out with one and then went to a larger company for the increased benefits, but then I found that I actually worked less because of the 'motivation factor.' When there are 100 other people working on the same account as me, I tend to feel less important and I don't work as quickly. However, when I have my own accounts and I know that I'm the only one in charge of getting it done, then I find that I can sit here longer and work harder and faster, and I also don't get distracted as easily.
However, my husband does often complain about my hours. He's been used to me working from home for over 7 years now, and he doesn't like the idea of me working outside of the house. I know that may sound bad, but he's just used to knowing that I'm at home with the kids and we're all in one piece. (I think it's because he travels a lot and he likes to know that his family isn't also scattered around.)
He likes that I am able to work from home, but he would like it even better if I worked just from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then still have my mornings and evenings to cook and clean and sew buttons on shirts...or whatever it is that he has in his head that a housewife does. I have to keep reminding him that I am a 'wife who works from the house,' but I am not a 'housewife.'
And although his paycheck nearly doubles mine, I still have to remind him from time to time that my paycheck is equally as important. It gives me my own personal confidence AND it provides for vacations, shopping trips, etc. In addition to being able to provide for extras, I’m also flexible for when his job relocates him (which has happened 3 times in the last 5 years). I’m waiting on his promotion that will take us to Florida—hopefully in about 3 more years. I’ve told him that if I didn’t have the job that I have, then we wouldn’t just be able to pick up and move whenever his job needed us to.
Anyway, don’t let his insecurities and disbeliefs discourage you! It won’t be long before you’ll be able to prove what you’re capable of. And even then, you’ll probably still have to remind him what it’s all for about once a year or so! I don’t think that argument will ever go away! Happy Holidays!!
I am not understanding- is that including
our changing, adding, etc. to get the finished report? in other words - if a VR report starts at 87 before our editing, and we have to put in say 3 extra lines, does it still stay at 87 when all is finished? Thanks.
I may not be understanding correctly but
If you want to go backwards with the jump code I think that is shift+F11. I never have been able to get that to work correctly, but I can hit F11 and go forward in the document just fine.
My understanding is that some can do exceptional
line rates on certain platforms. My understanding is that Escription has speech compression technology that will allow the speech to be played at a faster rate without resorting to chipmonk voices. I have heard of people doing 600-800 lph consistently with that platform, even 1200 on occasion if you get a good streak going. I've not used Escription, the only VR experience I have is with Dictaphone's Turbo speech product and there are some who use that and produce 500 lph over a 40-hour week; however, they are not able to do that consistently. My issue with speech is that you tend to get on autopilot and you don't have the same brain control as far as hearing the words and having them flow through your fingertips, making you in control of what is coming out. It is way to easy to "think" that you are reading what you are hearing. Also, it's much easier to rely on the speech to have put out the correct spelling on something you're not sure about. Transcriptionists are much more likely to look up something that they don't know when the word is not already staring at them on the screen. It can make us more productive, but it also compromises the integrity of the finished product. However, it's really hard to put the worms back in the can after they have already been opened up. What troubles me the most is that the organization that is supposed to promote and support our industry and it's workers seems much more interested in jumping into bed with the MTSOs and the employers than their members. I am so consciencious about my work. My knowledge is worth something. Accurately delivering a timely quality document is worth much more to the revenue cycle than it is given credit for. I have absolutely no doubt that I could much more easily be taught to code the finished report than a coder could be taught to accurately transcribe the report, yet they are given much more respect because they are ultimately responsible for the revenue. However, without me doing my job to the best of my ability....there is nothing their for them to work from. Okay....I'm off topic now. Sorry about that. The whole ASR/EMR (point and click) stuff has me ready to pull out my hair. If you want to really see an ugly, inaccurate, and highly unprofessional report....look for one that a doctor, NP, or PA has created for themselves. Nothing is capitalized, spelled correctly, or punctuated as it should be. The whole dern thing process needs to be looked at, analyzed, and the MTs who don't have the skills need to be weeded out or have some retraining. The knowledge and the understanding of what we do (for those who take pride in what goes out with their initials on it) needs to be recognized for the value that it adds to the revenue process AND we need to be compensated accordingly.
Not understanding why you are working
because you are surely not making any money with only 700+ lines a day. Just to be at home when the kids get home? Who pays for their upkeep? A platform, good acct and good paying jobs will exclude people who are not able to be on course with the others out there. You have to be fast if nothing else working in this profession. I think you might have missed your calling at some other profession.
