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Up Against The Wall - MT Idiot


Posted: Apr 11, 2010

No viable options.  STUCK!   Can't move.  Can't progress.   Can't do work.  Don't know what to do AT ALL.  Signed off my shift in exactly this situation.  This happened a couple of nights ago.  Now it's being demanded that I sign a Written Warning which mis-states the cause for action, and I have refused to sign it.  Conference call on Monday.  Details follow:

Never ONE TIME in over ten years of working for Medquist have I EVER, NOT ONCE, encountered a Demographic Page/ ADP Input Page which asked me to the patient's social security number.  NOT ONCE IN TEN YEARS.

Of course, when I signed on for my shift a few nights ago, I immediately began to get jobs from a state from which I had never gotten work before.  It is in the region I work in, but I've never had a job from that state before.  I've never had a job from that "facility" before that night.  I've never had this dictator/doctor before.  What I have had is a few doctor's from the same facility -- since this shift began -- who have supplied sketchy, contradictory work types and work, completely inadequate demographics, and mumbled the names of doctors who are supposed to be receiving letters.

But I did the best I could with these "issues"/things and proceeded, at a snail's pace, because I was hunting all over virtual creation to try to pull together what I needed for ADT.

Next job comes up.  In the mandatory ADT, it wants the patient's social security number.  The doctor doesn't dictate it.  It doesn't appear anywhere below in the optional  info (in fact, I don't think any optional info came up).  So I filled out the rest of the availalbe demographic information and decided to try to enter it -- go on and type the job.  NO WAY       I keep getting a message "in my face" that tells me in what format to enterthe required patient social security number.

Well, I don't have the patient social security number.  I keep stubbornly repeating the futile exercise of trying to open the job.  I have NEVER EVER ENCOUNTERED A SITUATION WHERE IT WAS NECESSARY OR DESIRABLE FOR ME TO ENTER A BUNCH OF ZERO'S IN A JOB -- AND THAT WOULD "DO THE TRICK" of opening it up.   YES, I have seen the system propose in 999999 for a possible selection of "no dictation. That's as close as I have ever come to an option of anything like 000-00-000.  BUT IT NEVER EVEN CROSSED MY MIND, FOR WHATEVER REASON, TO TRY FILLING IN THE PATIENT'S SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER WITH ZEROs.   After all, 000-00-000 is NOT A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

Well, I couldn't get around this situaiton; so I finally decided this would be a  job that I would ABORT.  I would get rid of this job and then go on, getting the next job and continue working.  I COULDN'T ABORT THE JOB.  IT JUST KEPT COMING BACK TO ME.  What I mean is, I aborted it, and it came back, and back, and back.  But I couldn't type/eidit it because I couldn't get past the ADT.

It was about 12:45 a.m.   I work "red-eye" shifts (have done for about 9 years).  Can't call the office and ask for advice at 12:45 a.m.

The whole process was exhausting because of the endless frustration.   I FINALLY DECIDED TO STOP WORKING.   I FELT LIKE I WAS JAMMED UP AGAINST A WALL.

I SIGNED OFF THE SYSTEM AND THE SCHEUDLE AND STOPPED.   I then wrote a note to my CCM explaining the situation and that I had stopped working because I was STUCK. 

You know what if feels like to be in a car in a humongous traffice jam at rush-hour, where you simply cannot move.  All you wanna do is MOVE.  But YOU CAN'T MOVE.  YOU'RE STUCK.   THAT'S WHY I SIGNED OFF WORK EARLY.

NOW, I'M BEING TOLD I MUST SIGN A WRITTEN WARNING TO GO INTO MY H.R. FILE.  The warnng states the reason for "disciplinary action" as SIGNED OFF SHIFT BECAUSE OF UNFAMILIAR WORK.

I will not sign it.  I don't care what the consequences are.  i will not sign it.   i will not.  i will not.  i will not.   i will not.   i WILL NOT SIGN IT.

Am I burned out?   Why no.  Of course not.  I was informed that my CCM, her boss and H.R. all agreed that I must sign the form.   I said, I WILL NOT SIGN IT AND I WANT TO TALK TO THE PERSON IN H.R. WHO FILLED OUT THE FORM.

Conference call tomorrow morning (Monday).  I suppose I'll probably get fired.  DO I CARE ANY MORE.    WHY NO, NOT AT ALL.   I'M TOO BLOODY TIRED TO CARE.

