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

If it's true that they are letting people go who - Daisy

Posted: Jun 05, 2010

make the most per line - then isn't it ironic that they were offering pay increases to those who went through the (expensive) certification process? That was a great way for ADHI to make $$ and then they would cut any MT who was making more! Catch-22!

not to mention some of us just got raises - thats a thinker

[ In Reply To ..]
Why would anyone want to get CMT anyway? Within I bet 2 years, this profession will be dead in the US...

If I could decrease my pay long enough to get through school, I would cause it sure beats having to find another job at less pay anyway. Not to mention learning new accounts and programs...UGH!

This whole company is a Catch-22, or as my momma would always say "your stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Be a medical assistant! - It only takes 3 semesters.

[ In Reply To ..]
I went back to school. Found out that by being a medical assistant (in my state) it only takes 3 semesters and you can start in the Fall semester, Winter or Spring. We have 4 semesters a community college in my state, some states have 2 long semesters.

After 3 semesters you can apply to a hospital where they have clinics. You start at 14.60. You get practically FREE health benefits, hardly any cost to you and your family. After 1 year of working as a medical assistant, you get 50% paid schooling, after 3 years working you get 75% paid schooling and after 5 years of working you get 100% of paid free schooling as long as it is in the health care field.

Thinking of doing this and then go back to school and become a physical therapy assistant which the pay is 28.00 an hour and AWESOME benefits and the best part? You get treated fairly and your pay does not go down.

Being an MA - ex-MA

[ In Reply To ..]
Not to discourage anyone, but the grass isn't always greener. I was a medical assistant before I was an MT, and I absolutely hated it. I was paid at $8/hour, but was expected to do the same work as the RN's in my department who were making twice as much. I worked for very busy dermatologist, and she did lots and lots of Mohs surgery, plus other skin procedures, and I was her assistant for all procedures. She also had lots of friends, so anytime they wanted to be seen, she worked them into her schedule. There were many days where she would be running at least 2 hours behind in her schedule, and the MA is the one that all the patients complain to and are nasty to about having to wait so long when the doc is busy visiting with everybody. The patients are all very nice to the docs, but take it out on the MA. You get to go home when everything is done, so it made it frustrating when she would run so late all of the time. You never knew exactly when you would get to go home. I love medical stuff and got straight A's in my tech school training, but it's a totally different ball game when you're actually doing it for a living.

Every job has pros and cons, and every person is different, so maybe being an MA will be a good fit for you. Unfortunately, it definitely was not a good fit for me. Honestly, if I had to go back to school for anything, at this stage in the game I wouldn't go for anything medical. I'd personally have more fun being a hairdresser or doing something in horticulture, but definitely something totally different than what I've been doing for the last umpteen years!! =)

agree - btdt too

[ In Reply To ..]
the docs definitely take advantage of the MAs in a lot of cases. Don't be surprised if you are doing everything around the office, not just patient care. You will mostly likely be spread very thin for little money. MAs makes about $10-12 where I live. I figured with commuting, scrubs, etc., I would make less than MT. Better job security would be the only good reason for me to switch back to MA.

I also posted below (sm) - about cosmetology

[ In Reply To ..]
You know, thanks for posting this. Just watching how the MAs are treated in the various clinics, urgent cares and doctors' offices I've been in, I've often felt the MAs were sometimes treated like glorified bedpan washers and seemed to be utilized like a "gopher" rather than with any real respect or equality. I often wondered if it was just my perception or if they really were just run ragged all day. Sounds like it could be a waste of a lot of knowledge and hard work for the MA and really frustrating on a professional degree.

The MAs I've seen in action really bust their chops and probably go totally underappreciated for it.

Yes!!! - I think so too

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm leaning VERY heavily towards cosmetology school. It just sounds like such a blessedly creative hands-on career after all these years of solitude and being pretty much restricted from public contact that I keep going back to it. There are several really nice ones in my area from which to choose.

I know a lot of negatives come with it (such as the complaining customers one can never satisfy, long hours on the feet, etc.), but I just find myself drawn to it. I had actually started a course in cosmetology years ago but had to drop it because it was interfering with my FT day job and became too exhaustive. I loved every single hour of it though and look back on it with fond memories.

I'm astonished to see someone else is thinking in that direction, too, so I just had to post :-) It might be time to get myself a pair of those Skechers Shape-Ups and start applying to these schools, lol!

school - ex-MA

[ In Reply To ..]
It's great to see somebody else looking at stuff outside of the medical field! Unfortunately, I have several young children and I really can't see being able to go back to school (or even being able to afford it) for many, many years, but a girl can dream!! =)

Being an MT is totally not my dream job, but at least I get to stay home and don't have to pay somebody else to raise my kids in a way I don't approve of. It's just a means to an end =)

Wow! I do not know how you do it then. - Do you work late evenings?

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been an MT for 23 years and had just 1 son (took 7 years to have him). I still had to have him in preschool and daycare when he was little because I could not work AND take care of him. I have a husband and we tried taking turns, but then it was wearing down our marriage after 6 years.

Now my son is grown up and I wish to God I went back to school and did something else that gave me better benefits. After 23 years with this same stupid company, I GET NOTHING! I look at my friends and they get 3-5 week vacations with their jobs, pensions, raises each year, and again, I GET NOTHING, but lower pay, no raises, and unappreciated.

