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Frustration and anger over this job might literally be killing me. - So sad. I used to love this work.

Posted: Apr 02, 2015

I once took great pride in the practice of medical transcription. Funny that we didn't call ourselves "editors" then, because the fact is that we really were editors in much more of the true sense of that word than we are now. A true editor can take garbage, stomp it, filter it, ferment it, age it, and ultimately bring forth a bottle of delicious wine from it.

This, we did also. From garbage dictations, we used superior language skills, a knowledge of many subjects, skills in research, awareness of context and sometimes even, it seemed, a soupcon of telepathy or clairvoyance (I'm not sure which), filtered it all through the client requirements, and we made wine out of that garbage.

It's a simple fact that the spoken word, even out of the mouth of a good dictator, CANNOT be simply shoved down onto paper verbatim, as a string of words, and yet that, as the "modern editor" is exactly what we are asked to do. In fact, it's not "editing" at all. It's merely making sure that the crap churned out by the SR system is precisely the crap that was spoken by the crappy dictator.

Strict verbatim. This would be bad enough with native English dictators, but with the astonishing explosion of ESL dictators we are literally being forced to collaborate in the contamination of the patient's medical record with the most deplorable content imaginable.

For which betrayal of the patient's interest, I'm now paid wages that are not merely inadequate; they are disrespectful and contemptuous.

On the other hand, I'm forced to admit that since I can no longer respect myself or this profession, and since the work that I do is truly contemptible, perhaps I'm being paid precisely what I (now) am worth.

In any case, I can barely bring myself to sit down at the keyboard to start the day, and by the end of the day my head is pounding, my blood pressure is sky-high, I have little to show for it financially, and I can't for the life of me think what good I've accomplished. It's killing me, and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't killing a lot of us - literally.

and sadly, that sums it all up - for me, too nm

[ In Reply To ..]
xx

Killing us - Disappointed

[ In Reply To ..]
Everything you state is so true and very sad. It amazes me that MTs (or whatever our title should be) are treated so badly and even though companies are aware of it (due in large part to these posts I'm thinking), they don't give a rat's patootie about how we are treated and it seems even more deplorable that the healthcare facilities/doctors don't give a rat's patootie about how their patients are treated when it comes to the awful dictations that are documented as VR that we as MTs are STILL expected to still edit to make better sense and then get a QA report telling us we made a mistake. I am so very tired of walking that tightrope of trying to make sense of the crap we hear versus the crap the computer THINKS is said yet still not getting dinged for it. Of course, I'm looking for other work along with so many others !

You should write a book - on another subject because

[ In Reply To ..]
Your command of the English language is spectacular and you tell our story with such skill.

There's something else out there for you to accomplish and based on your words written here for us, I think you should consider some form of writing career.

Thank you for putting into such eloquent words exactly what so many of us feel. For me, your words just summed up what I feel so well.

Best wishes to you!

Been in your shoes and just gave it all up - anonie

[ In Reply To ..]
I had two companies I worked for. Lost my job on the one that I had a lot of accounts on and of course we were paid diddly squat.

Then my second company would not give me enough money to pay to keep working and sometimes I had no work for a whole pay period. When they passed me up twice I decided that I was not waiting.

I am now in financial trouble, have to move, probably get on assistance with electric bill and perhaps food stamps. I am not ready for Medicaid though and hope I never have to get on it.

So my pride is sure hurting me to have to now depend on government assistance though my own mother had to. She got by on $400 some on SS and $40 on SS. She did have her own home though all paid off. She was a good saver because she survived the depression and WWII. She had to quit in 8th grade to take care of her mother, who had cancer and her sister's baby while her sister and brother both worked to bring in the money.

I don't know how people survived in her time, but they did.

I sure hope you don't make yourself sick. There is a time to just plain throw in the towel.

I know how you felt getting on daily wondering whether there would be work and what kind and if you would make anything at all.

I am fully retired now and I hope I get to enjoy it till I am finally able to lay down my earphones and keyboard and go on to the MT heaven that will allow me to just rest and enjoy everything without worrying about VR nor ESLs nor companies that don't pay anything.

I have been an MT since 1987 and boy has it gone downhill fast.

