That's a tough one. It is nice to be able to stay home with your child. They grow up so fast.

I had no idea that medical transcriptionists had such a crummy schedule. Could you tell the doctors with which you currently have an account that ... for example... you will not be able to transcribe on Tuesdays and Saturdays thereby giving yourself a known free day?

I'd probably try for a steady account and let them know what days you might not be able to transcribe.

LOL, if it were that easy... How well would you take something like that from your staff? I know that doctors have a very big job to do, and the last thing they are going to accept is something like their transcriptionist dictating to them when they will work and when they won't. They'll just go hire someone who is willing to do what they need, and even though it makes my job hard sometimes, I understand it. For example, we seem to get a lot of STAT reports at the end of the day when I normally quit working and start getting supper ready. Then there is the one who saves all the dictation up for the whole week and sends it on FRIDAY EVENING and wants it back by MONDAY MORNING. That one could change, but I'm sure it would inconvenience him to do so. The grammar is horrible on that one, too. I end up typing what I think he meant to say rather than what he did say, and correcting sentence structure, etc.

I guess I just felt like ranting. When I don't have enough money to fix my van and work slows down, it just gets to me. I ordered those frogs before the van got broke and while work was good, by the way. :) I got a good paycheck that time. On the other hand, when money is not so tight I really enjoy the flexibility and look at is as a nice suprise if I get a morning off to run errands unexpectedly. Its that glass half full or half empty sort of thing.

One good thing is that a lot of the work is coming back from overseas. They realized that people who speak English as a second language can't do a good job in this line of work - even though they charge about 1/3 of what we can.

I know not all doctors are jerks, but it can seem like that sometimes. They want their reports to magically appear and for them to be perfect, and they don't give a thought to the person on the other end. I dread the times when I have to let one know that the recorder must have cut off before they finished so I was unable to complete the report, or worse, when I have to ask them to speak up and turn off the radio in the background, or my favorite, stop rustling the papers in the chart while they are dictating, because all of that extra noise completely drowns out what they are saying. You would think that they could say thanks for letting me know, I didn't realize you were having a hard time hearing that. But they get offended instead. They surely never did anything wrong, it had to be a fault on my end!! When I was first getting started out and I worked in an office, they used tapes. The doctor gave me a tape that was BLANK!! He had forgotten to turn on the recorder for that whole day! Well, talk about killing the messenger... I know he was very frustrated at having to redictate the patients for the whole day, but I didn't have anything to do with it! It is the same way if we have to ask them to spell patient's names, or tell them that there is going to be a blank because they talked right through the telephone ringing and we couldn't hear a thing, etc.

I really can't give the doctors all the credit for being a pain. Most of the time they don't even know what is going on. It is their office manager who handles everything, so not docking but once a week and things like that really can't be blamed on them.

Really all of that is part of the job though, it is the fluctuation in the amount of work when I really need the money that gets me. I would cry every day if I had to leave the baby with someone and go to work. Whenever money gets tight though, it makes everything hard. I'm sure you all know how that goes. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt the squeeze before. :) This particular "rant" cam about because I have been checking for work all day, and there was nothing. Then they send several days' worth at one time and need it back by morning. So guess what I will be doing tonight after the kids go to bed? But hey, I could use the money.

I did it again, didn't I. Rambled.

Ramble on our friend! Anything we can do to buoy you up... let us know.

I've got a friend who is head administative nurse at Forest General. Want me to get her to keep her eyes and ears open?

not sure how it is to have a kid but i bet it's real tough.

sarraceniahunter, are you in Hattiesburg?? I didn't know there was anyone else near here.

When I first got started several years ago I applied at Forrest General and Hattiesburg Clinic. Neither was interested in hiring at the time because I was new. Now they probably would because I have gained a lot more experience, but they hire for in-house. Thanks though. It never hurts to have contacts. I have lots of friends who are nurses, and one who is an office manager. I never hit them up for jobs. It is awkward for them, and no one wants to hire friends or family members in case it doesn't work out. I wouldn't either. They know what I do for a job and can contact me if they want to.

If you live near me, I want to come over and see your CPs. :)

It really sounds like you need something much more stable.
Despite the luxury of doing it at home the rewards appear to
be tenuous (spelling?). There may be other jobs that you can find very similar to what you are doing now and may only need a little re-education. Such as working as a court stenographer, or working for an attorney, or even as a receptionist. These jobs working conditions are much more fixed and the pay would seem to be better if not more reliable. Who really needs to be battered about like a slave. And from what I see, you are a slave (when your time is not your own 24/7 then that simply put it: SUCKS!) Quit apologizing for those who you work for. A self-employed person sets their own schedule! The work a self-employed person does is at their own time! Otherwise technically you are an employee and those doctors should be covering you as an employee and including you on the federal and state payroll reports as well as on any insurance reports that they are participating in. In fact you may want to check on your rights as an employee and even get a ruling as to what you are from the IRS. I am not kidding. I am a self-employed person and while I have had to do some jobs similar to yours-on demand I did so as an employee. Please think about this as I believe you are being exploited. You can check with other organizations if you do not want to check with the IRS. The state employment department on what is an employee and would your situation constitute one. If so then there would be serious consequences. But if you have contracted out to perform your work on a demand-basis then it is time to re-negotiate that contract! You have rights as a business person and as an employee-check it out.

cheers.

