Second Job, Better Job
1/99, from Jean, http://www.mtdaily.com/wwwboard/messages7/352.html, computer-aided notetaker, real-time captioner for deaf students.
It is a great learning tool for me. I often use the sites on the net to research to make sure what we have is correct (and even then, we are human and sometimes the companies reps themselves give different spellings and answers.) It takes some time but is definitely worthwhile.
There are other publishing companies that also use MTs. There is a need for us for working on all sorts of textbooks and publications, as well as the word books we use. After all, we are the medical word experts.. It's another avenue for MTs who find the keyboards too taxing to be pounding day after day.
I would recommend that you at least know your way around the computer somewhat (and if you are reading this here.. you already probably do!) If you are interested, talk to the representatives at meetings, contact some of the publishing houses (there are many) that do textbooks, MT books, etc. I know one lady who said they usually need indexers too (people who are willing to read through them sometimes very boring othertimes very interesting). Their job is to put that this word is on that page... etc.. I always thought that was done automotically.. but at least for some.. there's a real person needed for that. You can even contact some of them via the net. I know Stedman's and HPI both have sites..
Almost all of the MTs I work with are CMTs but not all of them are. I think the important things are 1) You have a real love of words and a burning desire to learn more; 2) You can communicate well via the net and on that thing called a what's it.. oh yeah, a phone.. :) 3)You have the time to do it and can meet the deadlines; 4) You don't hope to get rich from it.. I have put in a lot of hours but I really believe it has benefits that far outweigh the few down sides to it.
When my mother was in one Philadelphia hospital thirteen years ago, in the final stages of heart disease with an aneurysm and emphysema, the hospital was very insistent that my brother and I make arrangements to have her placed in a nursing care facility, which we did post-haste. (BTW, no sooner was she in the nursing home than she made a remarkable recovery and went on to live another 3-1/2 years before dying at age 81!) Later I realized that they didn't want to soil their reputation.
Change is an interesting topic. The biggest change in our department in the last two years is that we are about to be presented with our second pay cut. The first one cost me around $4000 per year. Adminstration one year before our present supervisor came decided that we were overpaid on our incentive system--$38,000 to 40,000 for those of use who worked very hard and were willing to work "premium shifts" evening weekends. The RRA department head who administered this blow, with hospital management cheering in the background, had the most contemptuous, adversarial attitude that I have ever encountered in the workplace. She told us that we were overpaid and pampered and had no business making the kind of money that we had earned in the past. So much for the first year. She hired our present supervisor one year ago last May. The RRA has since departed, our supervisor is now our boss and part of an expanded "management team" that directs the entire medical records department. More managers saves money, apparently.
Radiology and cardiology, as of this week, are going to be typed in a new system, the famous and semi-mystical paperless medical record system. Our general medical is typed in Soft Med's ChartScript, which we all like very much. Recent management edict is that we are expected to type radiology and general medical in the future--one of the changes. Okay, fine. I like to be well-rounded. There will now, we were informed, be another "change in method of compensation." The new system cannot count lines! Our incentive is based on 1000 lines, 70-character line. We are now told that our incentive pay will be changed and possibly tied into turnaround time and our QA results and other suspiciously subjective data. This very mysterious program has yet to be presented to us by Human Resources (don't you love that name). All of us are wondering just what our next paycheck is going to look like. The new system supposedly went up yesterday.
That is the thumbnail sketch of conditions in my workplace--forgot to mention that my supervisor is targeting certain of us as "troublemakers" and has written them up for bad attitudes. Did I mention free speech! I have become amazingly tactful and cosmically cooperative. In the background floats the just slightly pitying and condescending attitude towards those of us who have not sought CMT certification.
I believe that my hospital and others in my city have targeted our salaries as a place to cut costs and have conspired to bring salaries down all over the city. Just a wild guess. We now are expected to work harder for less money and accept the fact that change in our department now means more clerical duties. Another story.
That said, why would certain national transcription services pay a premium for CMT? Does the quality of our work not count anymore? I have been scrupulous bordering on fanatical about accuracy, education, and production. If I worked for one of these services, is my work assumed to be of lesser value because I am not a CMT, regardless of how good it might be IN REALITY?
I am very confused right now and if I were younger, I assure you that I would probably make a sharp U-turn at Careerville. Newbies are facing great surprises, particularly in hospital work. If my present situation--as one of those overpaid, pampered, glorified clerk malconents in transcription--is an indication of future changes, it is dark indeed.
Now the story is going to get worse regarding "compensation." Possible rumor is, no incentive at all. Base pay, period. In two weeks, we should know the answer. The new system went up on Monday. Yesterday was my first day back on my evening shift. I was "trained" in five minutes by our supervisor and our systems manager, neither of whom have system figured out yet. No phrases entered. No explanation of what reports ready to type, etc.
