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OK get this - starving MT
Posted: May 04, 2012
I'm going to "try" to make up from running out of work and get everything booted up and glance at my emails when I notice one from my super saying that if we don't have all our time in before the midnight (end of work week) that we have to use PTO time!!!! Say what?! I don't think so, especially since I still have the email from last month saying if we run out of work, which I do on a nightly basis and document it every time, we do not have to use PTO to make up for it. I mean come on...enough is enough!!!! I am so sick and tired of this losing battle. All my bills are getting behind and before long I'm going to lose my house. There is only so much PTO, what do you do then????
they do that so you dont take time off except - at their whim (NJA)
[ In Reply To ..]That way they keep 100% turn around, and you lose your house. Sleep good at night knowing how fat their paycheks are... MQ did the same thing to me. They cannot "make" you use your PTO time, but too many people fall for it.
if employee status and have enough work history, and - no work during schedule, you can collect unemploym
[ In Reply To ..]nm
I would do exactly that - file for unemployment
[ In Reply To ..]That is the only way they are going to change it is if enough of you are out of work and file for partial unemployment.
Yep, when you work for a company PTO is precious - and used as a last resort..not
[ In Reply To ..]like when you are employed for a facility and paid by the hour even when there is no work.
When I worked in-house we were paid downtime and we all worked from home. Every once in a while like maybe once or twice a year our volumes would be low and if we ran out, we could either choose to sit and wait and still get paid while checking back or we could flex off.
Nuance acquired Transcend when can you get some of that work - sm
[ In Reply To ..]From their adds (transcend) always has an abundance of work.
Keep in mind, Nuance likes to make accounts - global so some of Transcends...sm
[ In Reply To ..]accounts may end up going off shore eventually if not ASAP just so they can try to make back some of the money they spent on he acquisition.
My account as well as some others cannot go global... - blondie
[ In Reply To ..]It is in the contract that they cannot be offshored. It will pass on to Nuance that way too. Transcend does have some accounts that are offshored but the ones in my region cannot. Nuance has some accounts that cannot go offshore too as I worked on a few when I worked for Nuance before.
Well of course...there are many hospitals who have it - in their contract that
[ In Reply To ..]work cannot be off shored. I think we all know that. It's the ones that aren't.
Obviously there is enough of them out there that are global considering the amount of complaints you get from MTs and QA staff.
If it was only a small percentage leaving the country then there probably would be less complaints.
It's not offshore accounts that are - al
[ In Reply To ..]the only ones putting out garbage. The docs at my hospital that wanted to go with an MTSO have been furious over the poor quality work that the big N MTs are putting out. An MT friend who works with a smaller MTSO told me she's about to lose a new account because the quality is so bad the hospital will fire the MTSO if things don't change soon. n=2 but I'm sure we've all seen reports while doing research that are sloppy and full of mistakes.
this is the reason why MTSO changed to 99% QA - sm
[ In Reply To ..]If you have worked in QA you would see the bad quality that is put out unfortunately by a lot of MTs who should not be in this business. For every good MT there are about 10, if not more, BAD MTs. You can blame those MTs for the drop in pay and higher quality requirements. It is sad, and these "matchbook schools" share a lot of the blame. Unfortunately the Indian MTs are not the only ones who produce poor quality work!
You are so right! - Nuance QC-frustrated
[ In Reply To ..]Oh you are so correct about these matchbook schools. I had to complete a year long MT program at a local college, but then went on to get a bachelor degree in tech management at a university. I remember the year-long MT program though; lots of classes including pathology for healthcare professionals, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, medical terminology, a speed typing class, a computer class for healthcare professionals, (and quite a few others that I cannot remember off the top of my head back in 1995) and lots of hands-on practice in the transcription portion of the curriculum classes. I would love to see the curriculum of these fly-by-night schools and what's involved.
I totally agree that that's probably true, but one size does NOT fit all! - mm
[ In Reply To ..]I've been in the business for 15-plus years. I have never had a QA score below 98.7%. I do a good job, I take pride in my work, but I live in fear every day of losing my bonus. I am apparently one of the few who is currently receiving the bonus and it adds up to at least $500/month of income that I rely on to pay my bills.
I feel like the good MTs are being punished for the rash of new, inexperienced, and/or incompetent MTs who don't care about quality or their jobs. There should be a separate system for MTs who are consistently good versus MTs who are consistently bad. For example, using an average of your most recent QA scores instead of just one, or a grace period to get your QA score back up before just yanking the bonus away.
Do they not realize how difficult it is to work and plan your life with the threat of a possible $500/month pay cut coming at any moment? We are not robots, we are actual human beings with feelings and needs and lives that are being ruined by some arbitrary number that doesn't take into account the person behind that number.
Seriously...I have been in this business half that amount of time - sm
[ In Reply To ..]and my QA score has never been below 99.5%.
I have to disagree...if you are a good MT how do - sm
[ In Reply To ..]you figure this is a punishment? The only ones who should feel this is punishment would be those who do not care about the quality they put out. If you are an MT who puts quality before quantity first 99% should be a piece of cake.
