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

Advice from the experienced? - TeacherturnedMT

Posted: Jul 28, 2011

I am a newbie MT and wanted some advice from those of you more experienced than I. Today, every single dictation I have had is from a foreign doctor..the latest one said (not kidding) toe bec abu in da pa...which I finally made out to be tobacco abuse in the past. My line count is horrible! How do you compensate for reports like this that take a long time, while maintaining a decent line count? Thanks.

Yikes! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Well, those are always mentally exhausting. If you have a group of dictators that you have/will have repeatedly, make samples or templates for them. Can you get samples of their work from your employer? And if you have to send them through QA, make copies of any corrections you may get back, and create your own samples if need be. I find that the foreign docs usually get MUCH easier once you've had them for awhile and use samples. However, there are still going to be some that are just hopelessly difficult no matter what.

Hope it gets easier for you, and that this is just a freakishly bad day and not the norm for you! Starting out always seems insurmountable. Even experience MTs have a learning curve with a new company/account/dictator. It really does get easier. Things that seemed impossible can come easily to you down the road, once you have more experience.

Newbie - Twins Mom

[ In Reply To ..]
I am pretty new too. I am back to work after a three year break. We have one very, very difficult doctor. Even seasoned MTs have blanks. What has helped is haveing samples, but also if you can pulling up voice files that have already been transcribed and reading the report as a I listen. I started a few weeks ago and now can understand him so much better.

Samples, samples, and more samples! :) - sm - Meerkat

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree with the poster above about samples. Maybe you can ask your supervisor to post more samples of this particular doctor on your company's website, or to send you some samples via email.

There's always a learning curve for the thick-accent or mumbling doctors, even for seasoned MTs. Eventually you can learn to understand most, or sometimes even all, of what those doctors are saying, but the most efficient way to do that is to have good samples of their work.

Usually doctors will speed up the worst through sections they do routinely, such as physical exams, or certain standard paragraphs, which are often contained in most samples. Being able to read along as the doctor speaks will complete a little circuit in your brain, and after a time or two, you might even wonder how it was you couldn't understand it before.

However, if the only feedback you get is a correction of a blank you submitted days before, by then it's usually forgotten, and therefore useless. I wish companies would keep extensive sample files on every doctor that goes through their system. It would improve the quality of their work, and the time it takes for MTs to get attuned to the more difficult dictators.

(PS!) (sm) - Meerkat

[ In Reply To ..]
I forgot to mention: Another thing that can be helpful is to start to build your own list of sound-alikes, spelled phonetically, along with the correct word or phrase next to it. That can sometimes save a lot of time you would normally spend poring over samples.

One more thing that makes looking up a word in a sea of sample pages is to use CTL-F to find part of the sentence containing the mystery word for each sample you're looking through. Doesn't always work, but sometimes it'll take you right to what you were looking for.

For example: If the doctor frequently says, "..in lieu of arthroscopy" in his reports, but "arthroscopy" is unintelligible. All you hear is "opy". You can either use CTL-F to look for "in lieu of", or, looking for "opy" might work, as well, though will probably yield more unwanted results.

Familiarity, familiarity. Many of them, knowing too well - our problems with them,

[ In Reply To ..]
try as much as possible to keep to the same phrasing. Once you know what they're saying you can make very good money doing a lot of them.

You do this by sticking to a couple of main accounts that make up 90% of your work, even after you're good. Familiarity and the repetition that allows you to make up and use a bunch of text templates to plug in are the keys to making money no matter how clear the dictation is. Good luck. Pragmatist

Advice from the experienced - raydonia

[ In Reply To ..]
Not to sound cynical but it's probably never going to get a lot better, you will just get used to it. As others have said, if you can search through archives it helps AND these foreign dictators especially say the same thing over and over and over again, day after day, week after week, report after report.