No more quality. - Retiring

[ In Reply To ..]
I was in this profession BC (before computers) and cannot believe the decline of what was once considered a profession for wordsmith lovers. I actually treated each record as though it was "my patient" I was looking out for. I took the time to research, became (a joke now) "certified" and did my CME's the hard way by going to meetings at area facilities, holding instruments, hip replacements, other such necessary steps to know hands-on what was going on in this profession. I wrote newsletters, ripped labels and flaps off boxes to let others know what was "new" and what it was used for, the dosage, the generic, the brand name. All these reports were done in triplicate on typewriters with two carbon copies. Then came the computers and Google. This made lifting those heavy medical books to look up terms a bit easier on our backs. I was proud to put my initials at the end of a difficult report which required the patience of a saint to transcribe; each dialect so very different from the others, but perseverance paid off with accolades like, "How the h... do you understand those guys?" They grew on us and we were proud of our accomplishments. What spoiled it, you ask? Outsourcing for 3-4 cents a line to other countries, reports coming back with misinformation, missing information and sometimes even no patient name. Yet hospitals and big brothers were saving money by letting their MT departments shut down. If they used a good outside service here, they also started to go "shopping" for a lower price, leaving their little dedicated private practices to lower their rate or threaten to take advantage of these bargain prices at the price of accurate patient information. This does not go near shortcuts, speaking into the computer itself or typing their own notes with the EMR. I refused to lower my prices and my standards and give in to greed. "Informationalists" is the last term I heard used and it made me laugh. Professionalism in worsmithing walked out the door when India walked in, along with the EMR and all the other risk-taking. I feel sorry for the patients and their families. I hope they're reading some of their records. Will quality ever come back? Doubt it!

Good luck - same thing

[ In Reply To ..]
Have relocated twice still cannot find work. Lost my house, no more savings. Really feel like MTs getting shafted by hospitals when they apply for other positions -- perhaps being blacklisted. Also encountering young HR people with college educations who literally do not know what MT is or that MTs used to work in hospitals (and yes, I mean HR staff in hospital HR departments). Also a recruiter looked at my resume and asked me if I knew what the EMR was. Hmmm. We became fossilized while still alive.

I am applying for anything and still no work, even grocery stores where I shopped for 20 years. I go into a local store and there is someone who barely speaks English behind the cash register. When I asked a question about my purchases, a look of fear came across her face, and she turned to another employee who spoke her language and English to answer me.

I lost my job to voice recognition, India, and cannot find a job because I only speak English, and there are 100-250 applicants for each position.

Sorry to lay it on the line like this, but I have kept my hopes up, accepted help from family and friends (thankfully), have a college education, was always employed before all this started (often 2-3 jobs at a time), and now I have nothing and no one cares. And I mean no one. People get that glazed look over their face when I talk about looking for work. Being unemployed is really not in some people's reality but they look at you in disgust or fear, perhaps, that it might happen to them.

Have had several interviews I thought went well, confirmed with them when I will hear back from them, and then nothing. It's unbelievable how unprofessional and dehumanizing the whole process is, but they want employees to be professional. Had an interview with a woman whose husband had been unemployed for several years, thought I clicked with her, I had the education, and then nothing.

Oh, and I am older. I was on an interview for a transcription job (not medical). I asked if I could use my own keyboard (I think, like any seasoned transcriptionist might ask), and sometime later the guy actually asked me "Are you healthy?" Still got two arms, two legs, a brain, and enough sense that I probably would not ask someone that during a job interview.

It has been a sad downhill ride.

Hopeless Issue - Dotts

[ In Reply To ..]
You gave a very well-told story that I am sure ALL of us can relate to in one way or another. We are all in the same boat that isn't sinking, but has sunk! I don't know what else to do to try to rectify out situation. I wrote to my Congresswoman, Cheri Bustos, who just said "if this issue comes up in Congress, I will take a look at it!" Very disappointing response. I EXPECT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO GO TO BAT FOR US! SOMEONE has to do something for us, American citizens (mostly female), trying to make a living. There is no recourse left as I see it. We simply "don't matter" but the healthcare facilities will one day see how this kind of treatment will come back and bite them in the butt. The software companies OUT TO MAKE MONEY and NOT really caring about patient care should all be brought before Congress ...

Very true - cindy

[ In Reply To ..]
Your words are very true. We are all getting dinged and lower scores because we didn't help the voice recognition write it as the crap it came out. If we add an extra word to make it make sense or if we are not sure of what the foreigner is saying. Very disgusting that we made more money when we were using typewriters than we do now. Typewriters where you can't just correct something that came out wrong and change it.

I am out of this field now, and been working at a grocery store. Hard work, but I just had 5 days off in a row, unbelievable and I still know how much my paycheck is going to be because we are only allowed to work 25 hours a week. But I don't have to be here 5 days a week waiting for that 1 report to come in and making 5 cents on it.

McDonald's is even going to pay their people 10.00 an hour, but transcription can't. Remember the amount we used to make in the 90s, well I believe the MTSOs are still making that much and paying us 1/8 of what they are making per line. Very sickening and disgusting.

To the writer of this original posts your words were so smooth and flowing, like the other poster said you do have a writing career ahead of you. Go for it.

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