A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Could you work a crazy schedule.... - SoSleepy

Posted: Jun 13, 2011

I chose my fate. When I started my job, I wanted hours that I could work when my kids are sleeping and that wouldn't interfere with the benefits of being a stay at home mom. I have a 5 year old and 1 year old, so working when they were in bed is pretty much a necessity. I finish at midnight and then am back on at 5 am. How crazy is that? I am handling it ok, but some days, I swear I could lay my head on my desk and go to sleep.

I am thankful to my company for being flexible and letting me chose those hours and I am not trying to complain, just venting mostly. I am just really tired.

I guess my question is, could you do it? And do you have any tips for helping me get through (other than coffee)?!?!

In the same boat... - Exhausted.

[ In Reply To ..]
I start work at 2-3 in the morning so I can get in as many hours as I can before the rest of the family gets up. Then I have homeschool in the morning and afternoon activities to get the kids to. Then I have to make dinner and get the kids down for bed. I come back at night after they go to sleep to finish up. I feel like I have absolutely no time to myself. My usual night is 4-5 hours of sleep and that is only if my son doesn't wake up in the middle of the night. He is nearly 6 years old and still doesn't sleep through the night most nights. It is so frustrating when I know I only have a couple more hours to sleep before I have to start it all over again.

I feel like I am spending my life in a fog of sleepiness, but I really don't see any other way as I can't work when they are up and Dad is rarely around to help out. It does get easier each year as the kids get older, so I hang in there knowing someday my kids will get older and more independent and I can hopefully work a more normal schedule.

Exactly. - SoSleepy

[ In Reply To ..]
I know, it is hard isn't it. I work a set schedule, so I have to be on according to my schedule. Sometimes I think if I was IC and could work a set amount of hours in a 24h period (not possible with my company, they want a set amount of hours within a 12h window) then I would be so much better off. But at employee status, I do not have to worry about my own taxes, etc.

I work 9p-12a and then 5a-8a. Luckily I fall asleep fairly quickly once I am finished working and I try to finish up right at midnight.

Then in the mornings, I am lucky if the kids sleep all the way to 8 am, but luckily they usually only wake up about 15 minutes earlier. My 5 year old starts kindergarten in August, so maybe it will be easier then, I don't know.

I am able to nap if needed (or if I get the chance) during the day when the baby naps, but there is also errands to run, a house to keep, dinner to be cooked, etc. My husband works 3rds shift, so he is asleep all day.

It is rough, but I know that the time I am sacrificing to spend with my children will be worth it in the end. I just wish my body would get used to the schedule.

I am also trying to lose a good bit of weight, so I am hoping that will help with my energy level. Fingers crossed.

Good luck to you!

Cream and sugar, please. - Amazing Grace.

[ In Reply To ..]
A cup of Gratitude java...for choosing a profession, and a company, that affords you the dual opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom while earning an income. Your beautiful children are so fortunate to be able to spend all their "at-home" time with you, their beloved mother, and to receive your exclusive attention. You are not panged, with neither angst nor guilt, of handing over your wide-eyed little ones to daycare workers.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I feel - SoSleepy

[ In Reply To ..]
EXTREMELY blessed and I know that I am. I didn't mean to come across as a whiner, but in reality I guess I did.

I am very blessed to be able to be home with my children. Teaching my 5 year old to read will be one of the highlights of my summer and I know that without this profession and the flexibility that my company afforded me, that would not be possible.

God created me to be a mother first and foremost and that is why 9 years ago, I chose this profession so that I could be a mother and also be able to provide for my family. I am happy to say that I have not had to work outside the home for the last 5 years and it has been wonderful. (When my daughter was 1-3 years old, I worked for a national company {who recently was sold to Nuance} as a trainer in the office, but it was one of those do what I had to do situations.

I am also blessed to have a mother and mother-in-law within 10 minutes of me so that if I need a break, nap, escape from reality, they can come to my rescue.

Like I said, I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining, just extra tired today for some reason.

Ps, I loved that you called my children beautiful, they truly are my miracle from God!

Many of us have done this, I still work horrible - sm - SleepyMTtoo

[ In Reply To ..]
hours and my kids are 11 and 12 now. But before when they were little when I started MT about 10 years ago, I would work while they napped then work from about 8pm to 2am. I was not an employee but IC and working part-time. I am still an IC, though full-time now and still work all the time (it seems). I get on average 5 hours of sleep a night, though some nights I get 7 but that is not the norm. I have a lot of work most days and the more tired I am the longer it takes me to work, which makes sense. Depending on my work load I may start at 5am and end at midnight; or start at 8am and end at 1am....no I do not work a solid 17 hours but you get the picture. I work around the kids schedule, dinner, homework if I am needed, etc. I average 12 hours a day I would say. I am really tired too. I am not a big coffee drinker so I drink cold water, tried that Mio flaver stuff the other day, really like it though not sure it is worth the price($5), need to compare what it makes to Crystal light, but think the Crystal light will win in terms of ecomony. Eating helps me stay awake though not a good habit, have packed on the pounds over the years....so have been substituting chewing gum lately and that helps wake me up some too, as well as freshen my breath, LOL. I also get up and walk around or splash cold water on my face when I need the extra help. :-)

I have twins and worked the 3rd shift for many years going to bed - around 3 or 4 a.m.

