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

Frustrated, exhausted, need to vent - new MT

Posted: Jan 21, 2013

I enrolled in an MT course in 2010. I didn't realize how bad the industry was getting until after I signed up. There were no refunds so I forged ahead and was determined to get as much out of it as I could. I didn't find a job for nearly 2 years after graduation because I wanted something part-time so I could work around my full-time job. I'm a frugal person and wanted to try MT long enough to at least make back the money I spent on the course, then decide if it was worth continuing. Finally this month I was hired by one of the better MT companies (based on comments I've read). I felt grateful they would take a chance on me, being out of school 2 years and all. I'm working 25 hrs a week, evenings and weekends. However, after just 2 weeks I'm exhausted, frustrated, and ready to quit.

I've worked on 6 different accounts already, all with different spec sheets to read, different formatting, different dictators, different account coordinators. My head is spinning. I can't get any momentum going at all. I spend all my time looking through the spec sheets, looking up patient's names, doctor's names, hospital names, retrieving past reports for reference. I spent 4 hours on 2 small reports yesterday. It was yet another new account that I wasn't familiar with and the dictator was ESL. I probably made $2.00. I hate being a quitter, but I'm ready to throw in the towel. At this rate I wouldn't make up the money I spent on the course for years. I gave it a shot. I'm done.

I just needed to vent :)

So many years and worse than ever - PR

[ In Reply To ..]
I have now worked inhouse and out doing the same hospital work for 20+ years. Never when working inhouse did I spend so much time doing exactly what you are talking about, looking up names you send copies to, looking up past medicines they have taken, what to abbreviate and what not (they change like the wind so you have to look constantly) and that is not even mentioning the ESL and what I have to go through with those. It was never like this inhouse and I will guarantee 1 thing for you, it will not get better, take it from someone who knows.

gets better - Russell

[ In Reply To ..]
I have 15 years experience. I switched jobs and started with a big company in May 2012. I now do about 6 different accounts with this MTSO. When I first started, it was the same thing, it took so long to look up all the stupid instructions I was hardly making anything, but I stuck it out and it's better now. You get the hang of the instructions after a few months and won't even need to look at them anymore and once they trust that you know what you are doing, they won't bother you and leave you be to do your work. You get used to the ESL dictators because you'll basically get the same ones over and over again. I have learned over the years that when you start any new job, it takes a few months before you start getting used to all the instructions and start to have a fairly decent income, that's just the way it goes. You won't make a lot of money doing this anyway unless you get with a very small company that doesn't have a ton of different specs and pays a little better than the big companies do, but they are hard to come by.

This begs the question - why should we even

[ In Reply To ..]
have to wait days, weeks, months or whatever to even make a bare minimum? And then what happens if your account disappears and you get put on new accounts, new specs, new mush mouths, etc.?

I hate to be negative, but unless the pay for this job miraculously returns to the golden age of MT, it will hardly be worth it anymore even as a supplement or hobby job.

IF your account disappears? I think it's WHEN - wheres_my_job

[ In Reply To ..]
I went through this. Just when the getting got good...the getting was gone (if you know what I mean).

You will ALWAYS lose an account that you become accustomed to, that becomes easier. That has been my experience. Maybe yours will be different - but now, at this point in time, I highly doubt it.

As soon as you get that speech recognition to a certain level of comprehensibility, it's going to be shipped off somewhere, or something, and it'll be gone.

You're right. That's why, after 20+ years' MT experience, - Ive stopped looking for MT jobs, - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
have gone back to school to update my skills, mainly computer skills, and from here on out only plan to look for just a regular office job, which even at the lower end of the pay scale, will still be more than twice the $5/hour I'm currently making.