Also I forgot this:

The fees you charge should cover the time that you are not
working but are held in limbo for the benefit of the doctors. Technically for 8 hours a day you must earn the minimal federal minimum wage and after 8 hours it is time and a half. So figuring it out it comes to a minimal fee of
$248.08 per day.

Another approach is to cut back on the doctors you serve.
And take on a part-time job. This would allow more time for
home and work and put the doctors into recognizing that you are only flesh and blood not a machine!

I certainly have thought of all of that. I am contracting, and there are plenty of others wanting to work as MTs, so they would just find another one. Thanks for the support! I just have to rant every once in a while. I had started off working in an office and I had to leave my daughter with a babysitter, and when she started crying and saying she didn't want to go I finally got it out of her that the babysitter was spanking her all the time, like when she wouldn't lay down to take a nap, and I had told her I didn't want her taking a nap because she wouldn't sleep for me at home. I hated it. So, unstable as my hours and pay can be, I will not put my baby with a babysitter. The unstable pay is better than nothing, becasue the alternative is to stay home with no pay at all until the baby gets in school. You are right about feeling like a slave sometimes and being at someone's beck and call.

B28 ... OMG!!!! Do I know your pain. I'm a research assistant at the University of Iowa. I've worked for several Doctors. I've come to the conclusion that Dr stands for Dumber than rocks and Md for major dumba55. I can't tell you the number of times one of my Rock Stupid Md Boss' would come to me at 4:15, I left work at 4:30, with samples and asked me to "work them up". That took on average 4-5 hours.

One day I'd had enough. One of my former bosses told me he would be getting a sample 'sometime today'. I told him I had plans and he absolutly had to have it to me by 11:00 AM. He said "no problem." He came in at 4:27 PM. I walked over and stood beside him and pointing to the lab said,
"Do you know what that is?"
He looked rather puzzled.
I said "It's a lab"
I patted him on the back said "good luck" and went home.

I'd like to say that was the last time he did that but I'd be telling a fib. He never learned.

I've been working around Mds for 15 years now and I can tell you they think of no one but themselves when it comes to getting work done. No rules apply to them, deadline are for someone else and because they have no lives then neither should anyone else. I particulaly love when they start complaining about how stressful their jobs are or how little time they have. I've reminded many that they chose the profession so they need to b1tch at the guy in the mirror and not to me. I hates doctors..........

LOL Clay, it is said that the two professions with the highest rate of infidelity, drug abuse, and suicide are doctors and preachers. Since I am married to a preacher, I can understand that, and can relate to what a doctor has to go through. They are not allowed to mess up because someone else's life is a stake, and they are required to be perfect at all times and to have all of the answers. What I just said can apply to both professions I mentioned. It is very stressful being married to a preacher. He can get called out at any time, family plans can be changed if someone needs him, and we have absolutely no privacy. Last week was so very stressful to us because our house is right next to the church with hardly and space between the two. There were people here at all hours from morning until night getting set up for a wedding. They were knocking on our door anytime they needed anything, borrowing whatever they wanted, and getting us to go over and help them at times. their kid stayed with us most of the time and I fed her. There was just no respect. I get mad when people think that just because I am home I am not working and they can bug me all day. It is actually harder to work from home than in an office. At least in an office you know there is only one thing you are expected to do. At home it seems I am pulled in many different directions. But I digress. Back to the doctor thing. I had said before that I understand to an extent the fact that some reports have to be turned in right away. It is expecially ture when a patient is being sent to the emergency room, or has to go for additional tests and they need the report from that visit to go with them, or when the patient is due back the next day, it helps them to have the report from the previous day in the chart so they can know what they did to that patietn yesterday. But I do agree with you for the most part. Most of the time I am ranting about my family not respecting my work time. Then again, I rant about the "bosses" not respecting my family time, like when I have to work at nights or weekends. It kind of goes both ways. I think I've said it before, but the thing that gets me is just the lack of respect. When I am taking twice as long to decipher a report because of the mumbling, ringing telephone, horrible grammer and sentence structure and things like that, it makes me mad. I KNOW they can do better than that. They just don't care that there is a person on the other end having to make out that mess, and the fact that I get paid by the line, so anything that slows me down means less pay for me.