[ In Reply To ..]
and getting up around 5 or 6 (when my son would wake) to take care of them throughout the day. I did take naps when they slept (hoping they would both fall to sleep and awake at the same time). I averaged 2-3 hours of sleep at night and possibly a 1 hour nap during the day. I was exhausted and did this for 2 years. I finally put them into daycare around 3 and at around the age of 4, I suddenly came out of the sleeping stage I was in. I didn't even realize I was so exhausted until one day I wasn't and I thought geeze, I've been walking around in a haze for 4 years (LOL). It took a lot out of me, but you do what you have to do. I feel for you. I have been there and done that. I never tried to work with my children. When they were infants, they slept a lot and it could be done, but as they became mobile, it was an impossibility. Good luck. Just remember at some point they get to go to school and then their hours will become your hours at that time, too.

SoSleepy - I have a kid, too

[ In Reply To ..]
I could do it, but I would NOT do it for this simple reason: It could compromise my effectiveness and alertness on the job. I could mis-transcribe something into a patient's record that would have dire results. IMHO, the primary focus of the job is not about my need to work at home, but to meet the needs of the patient. Please think about this. A reasonable schedule that allows for enough sleep would be better for you and for the unseen patient. If you were having a major procedure, would you want the physician performing it to be sleepy and not at her optimum? Didn't think so.

My effectiveness is not compromised. - SoSleepy

[ In Reply To ..]
I have more respect for the field than that. I didn't start this thread to be reprimanded for being sleepy. In all honesty, 98% of my mornings I am just fine, but over the weekend had stayed up to late and thus it had caught up with me today.

When I am working, my primary focus is on the job and the patient's record-always.

I have thought about this, a lot. Changing my schedule is not an option. There are no other options for me unfortunately, and I am not putting my children in daycare. If I did that, I would quit working all together because that is all I would be paying for. What company is hiring first shift anyway?? Not many. So either way, I am bound to a 2nd or 3rd shift position.

My original post was just me, venting about being tired on a Monday morning and opening up discussion for others who may have suggestions for getting through or want to vent themselves.

Thank you for your input, I do respect and understand where you are coming from, but unfortunately, for some of us, there are few options.

Hey, I was there, too, my problem was tired when taking - care of my children

[ In Reply To ..]
as I made sure to be at top speed for work. Unfortunately, I feel my children came second and the job came first!! Don't worry, the kids are doing fine.

You are doing the right thing - Jackie

[ In Reply To ..]
There is always going to be someone nasty to come on here and find something nasty to say. I give you tons and tons of credit for working the shift you are. When my girls were little, I worked bits and pieces, here and there but could not work a graveyard shift. I just couldn't function. They are old enough now to pretty much take care of themselves, so I am able to work a dedicated shift, thank goodness!

Don't let a nasty comment here or there get you down. You are doing what is best for you and your family!

Done let the above bug you....of course she - sm - SleepyMTtoo

[ In Reply To ..]
has a point BUT most of know when we are too tired to transcribe. I generally work until either I am just normal beat (and not making mistakes)....or falling asleep at the computer and I never turn in that work until I go over it in the morning (proof it) after some sleep, at least 5 hours, 6-7 if I can manage it. I had a letter last week with some really silly typos as I was just wiped out. Knew I was done for the night so off to bed I went. I proofed it the next morning, corrected the mistakes and ommission and sent in on its merry way in tip top correct shape. I would think most of us (I hope) know not to work while utterly exhausted and unable to function or stay awake.

Nobody said the primary need was to stay at home. - Exhausted

[ In Reply To ..]
I would love to work out of the house, but the hospital here pays $10/hour less than what I make from home, so I have to make due, which means working around everyone's schedule since it is too noisy during the day to work when everyone is up. Even with keeping a crazy schedule, I am the top producer on my account and have only once had a QA score below 99% (horrible ESL that I had blanks on and I was not about to guess, but my company at that time counted against you for blanks). I certainly do take my job seriously and I am getting tired of people making assumptions that because we are work-at-home moms trying to do the best for our family that we don't take our jobs seriously. I was an MT before I had children and I take my job just as seriously now as I did then. Nothing has changed except the schedule I now keep.

crazy schedule... - ravuhmtinfla

[ In Reply To ..]
Hats off to you young mothers! You are doing 2 incredibly hard jobs. Your children and family will bless you for making this hard sacrifice rather than putting their safety and well-being in the hands of strangers. God bless you.

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