And the thing that I AM THE MOST TIRED OF IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND DOCTORS WHO MUMBLE THEIR DICTATION.  That is the memory I will carry for LIFE in my head, from my "probable last shift of work,"  --- a lot of doctors from the state of Connecticut, mostly NOT ESL's, but the one ESL spoke much more carefully that all the doctors who were Engish-as-a-first-language speakers.

I'll tell you what --- I don't mind if some lucky transriptionist/editor from SPHERIS gets my shifts!!!!

I've figured out I can live without this income, and I can get another job pretty quickly.

You need to tell them - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
First you need to tell them that if it is not listed in the client profile, that you cannot "know" what to put in there. It should say "if not given.. put XXX."

Second, you need to say that you never refused unfamiliar work and that the wording on the disciplinary action is incorrect, and that is why you refuse to sign it. You did unfamilar work, you did other reports in that same hospital before this problem report.

You need to explain you side that you had no-one to call for help, that you could not advance beyond the ADT page without the information requested, and that no information was given, that you tried to abort the job in the hopes that someone from that account would pick up the job and "Know" what to do with it, but it kept coming back.

If they still insist that you sign it, I would only do so when they change the wording to signed off shift early do to reasons beyond your control and I would still have an attachment with your side of the story on it.

I also would ask for an explanation as to why it would not advance beyond the ADT screen. I have never had that happen before. Even mandatory stuff will let you advance if you have not filled it in, and then you just attach a QA note.

I would also demand that the client profiles be updated to reflect this situation and countless others, as this their job to keep us up to date on how to do our job properly.

And one last thing, I would certainly add into your explanation on your disciplinary action that you are not paid for this page and therefore they are forcing you to sign disciplinary action for something that you are not paid to do.

Just in case this comes back to bite you in the unemployment line. I would also photo copy that disciplinary action, tape the phone call with them on a voice recorder and tell them before you record them that you would like documentation of this call so you are going to record it, and then finally, send a letter to your CCM, the QA lead and their supervisors as well explaining the entire situation and e-mail yourself a copy for proof.

Hope that helps you tomorrow!

Yes, Thank you for your excellent advice and for your time - MT Idiot

[ In Reply To ..]
Of course, I have given a lot of thought to how to handle the call tomorrow, but your suggestions cover so much "ground" and are GREAT.

I appreciate your taking the time necessary to write such a point-by-point answer.

I will take all the suggetions I had not already thought of. Of course, I already told my CCM that my signing off had absolutely NOTHING to do with the unfamiliarity of the work, and repeatedly explained exactly why I did sign off.

I am a part time (below 24 hours a week) employee, and I don't think I could even get Unemployment Insurance, being this category of employee. If I am not mistaken, the office does not have to pay into the unemployment fund for those of us required only to product 2000 lines a week (I used to produce close to 200 lines an hour nearly every day. Now I'm embarrassed to even say how low my production is).

Anyway -- my biggest overall problem right now is handling the level of BURNOUT I FEEL. AND I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IF THEY ADD SPHERIS WITH THAT MANY NEW MTs ALL AT ONCE -- THE CHAOS. Is it conceivable that every client hospital Spheris has will come to MQ and the transcriptionists will retain their current assignments? Or do you see something more disruptive on the horizon?

Thank you Again!!!

Please come back and tell us what happened - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I, too, know about the burnout feeling. I am working 2 jobs right now trying to make it and having family problems as well. It is very stressful, all of this work stuff and even my QA person said that she could not be a transcriptionist for the Q with all of these rules and such. She thinks its crazy and feels badly for us.

I just know that no matter what, they cannot take away my work ethic and that the struggles we face today are for the joys of tomorrow. Just keep believing that all of our hard work will pay off at some point, even if not at this job!

I wish you luck and hope you work this out and can keep this job until you find something better.
I Will Come Back and Let You Know - MT Idiot
[ In Reply To ..]
Of course, I will come back and let you know. I wonder if the conference call will even "go off" tomorrow. It takes the other perosn as well as my CCM being available.

