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

Reflecting back on 5 years as MT - tin ear

Posted: Jun 28, 2012

What a ride this has been and not very good. It takes a long time to develop your ear (varies with everyone) and all the while all they do is reprimand you. I once was written up for putting 324 mg of aspirin in a report (like they shorted the patient 1 mg). I have had 5 different employers: bought out twice by the Q, fired once and now finally feeling comfortable, but making far, far less than I thought. Even though I love MT work, I would not enter this field if I knew what I know now. Could there ever be hope that with Obamacare being upheld, they're really going to VALUE us for the 17 million new patients coming in? Especially because medicine now is permeated with ESL and foreign patients (90% of my work) and we are the interface. Just dreaming!

Great post! I could have written it myself! - nm

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nm

Unity and Action is Required! - sm

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Nothing is going to change for us until we demand it. We cannot count on anyone to save us. We can no longer dream, wait, wish, or hope for a knight in shining armor to rescue us. Considering the majority of MTs are women, they are counting on us to just continue making them money with our mouths shut. If we would get after these companies with the same vengeance that we would use if someone was taking advantage of our children there would be hell to pay, wouldn't there? So why are we not organized and united and ready to stand up for ourselves?

Because the majority of them like to complain but are too afraid to do anything. - mythoughts

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When the majority refuse to work anymore, then these companies have no choice but to change things for the better. I wish every day they'd fire me. In the meantime, I am looking for a non-MT job. Hell, I'm almost willing to work at Wal-Mart. Anything is better than this. This job sucks the life out of me.

do this - - winston

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Go to your local hospital. Find out what they use for transcription. IF they use a national company or use VR with a big-company for editing, write your local paper. Tell them that the hospital is paying to outsource YOUR job out of the community. Complain bitterly... Network with LOCAL MTs, write letters, talk to the news, explain how this has robbed your community of resources (especially yours) and is simply unnecessary considering you are all willing to work and need to work to support your families and your communities... SHAME the local hospital into reconsidering their actions. Start a company, incorporate with your local transcriptionists, write a proposal to the local hospital. Be ready to go to work. If everyone did this in their communities, a grass roots movement could start. One person cannot do it all. But we all know how to write and are fully capable of writing a letter to the editor explaining our positions. Take it back, one hospital at a time.

It's way too late, and way too little - TIREDPRO

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Its such a complex issue.. Unionization was our only chance, but years back, though lots of us tried to rally up the MT force, not many bit... our industry has folded for us for myriad reasons, and way too complex and likely too late for us to fix. I know you mean well, but don't kid yourself that anybody really cares, from the local hospitals to even your community. People, as in patients, just do NOT get what we do, or how vital it is to keep our medical records in our country. And the biggest university health systems to the smallest local hospitals honestly do NOT care about quality. They just do not. All anyone cares about is money, bottom line. The quality of work healthcare systems are willing to accept is deplorable, but if they save 5 cents a month, its worth it to them. Its just the way it is, trust me. Disgusting, a shame, a sin, but this is what our industry has become. It could NOT sink to lower levels if it tried, and I have no doubt the bar will sink ever lower, all in the name of cost cutting.

Yeah, about 20 years ago... - Nadine

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You are spot on, TIREDPRO. About 20 years ago would have been the time to act. That was when we actually had some STABILITY and DECENT PAY. Now folks are so DESPERATE to take ANY job in this employers' market that we are being exploited like crazy.

There is another factor as well: MTs are notoriously difficult -- if not IMPOSSIBLE -- to get organized to do ANYTHING. As someone wisely posted here once, "Herding cats is easier."

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