All my kids and grandkids had to be in daycare - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
if you are full-time and do this job properly and intend to make a living at it. It is not a "stay-at-home-mom" profession.

daycare - ex-MA

[ In Reply To ..]
I had several years of working in an office where we had to put our oldest 3 in daycare, paying $1000/month for all 3. We now have 5 children and simply cannot afford daycare. I work approximately 32 hours a week and have my shifts split up so that I work some during the day and some in the evening after the kids go to bed. It's worked for our family for the last 6 years (through 2 infants as well), and I've been able to make a decent living so far and my audits are always great.

Every family is different, and you do what you have to do. For us, my working at home and not having kids in daycare is not an option, but a necessity, and I'm thankful I have the opportunity to work at home. God's got us through this far, and it gets easier as the kids get old enough to be in school.

Love all the calls from grown - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
kids -- like this morning's babysitter emergency. "Will you come pick the kids up, babysitter is going to be late and I don't have car seats (from dad of course)." So 20 minutes driving like a bat out of you know where, pick up gramdkids that dad didn't even get dressed, slam some cereal in a bowl, milk in sippy cup, cartoons on the tube, many interruptions includinig a dog-nip, and lastly the 2 year old flipped off my surge protector and I lost an 8 minute report, which I did get back upon rebooting. How anyone could have kids around while working, I don't understand.

kids - ex-MA

[ In Reply To ..]
You do get some interruptions with kids for sure, but I used to get interrupted by coworkers in the office setting as well, and sometimes the coworkers were harder to stave off than the kids!!

When I'm working, the older kids know that they need to keep interruptions to a minimum, and they get reminded of that often. When the baby is awake, she plays with her toys in a pack-n-play next to my desk or a bouncy saucer, and she's normally happy as a clam. It'll be different once she's walking, but that's when baby gates come in handy =)

Believe me, there are days when the kids kind of drive me nuts (especially now that it's summer and the 3 oldest are home every day), but most of the time it works out well. I've always been pretty good at mentally blocking out background noise, so maybe that helps. Necessity is the mother of invention, so when there's no other choice to be had you just adapt to the circumstances =)

Tried working days one summer with my youngest - child and 2 grandchildren

[ In Reply To ..]
Longest summer of my life. But like some other posters, my son had custody of his children, I had to work, we really had no choice, so we plowed through it.

I talked to 4 MA's and they LOVE their jobs! - Interviewed them, but then again,

[ In Reply To ..]
The MA's I talked to work for a big provider who give them awesome benefits. The MA's do not work for a private clinic.

The MA's like their patients and some of the patients they see on a regular basis is like family to them. The doctors are great to work for and the staff they work with is like one big happy family. Everyone goes to their baby showers and weddings. I keep hearing how they LOVE their jobs. I do not want to stay as an MA, but get some schooling paid for and be maybe an occupational therapist or physical therapist.

I talked to paralegals and interviewed them and they all seem to be burned out of their jobs and sick of it, kinda like our MT work.

Jobs - ex-MA

[ In Reply To ..]
I think it's just like anything else. People are different. Some people are just made for that kind of work and some aren't. I found out the hard way that I wasn't, but I've still been able to use my training for other jobs, like being an MT (that was part of my MA training at the time). You just never know how it's going to be until you're actually doing it. It's great that you're going back to school, though, and going towards something you really want to do. I'm sure you'll do great! =)

I worked for a mid-sized psych facility - About 15 years ago

[ In Reply To ..]
It had this same exact feel you're describing. We were all not only co-workers but friends to varying degrees, too. Totally awesome work environment, made friends I still have to this day, and the pleasure of working in such an environment just can't be beat, with everyone on the same team, everyone having one another's best interests in mind, and I've no doubt patients can sense the camraderie and cohesiveness of teams like this.

In a perfect world, this is how it would always be but it's really hard to find. Good luck to you!

My BFF is an MA - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
We live in a very rural community, population less than 10,000. She makes $9 an hour after being there 5 years. No one in the clinic is full-time so they don't have to pay benefits. Other clinics in our area do the same thing. The ones that do offer insurance charge almost as much as you make.

I hope you looked into the salaries offered in your area, not what you see online. Those figures are mostly for metro areas.

As for PTA -- same thing. I worked for a very large rehab facility that has locations all over the US. The PTA's started out at $15 an hour. The physical therapists were making $20 an hour to start. I will admit that the benefits were pretty good with this company.

I work for the state in medical records (transcribing part-time for a national) and I make $15 an hour plus awesome benefits (only $34 a month for family benefits -- medical, dental, and vision). I'm not trying to be a downer. It's just important to check things out in your local area. I hope your area pays better than ours.

Thanks! I have in my area. I took a class actually - on Careers for class credit

[ In Reply To ..]
The class was a Career class in college and I had to interview people and look up the job pay and right an essay, etc. I had to take tests to see what is my personality and what my interests were that would fit for my future career. I looked into paralegal, college/high school counselor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, drug and rehab counselor, etc. I had to look how much schooling, the pay, benefits, the future of the job, etc.

Where I live, west coast, I would start out around 14.60 an hour through Providence with excellent medical benefits and they pay for schooling. A physical therapist assistant starts here at 20.00 an hour and physical therapists start at 26.00.

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