Similar Messages:

Apr 12, 2010

I was wondering if anyone has expereinced having applied to an advertisement for a transcription job with any particular MTSO, receiving an "invitation to test" at around midnight, and then attempting to take the test. What I found when attempting to take the "transcription test", was an hour and a half of written test, not a voice file transcription test, with very detailed questions. I spent an hour and a half taking this test and checking every answer on the internet, whether I th ...

Feb 21, 2012

I have about 25 years in MT, owning a MTS and filling other roles in the field as well. Frequently on this board I read the frustrated posts from those with 20 to 30 years of experience who have submitted resumes/applications but do not hear back from the hiring company. A couple of times I have suggested that OVERQUALIFICATION may explain the lack of call back. Both times I was personally verbally attacked on this board, with the notion called "ridiculous" and "absurd." ...

Aug 11, 2010

I am looking into MT programs and wondering about one which advertises that it is geared to nurses: MT@Home Medical Transcription. It costs significantly less than the three programs which I see referenced quite a bit -Andrews, M-Tec and Career Step, but it seems like these programs involve so much material that I already know. Years ago I did transcription for nurses, I've worked in hopitals/home and office environments as a nurse (also years ago) and I worked in pharmaceutical sales ...

Mar 28, 2012

I have been an IC for over 5 years and have decided to increase my rates from 12 cpl to 14 cpl. In doing that, one of my doctors is thinking about replacing me. I thought 14 cpl was a fair rate. What does everyone else think? ...

Mar 01, 2015

are going to end up quitting as soon as they possibly can, leaving behind a ton of newbies that will be super EASY to catch errors on (sorry newbies but you know it's true---it was true of myself when I was new). And the newbies won't complain about getting 7 cpl EVERY week. How's THAT for patient safety for ya? ...

Sep 12, 2011

I have been a transcriptionist for the past 10 years, working in cardiology, acute care and now radiology. I do radiology part-time from home right now and most shifts I do not even average minimum wage because of a shortage of work. The company I work for is small and works two typists per shift when there is only enough work for one. It is so frustrating! I have sent out about 20 resumes in the last couple of weeks and haven't heard a word from anyone. It used to be so easy to get a job b ...

Jan 05, 2012

not much out there. ...

Jan 10, 2012

I've been reading about various companies out there and wondering which ones are good and which ones to stay away from. Thanks! ...

Jun 18, 2012

I'm just trying to figure out what the hourly wage might be for an "experienced" MT if they were to start making $.08 per 65 cpl if they had a pretty good account and could type 75 words per minute.....and just an estimate would be appreciated...Thank you for your input. ...

Oct 17, 2012

I would like to open a dialogue with 2 or 3 individuals with a minimum of 15 years experience in the field of medical transcription. There is an alternative to explore in terms of taking back our profession and our livelihoods, and I need a couple of people knowledgeable in our field to brainstorm an idea with me. No naysayers, please. I want to talk to people who have not already given up on MT and are willing to think outside the box with me to seriously consider the feasibil ...

Feb 27, 2014

Sixteen years through various company takeovers, valued myself as extremely proficient, kept to the background, did my part in the team effort w/extra hours worked through countless holidays (what's a holiday?), parent illnesses, death, children's college, spousal layoffs, etc. Watched in horror as my career was shredded with more and more condescending nonsense from QA to "classes," redundant pep rally conference calls, all leading to an after-shift (oh yes, I worked yesterday) ...

Mar 14, 2014

What are you thoughts on coders being paid on production/by the chart? As a recent graduate who is continuously learning, I just don't see how this could be a good thing, but maybe I'm wrong. Please - no bashing. I am just curious on opinions of seasoned coders. Thank you for any input. ...

Dec 19, 2014

so for 1 hour we are going to get work from another POD that is way behind.....well guess what, if I had stayed in my own POD which is also flooded with work, I would have accomplished over 400 lines, but in this "power hour" I typed a total of 95 lines because I spent all my time reading over client profiles and looking up old jobs making sure I got everything right. The hour is up, and strange jobs are coming in so I signed out for a break. Yeah...this power hour works really well. ...

