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

Nervous transition - FreshFastFingers

Posted: Oct 21, 2011

I have come into transciption within the past four years. This is something I have always wanted to do and finally found a way to get into the field.

There does not seem to be alot of money in straight typing, and less in VR. I have always made incentive, but still - its just not enough and I work very hard to get that. Right now, I work for a company with straight typing only, no VR.

I am taking a position with a company that has VR and it sounds to me like the position is pretty much VR with a small percentage of straight typing.

It seems the profession is going to VR and I have taken the position to develop my skills in this area.

Going through these boards, there are alot of comments about how awful VR is and it makes me nervous to transition. I, like all of us, love transcription and wish there was money in the field. However, I am quite nervous about the transition, but need to grow if I want to keep up with trends.

Can anyone who has made VR work for them provide some insight on how things went for them and how long it took them to get "comfortable"?

I guess there is no positive insight... - IHearU

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Insight... - Cathy

[ In Reply To ..]
I will give you my insight. It isn't entirely positive. What I have found is that how well you can do with VR largely depends on what VR engine you are working with. If the engine isn't good and doesn't get a lot of the words right, there isn't anything magical that you can do to get astronomical lph. It just isn't going to happen. It takes a while for the VR engine to "learn" and its accuracy will not be very good at first. Hopefully you are starting out on an account that is well established on VR. You will also notice that VR makes more errors when there are new MTs on your accounts as well. We just changed VR programs at my employer, and my VR lph is way down.

There are things that you can do to make things go faster in VR even while it is still learning or if it is just not a very good VR program. Try to automate as much as you can. Write as many macros as you can (either in Shorthand, AutoHotKey, or another program). Try to have macros to format your headings, replace commas with a period, replace a period with a comma, capitalize/uncap the first letter of a word, make a numbered list, etc. If you have to do repetitive things throughout the day (like writing the same notes to QA about demographics, etc.) try to have macros to do those things as well. If you find that VR always makes the same errors, create macros to fix those errors quickly. I try to scan the report and fix things whenever the dictator pauses (like numbering medications, formatting headings, taking out obvious errors, etc.). Give yourself some time to get used to it and get up to speed. It won't happen overnight, but you will get faster at it as you go along. Good luck!

Thanks for the tips - FreshFastFingers

[ In Reply To ..]
Good info on VR engine and shortcuts. I'm pretty sure Ill be on some newly acquired accounts, thus VR and I will be on a learning curve.

and you'll be lucky to make minimum wage - NM

[ In Reply To ..]
NM

VR - djm

[ In Reply To ..]
hi, i saw your post and wanted to give you my opinion. ive been doing transcription for 25 yrs, just switched to VR about 3 yrs ago. when i first switched to VR i hated it, but like the other positive post, it has grown on me. it does take awhile at first because it's learning. the better the dictator, the better the dictation. definitely the use of macros is my savior. also if your dr has a lisp or accent it doesnt pick up very well. my program seems on certain drs to leave out the word 'no' a lot; now i watch for this, but in the beginning it was hard. i make a 'decent' incentive if i have a 'decent' dr and talks plain and not too fast. it will take about a year to acclimate yourself into this change. but youre right, i think it is what it's coming too. it's all about fast TAT, and VR seems to be that with of course MTs editing. good luck

Thanks for the tips. nm - FreshFastFingers

[ In Reply To ..]
*

Not a total naysayer now - either

[ In Reply To ..]
First off, good luck. I hated it when I started, but I think it was because my former employer's VR system sucked (didn't realize until I went to another) and couldn't even get simple phrases/words in the ballpark, their working platform was clunky to begin with, and we were taught to use the built-in cursor that goes w/ the VR system. That did not work for me.

I love my new employer's VR system (way better, simply in the way it picks up words), and they taught me to use my own cursor and the control+arrow keys to follow as the dictator goes. I'm also a big fan of using the expander to fix the "duh" things it continuously does.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tips. nm - FreshFastFingers

[ In Reply To ..]
*

Similar Messages:

Mar 02, 2012

waiting for my phone interview to begin....sorta nervous! ...