If only it were that easy ... - mm
[ In Reply To ..]First of all, I said I have always scored above 98.7, meaning that that was my lowest score in 15 years. Most of my scores have been 99+, as evidenced by the fact that I am currently getting the bonus. I have never had a single critical error in 15 years.
The "punishment" I was referring to was the fact that all of us are being treated the same - we are essentially newbies on probation regardless of our experience.
If QA was consistent and understandable, I would agree with you that good MTs should have no problem meeting the 99+ requirement, but we all know that's not the case. QA here at Nuance is subjective and often even contradictory, so it's impossible to know what they are going to count as an error. You get a QA who's in a bad mood and you can kiss your bonus goodbye for 3 months? That's over $1500 for me.
And don't tell me to talk to my supervisor about it, because she's basically nonexistant and only gets back to us when she needs something.
It is a never ending battle and u are correct. - I think poor compensation is
[ In Reply To ..]a part of all this. The hospitals are disappointed with the work quality, but they should have thought about that before got rid of their MTs.
You toss an MT into these companies making 4cpl give them quotas to meet, its bound to happen that people will slip up because they are working faster and not taking the time to properly proofread etc.
It boils down to money. The hospitals trying to save by outsourcing, the companies trying to make a profit off the MTs by paying them literally pennies, and at the bottom of all this is the MT struggling. Its no surprise the quality suffers.
True, but the quality was suffering WAY before the wages/99% quality - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Changes were made. I think because of the "bad" MTs THAT is what made the changes happen. If the MTSOs had cracked down years ago (before hospitalsnstarted complaining about the quality) we would not be in this predicament because it would have dissuaded the "bad" MTs from coming into this field. I am sure we would still have SR, but at a "fair" compensation than what we have now. I still believe the MTSOs are weeding out the bad and when that is done, I "hope" we will start to see things change. A small few companies have recognized this and hopefully MANY more will follow suit. JMHO (and hope)
Again I see your point - the only thing is this
[ In Reply To ..]I have a soft heart so its hard for me to call anyone "bad" unless I have first hand experience with their work; HOWEVER, I do agree with you on this quality issue.
I have had a couple times where I have pulled up old reports that did not make sense and once I sent a report to QA for a really bad dictator that I have typed for 9yrs, he is ESL and I dont have a problem with him anymore, but occasionally I will have to leave a blank or two.
Anyway, when I went back to check the report to see if she was able to get it, she had filled in something totally out of wack. I had listened to that blank several times and have done this man for years, and even though I could not figure it out, I know what QA filled in was incorrect and it made no sense and did not relate at all to what was going on with the patient.
I typically dont pull up old reports, thankfully I have been doing this long enough that I am able to fill my own blanks by the time I go back and relisten.
I know what you mean....I have seen that too and it is very sad... - sm
[ In Reply To ..]it would have been better for them to leave a blank. The only reason that I use the term "bad" is because I am working in QA now and in other higher than MT positions in the past and do have firsthand knowledge. Otherwise I would not use that term. It is VERY bad to the point that I sometimes have to get up and walk away. These are people's lives at risk.
I work at Transcend and yes the 3rd shift plenty of work. - blondie
[ In Reply To ..]Our TL has begged people to work at night to no avail. We stay backlogged at night. Me and the TL and maybe one more are the only ones on a BIG hospital account at night and I think the same problem in some other accts.
Transcend claims it always has an abundance of work - burned out
[ In Reply To ..]It's a lie. They may have plenty of work, but it gets sent to India.
I have plenty of work in my account at Transcend and if I don't, my ROM does everything she can - work
[ In Reply To ..]nm
ooops - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I meant to say that my ROM does everything she can to get me some work.
Not gonna do it - Righteous
[ In Reply To ..]Every time we turn around they change something on us. The other day it was "open flex from Friday 5pm to Sunday am." Then yesterday late afternoon after my shift is over its "open flex time only from 5 pm until midnight." Now I'll be damn...there is no way in hell I am going to sign on during THEIR designated slot to work for them when they had no work for me during MY designated working shift. That is pure BS! I am not their puppet, I am a dedicated employee. I am there for them when scheduled every day, never call in sick, never late and a fairly good producer. And because of this I absolutely REFUSE to give them my PTO time that I have worked hard for in order to have time off with my family. I am not married to this company, signed no such legal obligation and I WILL live my life outside of my job. This company is pitifull to say the least!
Its a shame - Aly
[ In Reply To ..]I wanted to work for Transcend because I liked their 12 hour window with benefits, looks like I am stuck with 2nd shift, grr. 1st shift is impossible to find.
Malcontent doesn't ping with me, but I have to admit - that such a message arriving after
[ In Reply To ..]work had dried up and I was downloading a couple hours of NJAs--but before I suddenly later found a whole bunch of day-and-a-half-old reports newly "available"--ticked me off good, too. Where WERE all those reports while I was losing a half day's income while still supposedly "owing" those hours to be made up at night?