Don't panic - Oldtimer

Wait and see how First Time Right Plays out.  It really is too early to panic.  By the way, since I have worked for MedQuist for a long, long time, I feel I ought to point out that in this company, the closer you are to actual transcription, the more job security you have.  CCMs, they come and go.  I've had at least 4 who were fired.  The management in this company have very insecure jobs.  When things don't go well in their district, they get fired.  I've seen this over and over again.

And while it sometimes looks like they don't have our best interests in hand, the best thing to do is to accept the changes in this industry, to be flexible, to continue to develop your skills, and if you aren't happy about not getting a raise, then give yourself a raise by figuring out how to be as productive as possible.  This is a journey.  It is possible to improve one's situation without even dealing with management, but it takes patience and determination.  

Since MQ is such a large company, it is a bit silly to expect much personal attention or encouragement.  So, we MTs have to learn to ignore what doesn't matter (like QASAR feedback), and to really focus on what does matter.  

The Book of Style, the client profile and the MedQuist preference list are all you need to challenge an unfair audit and win.  Some people here claim outrageous audits.  If you are scored less than 98% accuracy, then get out these references and document every incorrect point deduction on your audit and appeal.  If you don't appeal, it is your fault.  MedQuist has rules.  We have to follow them, and so do MMEs, QA and QC.  Don't waste time on things that aren't important.

MedQuist doesn't care about its employers.  Well, MedQuist is not a person; it is a very large corporation.  Having realistic expectations about what to expect from MQ is important, otherwise you will be disappointed and angry.  There just is nothing constructive about relentless speculations about various ways in which you feel MedQuist is out to get you.  Let them!  If you are a good transcriptionist, you are protected by their rules, which can always be appealed -- including denial of a raise.

Ladies, calm down.  It is too early to riot.  It is likely that this new policy will benefit the good MTs and hurt those with inferior skills.  I wish nobody would get hurt.  But if your skill level places you in danger of being hurt, then either find another job, or do everything you can to improve your skills so that you are one of those who benefit from the new policy.  

MedQuist is NOT the only company that uses DocQscribe, so maybe if you can't be happy at MQ, you will have better luck at one of the smaller companies that uses our platform.  

I've caused so much misunderstanding about "educated guessing" that I feel I ought to just retract that statement.  So now I say, DON'T GUESS (even though we all do make educated guesses constantly while transcribing.  Anytime I type something, I do so because I think to the best of my ability that that is what the doctor is actually saying.  Sometimes there is great certainty about this, but sometimes sound issues/dictator issues take some of that certainty away from us.  At this point we all have to decide how far we can go in filling in that blank.  My motivation for advising people to guess is that I believe many MTs lack self-confidence and so often leave blanks that they don't really need to, if they trusted themselves and their abilities a little more.  I DO NOT ADVOCATE IRRESPONSIBLY TYPING WHATEVER POPS INTO YOUR HEAD JUST TO AVOID LEAVING A BLANK.  But the way to grow as an MT is by extending the scope or range of your educated guesses.

Just remember, the doctor is the one who is licensed to practice medicine; the doctor's signature goes on the report; the doctor is responsible for reviewing and correcting any document she/he signs.  And most importantly, any medical error that occurs as a result of a transcription error is the fault and the responsibility of the doctor, NOT THE MT -- THANK GOD!

Okay, we all know that drug lists are extremely difficult, as are other parts of the report where dictators use the same expressions over and over again.

For drugs, try this, don't just put the drug name in your expansions, put the usual dose as well.  If you then type a drug you think was correct and the dose is wildly off, you know you probably don't have the right drug.  If you do have a reasonable/common dosage for a drug, that confirms what you think you hear.

For other parts of the report, put these in your expansions.  These doctors who seem impossible and sound absolutely horrible are often only initially difficult, but if you put their "difficult" sections into your expansions, you then have samples (and you won't need to look up reports) available to help you.

Also, hang on a little longer.  The Benchmark program that we are promised is a very powerful program.  It allows you to type in phonetic spellings and will find matches in Stedmans' references.  All of the Stedman's references are available in Benchmark.  I'm sure many MTs will find this extremely helpful.  It also has a huge database of doctors that makes it easy to find doctors you can't find in your client's physician lists in DocQscribe.

For drugs, I suggest using drugs.com, as you don't have to type the whole word to find the drug on the list.  If you can only make out  1 or 2 syllables, type that -- no wild card needed.  I often find drugs like this, when I can't make out what the first syllable is.  

Learn what the resources are, and what new ones are on the way.  There are quite a few powerful tools available that are, in fact, very, very effective and useful.  

If you still can't make it after all this, then start considering what else you can do for the sake of your own happiness.  Nobody wants to be trapped in a job they hate.  

Don't be so negative.  They are lots of positive things about MedQuist too.  If none come to your kind immediately, then you DO have an attitude problem that needs adjusting if you want to be happy at MQ.  Good luck!