Downhill Course of Medical Transcription - Carol

[ In Reply To ..]
The downhill course of the field of medical transcription has been one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. I used to make enough money to support myself and live a mid-range existence. The forcing of myself into employment with a middle-man (transcription service) with no benefits and minimal wages, no vacation time has led me to a minimal existence but for the generous support of my husband. I feel MTs are grossly underpaid for their knowledge and expertise. We work had to strive for minimum LPH and accuracy (above 97+%) and we make may be $10.00 an hour when the dust settles. I have tried to find other jobs but in this economy, all the clerical jobs are met with 1 job and may be 30-50-100 applicants. You don't get a chance at the better-paying clerical jobs with such competition. Although I still love the work, it has been a downhill course of despair about the ability to provide adequately for onself.

Were you posting to me, Russell? - PR

[ In Reply To ..]
Not sure, but if you were you missed the part where I said I have 20+ years doing the same hospital work, worked inhouse first only to be outsourced and still have the same hospital. I do not have several different accts, do not want to be bothered by anymore than I already have. I do not agree with the theme of your post that it will get better because I have done this long enough to know frontwards and back and it is harder now than when I first started in 1990 (same place, remember).

I'm pretty sure he was replying to the OP, but just put it under the wrong post. - (no message)

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Keeping Track of Different Specs, MD names, etc. - Carol

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I have 3 different accounts so far. I use a free program called Debrief. It is great for organizing any information in a tree fashion. There is a pay version and I am considering it because I like the program so much but I have used the free version for several years. It is easy to toggle back and forth between the categories. You can make your own folders and sub folders and name them whatever is convenient. You can sort the items within the folders alphabetically. You can copy and paste from a word document or information from an internet search. It really helps to get organized and is really pretty easy to access information quickly.

OneNote is also great.. - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I transcribe for several facilities and clinics with numerous doctors and instructions/account specifics like you would not believe. OneNote is also a great program and comes with Microsoft Office.

It does get easier. The first 1-2 years, you might not make much money but spend it (reference material, workshops, software, etc.). It cost me $8000 to work the first 1-2 years, but I was building up my reference library in every field and equipment.

I do all of this in one folder on desktop containing subfolders - and all info per account. no program. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
.

also venting - anon

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I thought I could tough out this profession, but I'm done with it too. My experience with MTSOs has been that they will cover their butts from every angle possible to get the most work out of you with as little pay as possible. Your time, accuracy and dedication mean little to nothing.

I have seen my skill, accuracy and speed improve over the years while my paychecks get smaller and smaller.

I know how much I need to make to pay bills each month, but my pay depends almost solely on the quantity and quality of work the company sends me. Sometimes there is no work at all.

The company I am with now isn't horrible, but I have a feeling it may be bought out by one of the big ones at some point. Could be tomorrow, who knows?

While there are still decent MT jobs out there, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I'm training for a different line of work and am so done with MT, too. I tried and wanted it to work, but I'm powerless in terms of what the industry is becoming. I can't wait to leave this behind as a poor career choice and a bad memory.

Commiseration & encouragement appreciated! - new MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Renewed with sleep and ibuprofen, I've decided to stick it out a little longer. Long enough to see my first paycheck at least. I know my line rate but have no idea how the qualified lines pay. If the hourly rate calculates to something ridiculously small and I can't justify the time I've invested so far, I'm done. Kicking myself for purchasing another Stedman's word book for the psychiatric account. Who knows if I'm even on that account anymore. I just wish they'd let me focus on a few accounts instead of throwing everything but the kitchen sink at me.

Eh, who knows... after the terrible reports I turned in yesterday, they might can me anyway!

Different accounts-look at it this way instead - me

[ In Reply To ..]
They are providing you with experience and paid training on various accounts. You will not learn as much transcribing the same account or dictator.

My first job was transcribing operative notes for a surgery center with numerous physicians. I was extremely lucky to be presented with this opportunity. The training was invaluable. The first 6 months, my husband did not know whether to duck when he came home or hug me (I actually threw my C-phone through the window one day). However, I thank my lucky stars. I have no problems landing jobs or clients due to this job, and as luck would have it, I now have a surgery center account transcribing the exact same physicians, just at another facility!

Hang in there.... it is worth it in the end.