I'll be interested to see if this is a trend for the future in transcription - some of the benefits of at home work for the employees, but lower rates and more control for the employer (as compared to a service).
With the shortage of transcriptionists here and several current openings in our department, the department is having to send some of the work to outside services. However, it is much more cost-effective to do the work in-house, and the home program seems to been a positive step in that direction as far as increasing production, reducing absenteeism, keeping employees happy, and attracting new employees who like the idea of working at home with the benefits of being an employee rather than an IC. We are paid per hour and have full benefits. For me personally, this has been wonderful!
There is a standard evaluation "checklist" for these site visits which deals mainly with workstation setup, safety, and security. There is also a "telecommuting contract" specifying the responsibilities of the employee and the hospital with regard to equipment, confidentiality, and safety of the work area, as well as procedures in the case of equipment failure, power outage, etc.
1. Does your company have an adequate supply of work, or are there sometimes "slow" days when you are asked to come off the account?
2. Does your employer provide the equipment you need to work, or do you?
3. Are you required to pay the phone bill or any other "extras"?
4. What is the pay range at your company, and are new hires (regardless of years of experience) started at the bottom of the pay scale?
5. Are there regular reviews and pay increases, or does your employer state that since you are paid by production and get regular software upgrades, that is sufficient for you to produce more, making line rate increases unnecessary?
6. Does your employer give bonuses to CMTs or actively encourage MTs to become CMTs and/or join the AAMT?
7. If your employer is not located near you, were you required to travel to them for any part of the hiring process?
8. Are there any benefits of your company that you feel significantly contribute to your success and make it superior to the many other services out there?
What makes the hospital experience so invaluable is the range of specialties, I believe. We really stay up to date on the medications doing all those ER notes and H&Ps. No matter what somebody is admitted for -- small problem or large -- they have an H&P and all their meds listed. I DO remember having to struggle with some meds on the CMT test. It's important to have up-to-date references if you take the exam.
As far as higher pay for CMTs, the hospital I work for doesn't directly pay more for that. You are, however, recognized and rewarded on your evaluation for seeking out continuing education by attending local AAMT chapter meetings, symposiums, conventions, etc. Also, another thing, our local chapter of AAMT will help pay for these exams if you are a member in good standing! I don't know if other chapters do this or not. A pretty good deal!
As far as the exam, I took it for my own satisfaction, and I'm glad I did. Some of this stuff you can't put dollar amounts on. The certification is also rather handy when looking for a job--I work for some doctors at home, and got the job simply on the recommendation of another CMT who I knew through networking with local AAMT chapter who knew the office manager. Never had to test or interview for these doctors....we have a great relationship so I assume they're happy with the work...been with them now for almost three years!!
An MT today that graduates from a course that follows all of the guidelines set forth by the AAMT on what to look for in a course will be very well trained BUT will not be considered for most jobs out there simply because of lack of actual experience. There's a big gap there between graduating and being ready to take that test for the hospital transcriptionist position and perhaps they should be helping us learn how to close it rather than lecturing on where to put the colon and we're careful enough with our pronouns.
I have no doubt that since the idea was formed it will happen now, simply because there are MTs out there who care enough and feel strongly enough about helping each other advance that they'll MAKE it happen. Amen to that and count me in!
In order to work for a national service, you must be able to work in a completely independent manner. That means NOBODY to help you -- EVER. Granted, some services have editors, but you can't expect them to do your work for you. YOU have to be able to do EVERYTHING and ANYTHING which comes across your line, regardless of what it is, who is dictating, or how bad the recording might be -- and they're often pretty bad, especially if you have to download and re-record your dictation onto tapes to avoid paying excessive long-distance charges.
I do believe that the work done on a large teaching hospital account is more technically complex and demanding than work done at even large multispecialty clinics. While you may encounter a "recap" of an operation in your office dictation, you will actually get the "real" operation in the service dictation -- and it may be six pages long and will invariably be dictated in a recovery area, so you get to listen to an exhausted, mumbling surgeon who is NOT trying to be heard over several screaming patients, continuously clanging metal, beepers, audio systems, and LOUD commotion on the part of the OR staff.
I think one of the main differences between large teaching hospital and small hospital or clinic is in the sheer numbers of dictators you will encounter. I don't just do ONE hospital, I do SEVERAL hospitals, and each of them may have several hundred dictators! I may go days between hearing the same voice twice! They have no idea who I am, and they can't "dictate so I'll understand," because they assume I know everything I need to know. In clinics and offices, the doctors dictate to the level of the MTs -- this is something which happens automatically.
If you really want to start doing service work, I think you should start out working for a service close to home. Then, move up to something bigger when you're ready.