Jun 10, 2015

Would an experienced coder be willing to help me with a question via private email? I am very new in school and feeling stumped already on something that seems very basic. It has me wondering if I can do this after all. ...

Jul 17, 2010

Anyone know of a company that will pay an experienced (30 years) MT more than $.09/line? ...

Feb 08, 2011

Would really appreciate input from anyone who works on this account. ...

Apr 03, 2011

Hi All, I have been a transcriptionist for 10 years, working both in-house and home (currently doing both), but the company I currently work for is going to EMR (and of course, I'm the one setting it up for them) and will be out of a job within the coming months. I have applied and taken tests for various companies and have also had phone interviews over the last year. Unfortunately I am not offered a position due to "not having enough experience" in the acute care field. Corr ...

Jul 01, 2011

hey, i have 7+ years of radiology and 6 years of path and some sleep study experience transcribing but would like to branch out or get some training in acute care. does anyone know of anywhere to get started? i would be willing to take online classes to learn acute care or start a job that will begin teaching it, like i said i am not a newbie at transcription but just in this field. i would love to broaden my field and not iust be restricted to three modalities. please hel ...

Mar 04, 2012

The company I work for just switched to the Emdat/Inscribe platform 2 weeks ago and as such we are still adjusting :-)Things have worked fine so far, but when trying to download dictations after logging in, I keep getting the same message..."There was a problem downloading the file. Would you like to retry?" (Of course I have, but it never loads.) The dictation tries to load (I see it in the green bar at the bottom) but never makes it. Other MTs have had the same problem today but a System Rest ...

Sep 12, 2012

Does anyone know of a company looking for an experienced account manager. TIA ...

Sep 30, 2010

xxxxxxxxxxx ...

May 16, 2012

nm ...

Sep 02, 2012

I work in-house, got the news a week ago that the hospital has hired an outside company to take over the transcription, which will save the hospital millions of dollars. We have the option of going with the other company or simply going home; in other words, take it or leave it. Needless to say, the outsourced company's benefits are not as good in comparison to the hospital's, much more expensive and also this will be strictly voice recognition.&nbs ...

Jun 11, 2013

I've been an MT for over 5 years and have always been paid by the line. I would think that most MTs preferred wage is to be paid a set amount per hour. If this were not an option, what has given you more of an income, paid by the line or by the AUDIO hour? What I'm currently being offered per audio hour comes out to less than what I was paid per line at my previous job, but the reports are easier to understand so it may be worth it. It is basically both ...

Jun 08, 2015

Switching from employee to IC for first time in my life and have seen low rates offered. What is the typically going rate? Shouldn't it be higher for straight typing and because you are an IC and not employee? Thanks! ...

Feb 01, 2014

http://grady.ttcportals.com/jobs/1477025-senior-coder-sign-on-bonuswork-from-home Wish I had the coding experience they require! Grady is a huge public hospital system. ...

Dec 23, 2014

My HDSM for months now in her emails that are getting fewer and fewer always says she is "still making calls" to us and if we need anything to contact her and she will get back to us right away. Well, 2 weeks ago I needed to talk to her about something so I sent her an email. The silence has been deafening ever since. I imagine she's putting up her Christmas tree, wrapping gifts for her kids, and making fruitcake for her neighbors. I've been patient. ...

Jan 10, 2010

To those who are satisfied living in poverty or chained to their home computers, then disregard this message. This msg is directed at experienced MTs who don't think they can make a decent living at this anymore. You can - the jobs are out there. I have a second interview scheduled for position as a senior MT for the prison healthcare system in my state. I know I will ultimately get the job with all my experience, but even if I didn't, just wanted to let you all know ...

Aug 28, 2014

Looks as phony as a 4 dollar bill... ...