Aug 29, 2010

I'm new to the profession and new to the boards. I am here just trying to get a feel for the real world in transcription. I have to say the few things I have read on here so far are making me very nervous. I am just finishing my course within the next month or two through Penn Foster so the search for a job is in my near future... These are a few things I am curious about: Is the MT job market really that bad? What advice can you give me as a new MT? Have any of you MT's out ...

Oct 01, 2010

I have an interview coming up and I am a little nervous. I have not had an interview in years and I don't know what to expect. The last two times I had interviews with an MTSO, they did not really interview me but instead just told me about the account and wanted to know what shift I wanted to work. For those of you who have been interviewing recently, what was it like? What questions can I be expected to answer. Thanks. ...

Nov 27, 2012

I'm getting ready to have software installed on my computer this week and am having second thoughts after reading the posts on this board. I'm really upset about the off-shoring that Nuance does and was naive when I applied (I should've checked on the boards first). I'm not sure if I should back out or give it a try. The account I'm assigned to supposedly is a new clinic account so everything is up in the air - it'll be straight typing and then mov ...

Jan 25, 2014

Seeking advice from other MTs who are currently in school for another field or have already transitioned out of MT. One semester to go and I will hopefully be prepared to enter a career field that has nothing to do with MT. Problem is, I find myself worrying about working outside the home. I've been an at-home MT for almost 12 years. I have found a new enjoyment being around people in my classes and activities, but I'm so used to the home environment as my workplace. I am ge ...

Apr 08, 2011

I hate this paranoid feeling like I'm baggage and not part of the team anymore. Do you think they'll improve communication and it will feel like the old, happy Webmedx again? ...

May 04, 2012

. ...

Nov 12, 2012

Well, I am going to go ahead and apply to SoftScript and I must say I am nervous hearing the negatives about the work, but at the same time if I don't get out of Nuance I will pull my hair out soon. At least I have read a few positives about SoftScript. I have read NO POSITIVES about Nuance. I came in as part of a buyout several years ago and it is scary to think I might be leaving one bad to another bad, but at the same time I think Nuance is trying to push some of us out anyway and I have ...

Mar 18, 2014

I know every time the phone rings or I get an Ipswitch email i'm going to have a tiny heart attack lol The news probably won't come until tomorrow but it's the waiting to determine my whole future that's got me on edge! ...

Oct 14, 2014

Anyone out there have any experience with Amphion? Good and bad comments are requested. I'm nervous about them. ...

Jun 27, 2013

I'm worried I didn't pass it. I pored over it with a fine-tooth comb many times, so if it's meant to be, it will be, and if not, it won't. I am really broke though, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I passed it. Can anyone else relate? ...

Sep 24, 2014

I have a job interview at a huge hospital tomorrow for a medical records analyst. I'm very excited that I even got a call for an interview, but I'm also scared beyond words. I haven't had a face-to-face interview in 12 years and I've become such a hermit that I'm scared to death of going for an interview, driving there, answering questions, etc. I went back to school, just finished and got my degree, applied for this job and now I have an interview so i ...

Feb 25, 2015

I probably shouldn't even be complaining considering how bad most people have it at this company (and I spent 4 years waist deep in the existential horror of ever expanding BoBs and ASR so I know it can be so much worse), but sometimes the little stuff just drives me nuts. The last three months have been a QA rollercoaster. In December, I flunked my quality audit. Oh my god, I put "were" instead of "was." I can see how that's a critical error. Hundreds of ...

Jan 24, 2011

Hi. My name is Suzanne and I am enrolling in the Andrew's School for Medical Coding next week, on Tuesday February 1, 2001 and am getting nervous. I am a medical transcriptionist and I want to know if any thing I have done in the last 10 years, such as medical terminology and anatomy, will help me. Of course I will take that part of the course, but I want to know if that will help. Also, I am most nervous about deciphering the codes. I guess what I am asking is how do I know I will be a goo ...

Sep 12, 2014

xxxxx ...

Oct 01, 2013

Hi Friends: My name is Suzanne and I am sending in my paperwork to enroll in the Andrew's School for Medical Coding and I am nervous. I am nervous because I do know I can do it, but what about my age of 57. I am too old for studying for this field? I am a medical transcriptionist and have been for 12 years and I am a fast thinker and learner and I know I can do it, but what about the Affordable Care Act and the jobs being outsourced like medical transcription. Can you ...