I have Vonage and love it so far. My understanding is sm
 that as long as you cable or DSL access, you can hook up your modem anywhere and use it for your phone service. You might give them a call and verify that this is correct, though, or check out their website at www.vonage.com.
Good luck!
thanks, Cookie, your understanding reply to my
(as another poster called it) "whining" what a great Christmas present. Empathy is a great gift.
I have a hard time understanding if this was so
wrong then why wouldn't anyone not even your own husband be on your side? I don't know about this one. Something doesn't sound right. JMO.
You'd think a doctor's office would be more understanding - DUH!
Ever tried to do your transcription with bilateral ear infections? Can't hear, running a fever, dizzy-can hardly sit upright, but still expected to do work that requires HEARING and sitting at a computer! And, I can't win, because as soon as I get this work done (which is taking 2x as long), there are going to be so many mistakes I am going to get ragged about that as well! 
Thanks for your positivity, understanding and compassion!
xx
I'm having a hard time understanding why you
That doesn't make sense to me. Just because you transcribe a report, that doesn't make you the only person who knows about it or even a significant person in the whole process.
You know, I have a heck of a time understanding sm
music lyrics to rock songs or anything that has loud instrumentals playing with the vocals. Go figure.
only 2003 and above will work with it is my understanding
.
supposed to be, after people lose their jobs, they are forced to take part-time, lower-paying jobs..
with little to no benefits. service jobs. where are you going to work in a few years, when Medical Transcription is replaced by technology? McDonald's, Walmart? you really going to like that?
I don't think you could fairly penalize an MT for not understanding a word without (sm)
without also penalizing the dictator for not being able to speak the word.
Several jobs on Monster & CareerBuilder for inhouse office jobs down there through an
s
Can you call and discuss the situation? They may be understanding and helpful. nm
:+
Totally understanding. Our kids grow up and we have no choices.
My dear friend just called me yesterday crying because her daughter is living with her partner and the partner is pregnant. The daughter is sooo happy, the mother cried. So what you're describing is happening more than where you are and it is saddening. What can she do, nothing. Our kids whether we like it or not grow up and jump out to make their own choices. Some of these choices are "you can't tell me what to do anymore!" And, we have no choice but to live with it. So the choices then become to be miserable OR focus on your own life and work on making yourself happy in spite of what your kids put you through. You have a life, don't let your kid drown it out because of his poor choices. You may think who am I to say such a thing, I'm the mom whose son made poor choices and went to jail, I'm the mom whose daughter chose to abort my first grandbaby, I'm the mom whose son left his wife and kids after almost 10 years of marriage. I really do know how you feel. Find some joy for yourself in your life, you won't find it when you're looking at his.
Here is my understanding of conversions of time dictated to transcribed
I was told once that the ratio of dictated to transcribed minutes was approximately 1:4 for an average MT for average dictation. So, if you've been given 300 minutes of dictation it might take you 1200 minutes to finish it, divided by 60 minutes equals about 20 hours. Obviously this is just an estimate and could very depending on a lot of factors, but this might give you some idea.
Another conversion I've heard is that one 65-character line equals 6 seconds of audio and so 1 minute of audio equals 10 lines. So, if you are charging by 65-character line, you may be looking at 3000 lines or so, which when using the above formula would have you typing at about 150 lines per hour for 20 hours, giving you about 3000 lines.
Sounds like this is very doable, typing for 7-8 hours per day if you have until the end of Wednesday. If it has to be back by Wednesday morning, you will have to work 10+ hours per day on it today and tomorrow.
;)
Christine
I did 3 jobs for a while about 3 years ago, you burn out quick, I was doing 3 MT jobs though...after
10 months I cut down to 2 as I don't like to have all my eggs in one basket. But I am considering going down to 1 in September for my sanity, its a good steady job so financally it should not be an issue. I have 2 right but have not worked the 1 in about 3 weeks due to some problems at their end, supposed to learn a VA account but not sure if I want to pursue it right now or not, they are waiting to hear from me at this point. I still have a lot going on with chemo, etc. so am mulling things over. But if you have a full-time day job, then I would just go with 1 part-time MT job at night, unless 1 is during the week, and the other weekends only, then of course you will be working 7 days a week, very tiring I know. I have been working 7 days a week for 3 years now but I do slack off now and then of course to recharge and get sleep etc. But burnout happens fast and I doubt you want to lose your day job so be careful. Good luck.