Also remember that persistence pays off. Most transcription services give a test to prospective employees, regardless of experience. Your ability to perform may convince someone to give you a chance even if you do not possess the 2-3 years of experience they are looking for. Also large companies do enough variety of work where they are able to assign work to those with limited experience and gradually cross-train them into other specialties.
The bottom line is to not become discouraged too easily. There remains a real demand for medical transcriptionists and it is equally frustrating for employers to find and hire sufficient numbers of qualified people. If you are really dedicated to this field you will be persistant and find someone to give you a chance. Also remember that transcription services MUST meet the quality standards their clients demand. Work done by new employees, even with experience, must be proof read verbatim to insure these quality standards are met. This proofreading must be done by some of your most experienced people and is very expensive. This is why employers are hesitant to hire people with only the educational background and no real experience.
My advice to someone who has years of clinic experience but no hospital experience, and wants to go to work for a national service, is to try to find someplace 'on the side' where you can get some experience transcribing OP notes. The hospital in my town was willing to hire 'per diem' transcriptionists for fill-in and vacation and a few hours here and there, and that would be one way to get some hospital experience without possibly having to quit your 'other' job. Or perhaps you might find a small service or a hospital that would let you come in on your time (for free) and transcribe some 'old' OP notes. I think most national services that require hospital experience would still be willing to consider someone even with that sort of experience.
In response to Mary's note, that MTs with many years of office experience wouldn't have much trouble transcribing hospital dictation, I have to disagree somewhat. I started with this national service 5-1/2 years ago. When I started with them, I had just finished 10 years of working as sole transcriptionist for a group of 8 physicians. For the 10 years prior to that, I had worked in various clinics, and hospitals. My last 'hospital medical records department' transcription experience had been 10 years previous to starting with the service. When I started with the national service, even though I *had* worked in hospitals in years past, I floundered for the first few months - I had to look up almost everything related to OPs, and even though the Surgical_Word_Book was fairly new at that time and had a lot of terms I needed, there were many other terms, especially instruments and names of new techniques, and 'regional' terms that I had absolutely no place to look for. And working at home alone for a national service gave me no 'co-workers' I could ask or have listen on my earphones. It was a rough few months, but eventually started getting easier and at the end of a year I was up to speed on OPs.
A lot depends on the particular accounts any particular service has - of course some are easier than others. As an editor for this national service now, I can say without reservation that an MT with absolutely no hospital experience would never succeed with *our* service, with the client hospitals that we have. I have seen many try, and fail or give up in desperation. And we simply don't have enough 'clinic and ER' type accounts to put the less experienced MTs on.
In the past, when I was in a position of hiring MTs, I would take into account the particular hospital or clinical setting that the experience was gained in. If you transcribed at a major medical center facility, more than likely you would have a broader knowledge base than an MT who worked only in a clinical setting or who worked solely for a small community hospital in a rural setting. There are few, if any, hard and fast rules in this business...just guidelines taught by experience and the school of hard knocks. Oh, there is one rule that rarely, if ever, should be broken: If a physician spells a word for you, look it up!
So, there are special cases in reverse. I still have to use my references for EENT work, and different eye doctors around the country dictate their notes a little differently than others, so there is always a learning curve for something.
Ah, yes, it's funny that doctors can't spell the words they use every day, isn't it? However, can the average person spell some of the words in every day use - a woman hired for radiologic MT in my transcription room spelled 'pneumonia' differently every time she typed it - and she never even had to use a dictionary!
I believe the most important thing a transcriptionist needs is the ability to figure out where to look and what to look for - let's see, what else sounds like "sss" .... we have c, s and, oh yes, ps as in psitticosis. It's a tough one for sure.
I was asked by the administrators of the LBCC course to come back the next year and speak to other hopeful transcriptionists and nurses regarding the program, because they were going to completely revamp it, and my imput was that basically they needed to start covering clinical stuff as well, because not all transcriptionists run to the hospitals to find a new job. At that time, I was lead medical transcriptionist at The Corvallis Clinic for swing shift, in charge of six other transcriptionists, one of which trained me (AAAAKKK!).
My own humble opinion is, is that any med. transcriptionist with drive, determination, and the "know how" to find things quickly in books should be given a chance nearly anywhere. I've never had a day where I didn't learn something new, whether it be doctor lingo, a new drug, a new procedure, and frankly, every day can be new to learning things. As long as you have the patience, a good ear, and an aptitude for the job, the door should be open no matter where you look.
I had a wonderful woman looking over my shoulder when I was in the learning phase, never telling me the answers when I had a question, but breaking apart the word or looking at the surrounding words to get the idea of she showed me HOW to look for the answer--frankly? I think that's the most important skill a transcriptionist could have, and yes the dictionaries are there, and yes, the word books are there, but if you don't know how to break apart the word or look at the surrounding words to get the idea of where you are at in the body and what disease process you are currently typing, it's hard to find a word you only heard part of, or not at all.