Yeah, true - new MT

[ In Reply To ..]
And they did hire me after being out of school for 2 years and with no prior MT experience. Other MTSOs turned me down for this. The account coordinators have been patient and helpful, no complaints there. I don't want to quit 2 weeks in and burn bridges just because I had a bad day. Thanks for this.

Getting Canned - Carol

[ In Reply To ..]
I worked for one of those big MTSOs a couple years ago. First time I ever got canned in my life. I always considered myself to be conscientious, a fairly good MT and willing to go the extra mile. I cannot for the life of me believe that I got canned. Mostly it was because of not making a ridiculously high LPH rate consistently but there were rules upon rules that got very confusing and if you slipped up and did not follow a procedure exactly right, they would think you were doing it on purpose and would can you for that. It was so unfair. They said they only hired the "cream of the crop" -- a load of BS. They just wanted to make you feel good before the slaughter. I now work for a more "humane" company but still making barely enough to survive on.

I've ridden this profession as far down as I can go. - (sm) - Meerkat

[ In Reply To ..]
The next step down on the ladder is homelessness, and I don't want to go there, so I'm getting out as soon as I can get hired in some other capacity. If that doesn't happen, I'll take early retirement, and supplement that by selling stuff on eBay. Or baking cookies. Or whatever. But I'm NOT going to be relegated to living in my car just to remain an MT.

Get poster board and write down specs and hang on wall - so all you need do is look up.

[ In Reply To ..]
Your mind's eye will make a snapshot of it after a while. Color code for different accounts. Use black and a certain color for each account so it won't be all jumbled visually.

That or - a white board

[ In Reply To ..]
and dry erase markers for frequent changes.

That would have to be one pretty large poster board. - IAMT

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I last worked on an account with 12 different accounts within one network all with different specifics and sometimes different specifics for doctors within each account.

Guess what, after all my efforts at studying the specs, highlighting, organizing with dividers in a notebook, and working 10 hour days (and being told we could work as much as we wanted, just not to write down more than 40 hours for the week), the MTSO lost the account.

One poster per account - is what I meant.

[ In Reply To ..]
I wasn't as specific as I should have been.

It gets better if they don't - keep switching accounts.

[ In Reply To ..]
If you work at a place where you're able to stay on the same few accounts consistently, you will build up production. You'll learn all the specs, physician names, etc., and become familiar with even the difficult dictators and everyone's standard phrases and so forth. But, if as is common today, they keep switching you from one account to another, it will be hard to build up production.

You've only been at this 2 weeks. Don't give up yet. - Des

[ In Reply To ..]
What you're experiencing is normal, i.e. the frustration, exhaustion, etc. Even with the multiple accounts, it does get better.

When you're starting out, take full advantage of QAs, mentors, etc. If you can't find something after a couple of tries, send it to QA. Spending too much time on a report hurts only you, not only by the low pay, but it keeps you from getting more reports done, and...

more reports = more experience = better pay = better job satisfaction

There's not much you can do about the multiple accounts. That's the reality of MT now. If you limit yourself to just a couple of accounts, you'll run out of work often.

You need to give MT at least a few months. It'll take about that long to see the repetition and develop some sort of rhythm. Even being bounced around on multiple clients, you'll still see some repetition. If after 3 months you still feel the same way you do today, then it might be best for you to quit, but I'm absolutely positive that if you can hang on for 3 months, you'll feel better about your skill enough to want to push on for another 3 months, then another 3, and before you know it, you'll have a full year under your belt.

You appear to have a lot of potential. Don't give up yet.

Thanks for the encouragement & insight! - (nm) new MT

[ In Reply To ..]
.

Keeping Track of Different Specs, MD names, etc. - Carol

[ In Reply To ..]
Another little suggestion that has helped me is to use 2 monitors, side-by-side. I have the typing platform open on one monitor and all other programs on the other including my mail program, my IM, my tabbed browser, etc. That way I can look up stuff, copy and paste or just refer to information while being able to look at the document I am working on. I really think it has helped me quite a bit.

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