Two jobs very common, 3 jobs not unheard of.
x
Yup! Not only short jobs, but also jobs from
extremely difficult dictators, bad sound files, jobs that need lots of ADT info added, and anything else that is not "easy" to do. I also questioned them about this and was told the same - they do not allow cherrypicking. Definitely not true!
MQ R jobs
the R stands for Reserved. My office will call me to tell me they are reserving a job for me, for instance, if a doc calls them asking where a report is that he needs asap (don't they always) or if a doc forgot to make it STAT. The coordinator can then reserve the job for you, used to be just simply assign in the good ol days
other jobs
I think that if you were unhappy at your job and you weren't making money then it was a wise decision to get another job. I wish you well.
Where are the $20-$30/hr jobs?
Just wondering if they are out there. So far I make $10/hour or LESS and it's not going to pay bills. thanks.
no. of jobs
take some 20 files in the begining for working for 8 hours.
that is sufficient.
regards
aroun2000@gmail.com
Jobs
Like you, I've worked over 30 years in the medical field. Seems a shame to waste that knowledge sliding groceries across a scanner but what the hey, why not? At least you are working, getting paid and have some benefits. It "ain't" all that bad, is it? Our so-called "profession" is becoming a joke! I'm still working here and there but got dumped by my own group of doctors after 26 years--I think the bottom line is they didn't want to pay me big bucks any longer--even though I knew the ropes, obviously, knew more than the girls they hired, etc. Bottom line. . . money! They want to keep it all for themselves. I didn't even have sick leave for years until I screamed loud and clear! I did get a huge pension and profit sharing, though, for my grief so I guess it was worth it. I just didn't like being "dumped" so unceremoniously when I came to their rescue years ago because their Transcriptionist quit. Oh well, such is life, I guess.
Other jobs can be the same too...
I agree it is stressful to always be watching the line counts, but other jobs have stress too. I worked as a physical therapist assistant for 7 years before becoming an MT and it was all about numbers and paperwork at most places. Even had to keep a number chart at some places with how many patients seen and how many hours worked doing patient care, etc. The director wanted us to double up on patients, seeing 2 to 3 at a time. I feel lucky now to work for a supervisor who puts quality above quantity. We get paid by the hour, so lines per hour is not in the forefront, but we get bonuses if we go above what is expected. This job is much less stressful for me and easier on my back as I was lifting patients and injured my back in the process doing the physical therapy job. I also love working from home, so that is a wonderful benefit too.
Second jobs
I tried that for awhile myself. The first job picked up and I had to stop. The important thing is that you meet turnaround times for both jobs. I made it clear up front with the second job that it was a second job, and that I could not take on as much work for them, since I was full-time with the other company. However, whatever work I agreed to do, I was expected to get finished on time. It got to the point that I was not going to be able to do both and meet deadlines, so I had to give the second job up. I have worked a second job several times for various lengths of time. You just have to make sure you can realistically do both.
I'm going to try two jobs and see what happens...sm
I have always had my eggs in one basket. I recently picked up a second job and so far I really like it. When one job had no work, I just started my other job early. My first job has a set schedule, but my second has a 24 TAT, so this is beneficial to me. Originally, I was going to quit my first job after a couple weeks, but I'm going to keep both just to be safe. I have to make a certain amount in order to pay bills and I can't have my account running out of work (which happened three times last week). I just can't risk it.
Just an idea. I might actually pick up a very very part time third job too.
2 jobs?
Has anyone ever successfully worked 2 FT jobs?
2 jobs
Been doing this since 1976. Never had two jobs, but my first work-at-home job in the mid-1980s offered endless transcription. I, too, was a single partent. Before I knew it, I was working 12 hours daily (sometimes longer) 6-days-a-week on an IBM Selectric. I would work at times until midnight or beyond.
After my shift, every single day, I would pack up my reports and make about a 12-mild round trip to deliver them to the company which at the time was being run out of a residential home. I shopped cooked, cleaned and gardened in between. I would go months and months at-a-time with my only human contact outside of my home being with cashiers in the store. The only voices I ever heard (except for my son's) were electronic, from dictation and the TV.