At any rate, I just finished an hour of make-up for "tech -- all boards down" -- and I am now getting some new ER reports from another client which has been indecisive in how much work it wanted "Q" to do for them. I almost had "pleasure goosebumps" from doing something I could COPE WITH, or felt like somebody had given me a shot of Demerol!! God, the stress level for the last week or so has been at the "call her insane" level. I can't even remember the last time I did not have a pounding headache, and I have one right now. And I have a whole lot more work coming --- 9-10 and then 12-3:30. I think I will take my third Imitrex in 3 days. It's more than I'm supposed to take. Guess what, if I drop dead, "I won't have to work no more." CAT STEVENS SAID THAT many years ago === when he was leaping and hopping on a moonshadow.

I have, to tell you the truth, been PRAYING for divine assistance to handle this situation.

Someone suggested to me on this Board the other day that I should change my name from MT Idiot to something else, as I obviously was not an idiot. Please understand, my name indicates the way I am quite sure the powers at at company view me, not the way I view myself. Or --- you could say -- I will poke fun at anything, notwithstanding myself.

Why didn't U call Support & get a ticket # - before quitting ? (n, m.)

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I Guess It Just Did Not occur to Me that I ....... - MT Idiot

[ In Reply To ..]
ought to do that. I did look for written documentation from MQ on "what to do in such instances."

Maybe there are other things I didn't think of as well, but you know what ...... at that particular time....I simply didn't think of them.

Just like I didn't happen to HIT on the thought of putting in 000-00-000 --- I didn't HIT on the thought of asking for a Ticket. It simply didn't occur to me.

In the time I had been working, I had already confronted a number of situations where the report was sent in as a "procedure note" or some such, and then dictated as a letter --- to Dr. Mumble. I had managed to figure out a couple of the doctor's names and find them in the cc list. Others I could not.

I was already feeling so wiped out from struggling with the demographics on all the other jobs, not to mention the mumbling that went on in the actual dictation and the fact that these came from specialized areas of medicine -- each one different than the last. SPECIALIZED AREAS OF MEDICINE RIFE WITH MUMBLING OF NAMES OF CONDITIONS. Geez, I haven't done a podiatry report in probably 4 years. Suddenly I get this elderly patient with a very very complex ankle/foot problem --- MUMBLE MUMBLE MUMBLE.

I can find some other work to do that will leave me less drained and better paid.

Next time put in - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
000-00-0000 I have seen that listed as the SS number several times.

Some accounts also have 999-99-9999 for unknown. Try it also. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

OMG - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
This is the most outrageous thing I've ever heard. First I think even having SS numbers on ADTs at all is dead wrong, butnot being able to get into the transcription is really strange. I've had reports where there's NO demographic information given at all but can still type the report.

I wouldn't sign their letter either, and I'd like to know what they think you should have done.

What They Think I Should Have Done - MT Idiot

[ In Reply To ..]
The response that I got from my CCM is "I just don't understand why you didn't go on and continue working.." not exact worss, but exact meaning. In other words, why didn't you leave that job and just plow ahead? But I kept telling her in my e-mails that I could not get into the job to type it and I could not ABORT it; it kept coming back to me as the next job to be typed.

So. I think the asnwer to your last question is : "JUST DO IT." It doesn't matter whether it's possible to do it. That's not a consideration and certainly not of interest to the bureaucracy of this company. DO IT. Do you hear me?????????????? DO IT. JUST DO IT. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU.
WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST GO AHEAD AND DO IT?????????????????????????????????

we are not people to them - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Have not been humans for a long time now. They think we are floating voices attached to electronic buttons, wires and sounds bytes with a six digit number to mark us individually.

Maybe if you have a next time... - MT down

[ In Reply To ..]
I remember in DQS if you abort the job it keeps coming back but if you break the job, it goes away. Is that still correct?
Abort versus Break - MT Idiot
[ In Reply To ..]
That's very true, but you cannot break a job from the demographics screen. Believe me, if you could do it, I would have done it. You have to be in the typing screen.

Next time...you can use my late husband's SSN - ***

[ In Reply To ..]
just let me know.

MT Idiot - Nick

[ In Reply To ..]
First of all, you are NOT an idiot. I think you are smart. Keep printouts of everything you can and absolutely do NOT sign anything. See an labor lawyer if need be. Sue MQ's backside if need be. This is outrageous treatment. MQ has been the neighborhood bully for a very long while, but you do not need to take their stuff. Good luck to you.


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