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

Remember when getting a CMT differential was the norm? - sm

Posted: Dec 19, 2012

Just reminscing, lol. Five years ago I used to get a 1 cpl CMT differential and that was not uncommon or hard to find. Through a buyout by Transcend that differential was taken away and now with another buyout Nuance not only has no differential also, but wants to pay those of us with a CMT the same rate as a new hire with no credential. I love the ads that say "CMT or RMT preferred" but the hidden ending to that sentence is "but we don't want to pay you for it." Well, guess I won't be paying the money to renew that next time. What a big fat waste.

It is definitely worthless now. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I never bothered to get one but would definitely not do it now.

It is just as bad to have 15+ years of experience and get paid the same as someone with a year.

At some point I suppose we will have to come to grips with the fact that this job is the equivalent of flipping burgers, at least wage-wise. In truth it takes a lot of skill to be a good MT, but with wages like this I shudder to think what medical records will look like in 10 years when it is nothing but VR and offshore MTs doing the work.

I thought so too - but I was wrong

[ In Reply To ..]
My CMT came up for renewal last summer. I was really thinking about not renewing, but I had completed over two-thirds of my CECs and didn't want to put all of that time and energy to waste. I renewed it thinking that I had just wasted my money, but I was looking for a new job outside of Nuance and thought it might help me in that. I was hired by a very small MTSO who was looking to hire only someone with their CMT. I now work as an IC Monday-Friday, no holidays, and make 11 cpl for straight typing. I am SO glad that I renewed my CMT! I know that my IC job might not last forever with the state of the industry these days, but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.

CMT differential - Not a CMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Just so you know, I always made it perfectly clear, despite my non-CMT status, and because of my 20+ years of acute care teaching hospital in-house experience, I wanted the top rate and I always got it. Perhaps this was so because I started transcribing back in the day on a typewriter (not a self correcting IBM selectric) making multicolor carbon copies with multi-colored correction fluid permanently staining my fingers. The dictation was done on a big tank where the audio got worse and worse as you progressed toward the middle. The recruiters could relate, and understood how I felt about this. The kind of experience I had was (and is) worth far more than a CMT, unless every CMT out there can produce 1500 or more perfect lines a day of transcription on an electric typewriter, making 4 to 6 carbons, all in different colors, with only Dorlands, Webers, and the Surgeon's syllabus as references (plus of course your little black book where you wrote in new terms in pencil until you were able to confirm, and then you wrote them in, in ink.) And yes, the reports had to be perfect, because the supervisors of transcription in those days were always ancient dragon ladies who knew everything, more medicine than any of the doctors, more rules of grammar, etc., than any English teacher. They caught every typo (they probably never slept) and had no life outside of transcription -- and on top of that would send you home to change clothes if your skirt was too short, but you had to make up your time, no PTO for you!

Now that brings back some memories! - Those were the days

[ In Reply To ..]
Good night John Boy.

Goodnight Mary Ellen. - :)

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Absolutely no offense meant. Sm - OP

[ In Reply To ..]
I remember those days as well. My point was in the last 10 years it's been hard to find an employer willing to pay much more for talent and knowledge, with the exception of paying for that CMT differential. I got it solely for this reason way back when they were still the AAMT, years before the new name. Now, that doesn't even work anymore. They don't give pay exceptions for anything anymore. I don't like to sound like I'm bragging, but I'm proud to be darn good at my job, and they just don't care. All it does is qualify me for their more difficult work at the same pay, like that should be some honor and their way of recognition of my abilities. Yeah, now that I've experienced Nuance, I'm done. I can't relocate and hospital jobs are hard to come by. And I'm afraid to work for any small company for fear they'll just get bought by Nuance.

Excuse any typos. I'm typing on my phone.

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