Five years passed without a vacation. Can't remember too many holidays when I wasn't typing. It didn't seem to take much time at all before back pain was making it take longer to type the same amount of work, thus stretching my work day from 12 to 16 hours. By the time I was 34, I was diagnosed with DJD at multiple levels in my back. At age 42, I had a physical (and mental) collapse, and for the next 7 years I could not do transcription. I lost my home and my car. My son went back to live with his dad and I had to move in with my elderly mother. When unemployment ran out, I ended up on food stamps and at the door of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. They told me I wasn't "handicapped enough" to warrant assistance or job skills retraining.
I had to figure out my own physical therapy because of the public health care system was such an abdomination. That was a long and painful process. I learned how to take care of myself again and how to restore balance back into my life.
Ultimately I ended up back behind the computer cranking out medical reports again. I work 5 days, not six, and I type 8 hours over a 10-hour window, allowing for plenty of "stretch" breaks and time out for lunch. When my shift is over, it's OVER
2 jobs
Been doing this since 1976. Never had two jobs, but my first work-at-home job in the mid-1980s offered endless transcription. I, too, was a single parent. Before I knew it, I was working 12 hours daily (sometimes longer) 6-days-a-week on an IBM Selectric. I would work at times until midnight or beyond.
After my shift, every single day, I would pack up my reports and make about a 12-mild round trip to deliver them to the company which, at the time, was being run out of a residential home. I shopped, cooked, cleaned and gardened in between. I would go months and months at-a-time with my only human contact outside of my home being the cashiers in the grocery store. The only voices I ever heard (except for my son's) were electronic, from dictation and the TV.
Five years passed without a vacation. Can't remember too many holidays when I wasn't typing. It didn't seem to take much time at all before back pain was making it take longer to type the same amount of work, thus stretching my work day from 12 to 16 hours. By the time I was 34, I was diagnosed with DJD at multiple levels in my back. At age 42, I had a physical (and mental) collapse, and for the next 7 years I could not do transcription. I lost my home and my car. My son went back to live with his dad and I had to move in with my elderly mother. When unemployment ran out, I ended up on food stamps and at the door of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. They told me I wasn't "handicapped enough" to warrant assistance or job skills retraining.
I had to figure out my own physical therapy because the public health care system was such an abdomination. That was a long and painful process. I learned how to take care of myself again and how to restore balance back into my life.
Ultimately I ended up back behind the computer cranking out medical reports . I work 5 days, not 6, and I type 8 hours over a 10-hour window, allowing for plenty of "stretch" breaks and time out for lunch. When my shift is over, it's OVER. I have a life now.
I can tell you this much. When I look back on those years, my regrets are not because of what happened to my house, my car or even my body. I was able to get all those things back eventually. But I never figured out how to have a second chance to be there for my son more when he needed me. I was usually too exhausted to help him with his school work. Missed a bunch of soccer games. The TV and video games were his babysitter when he was younger. He was a latch-key kid and during his junior high and high school years, he and his friends (usually other latch-key kids of workaholic parents) virtually ended up raising themselves.
I was lucky. He turned out just fine. But I can say without hesitation that the extra money, the good house and the new cars were most definitely not worth the price I paid to get them and I am a whole lot happier (and better off) without them. I indulge myself in simple pleasures that money can't buy and live a full and satisfying life now.
If I had it to do over again.......
2 jobs
Whoops! Sent this incomplete message by accident. Completed message posted abov.
2 jobs sm
I did not lose anything, but for the grace of God, but you told my story work-wise. I had to "retire" because of the back pain and each day that goes by, I think of returning to the same work because that's all I know after all these years of 100 hour work weeks. However, the posts on this board are very discouraging as to who to work for, etc. If I had it to do over, I probably would not have "killed" myself the way I did, but then again, my son would never have gotten his master's degree. Can't win. I am using a laptop and can't do much else for too long without wicked back pain. Paying the price for being an over-achiever but still have high hopes "repairing the damage" myself once again and doing this again soon. I thank God to still be here but pray the back pain will go away. Tried PT, heat packs, all kinds of gadgets, but the damage is done - overuse to say the least. A rheumatologist had the brass ones to say he sees "nothing wrong" with me. Good God, I wish he could feel the way I do just for one day. I sure am relating to others today. My gift, I guess, there's always someone worse off. Take care of yourself. We all need to share to help others not make the same mistakes we did. Don't overdo it and do it ergonomically correct or the damage will be permanent. Thanks for sharing your story today.
That would be 2 FT jobs....nm
s
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