Jun 05, 2014

waiting on reports. Not sure how to handle this. I am looking for other work but no luck so far. Do others find this mentally stressful babysitting your computer. ...

Apr 27, 2011

I work for Precyse, and they are now sending the 3rd new account in my region over to India, and we are constantly without work anymore. I have applied for a job with Transcend Services. Can anyone tell me about this company please? First and foremost, do you run out of work very often? ...

Dec 24, 2011

Is your MT career dead? Don't know what to do? Here's the NEXT BIG THING! And you get to still stay at home! hmmm, I wonder if I can hook my headset up to my phone.... LOL =] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/phone-sex-moms_n_1166075.html?1324589894&ncid=webmail19 ...

Jan 16, 2014

How does one make the transition over to acute care with no acute care experience. All the jobs I see want acute care. I fully understand that. I am willing to make the transition if someone would give me a chance. I ran into this as a new MT back 4 years ago. I have clinic experience, but no acute care experience. I'm looking for jobs daily as I lost my job 2 weeks ago due to electronic records. I need to work as bills are stacking up. What companies hire for clinic work, wil ...

Feb 02, 2011

Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone who works or has worked third shift in the past could share with me any advice they might have. I have always worked first shift, but I have been offered a really terrific position working third shift on the weekends, and I am finding myself wanting to give it a try. I know it would be a difficult transition at first, and I would need to focus on taking good care of myself. If anyone has any advice, I would so greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advanc ...

Mar 17, 2011

I'm thinking of making the jump after years (22+) in MT and LT and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on the best way to go about doing this. I have found a couple of prep courses for the CCP exam, but it would be nice if I could hear some actual experiences that people have had with some of the actual courses out there. It would be great if you could provide links to the places that y'all have gone to. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd prefer. Tha ...

Mar 07, 2012

Haven't seen any recent threads lately and just wondered how everyone was doing? Are things getting better for everyone? Were you able to get back on original accounts before the change? I read a thread on here a couple weeks back where people had been kinda shuffeled around and was wondering had it gotten any better for you all. ...

Mar 20, 2012

Will you or have you let your CMT expire? ...

Jul 19, 2013

For those of you who worked for a hospital department that went to an MTSO, how long did the transition take? We received the notice the beginning of 11/10 and they're still not fully transitioned. The first MTSO was swallowed up by a 2nd MTSO. It's possible by Sept we'll be on Powerscribe and then my job will end. P-scribe was not supposed to be the platform in the first place either. I was kept on as an IC to help with the transition. There have been countless tech problems ...

Sep 19, 2013

A question for anyone. Would you enroll in a community college program for medical coding at 57 knowing it would cost 5 grand to complete the course, and also with the knowledge that there are very few if any entry-level positions available in coding on the west coast. I see positions for in-house MT's and coders alike in other parts of the country all the time, but not so much on the west coast. I'm torn about this question, whether the commitment required would be worth it as I ...

Jun 09, 2014

Looking for good, bad, ugly, but please just the plain truth about Nuance. I will possibly transitioning to them from my company that they bought, going from IC to employee. I am very nervous about this and need some REAL HONEST insight as to their work environment, management, attributes, and downfalls. Thanks ...

Aug 06, 2014

Need some help here. I'm a small MTSO and have done straight transcription for almost 20 years. I am in danger of losing my biggest client which will throw most of my subs out of work. I've been scrambling to come up with ways to keep this account and have emailed the practice manager about ways that we could still help. They are going to EMR and will be deploying Dragonspeak for the doctors. Many of the doctors have nasty accents and I can only imagine what th ...

Aug 28, 2014

How long does it take for reports to transition from typed to edited when first being introduced to EditScript? Its been almost 4 weeks and 90% or more of the jobs in my account are still straight typing. Rarely do I see an edit job in the queue. No one is saying how long such a transition takes. Just wondering if anyone here has experience with their account going to editing and how long it took before they were actually doing editing instead of typing. ...

Jan 22, 2010

"Baseline EKG shows . . . . late R wave transition?" ...