"They are not allowed to mess up because someone else's life is a stake, and they are required to be perfect at all times and to have all of the answers. "

OOOOHHHHH My..... Like I said I've worked with Mds way too long. I've been witness to a frightening number of mistakes.

Drs are by no means perfect they are simply trained to have very good poker faces. I get to hear all the guessing, second guessing and pure shots in the dark that go on behind the scenes. After all the debate they present it to the patient as a perfectly logical option and a classic case all the while dealing with inner termoil and doubts about wether the patient will respond.

Long ago I got over the "Drs are infalable" mind set.

I wasn't saying that they are perfect, just that they are expected to be. Hence the tremendous pressure placed on them when they know they are not perfect and that they don't have all the answers. The same goes for preachers. They are still men, and still human, and they don't have all the answers. But they're "not allowed" to mess up, and they are supposed to "fix everybody's problems". I wasn't siding with them, though. I see exactly what you are saying.

Sounds like the real issue is the lack of organization of
both professions. Either due to mindset or an insufficient financial base appropriate organizational tactics can remedy alot of the stress that both professions (as well as others) endure. And that is why a qualified staff is so important in both cases. They should be the buffer between the unnecessary intrusions that beset both professions and in so doing allow the professional to do the job he is best qualified for. But that professional has to realize that they have an obligation to themselves (and to their families) that the delegation of time is vital to ensure that they will be able to perform at an optimal level. Perhaps procuring some literature or attending a seminar on organizational skills at the professionals level that can be presented may help?

It also sounds like a time off is needed? Summer is approaching-take a vacation and no work with you just your family!

Oh we will. We usually take two vacations a year. He usually needs it more than me just to get away from the pressures of church. This will sound cruel, but my favorite week out of the year is when he goes to Nicaragua each summer on a mission trip. Everything goes so smoothly that week!

I don't live in Hattiesburg but I have friends I visit there often. I just built a mini-bog for my friend that works at the hospital. I live in Byram Mississippi and work in Carthage Texas. Got 2 mini-bogs in each town! I also got some Nepenthes in Texas with me. Where do you hail from?

Back2eight, I think you need to talk to him about what you
just said about his absence being a blessing in disguise.
Eden was not meant to be a jungle! It was helpmate not slave! Do yourself and him a big favor and try to get your feelings across. His ministry will definitely improve when the foundations that the Lord God of Heaven has set him upon are secure. Perhaps the frantic-ness of his calling is only his way of coping with the insecurity of the relationship. Hope I am clear on this. Take the initiative!
Help him to help you!
Best wishes.

sarraceniahunter, I just asked the same question in another post before reading this one, so ignore that one! I am in Mississippi, grew up here, but spent several years in Texas at one point. I know of some wild sarracenia growing in South Mississippi that is in danger from development. There was a post of TF about it. I keep meaning to drive down there to check it out for myself, and get some permission to move the plants if they are going to get destroyed.

[quote]Most of the time I am ranting about my family not respecting my work time. Then again, I rant about the "bosses" not respecting my family time, like when I have to work at nights or weekends. It kind of goes both ways. [/quote]

This is EXACTLY what Lynn tells me, often. She just told me yesterday that she was going to "put her foot down" and come home at 5 or 6. Her prayer partner / office secretary, goes through the same thing and just establishes boundaries. Our pastor has grown children and his wife takes care of the things at home. Both Lynn and Marie (church secretary) each have 4 children, so the dynamics are quite different than that of our pastor. The three of you are like "wishbones"!

I've been to the Gulf Coast and have seen the Sarracenia there many times. There are,(were?) places where you can see them growing right beside I10. I've also seen the S. alata growing as far north as Wayne county in the national forest. There is also an abundance of Drosera brevifolia at the Wayne county site. I knew after Katrina when talk started of moving those casinos inland that Sarracenia stands would be threatened. People down there think of them as mere weeds.

unfortunatly, that's because most humans only think of their selfishness.. it is a sad thing of some beautiful plant species become extinct by their greedy pleasures.. just.. so.. so sad..

I never seen any Cps in the wild, but i am hoping i ever do. i bet it's the most beautiful sight the eyes can see; seing them growing in their natural habitats. It would be the coolest experience to see them in the wild.

I am going to make a trip that way and look for them. I don't want those casinos coming on land even if it weren't for the plants that would be destroyed! There are some growing in the woods around my house but I have never found them yet.

look at this

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:550593}}

I'm a hair stylist. Ever think about it. School is only a year or two, depending on which state you're in. My schedule is so flexible that my 16 month old daughter has only been with my husband, my mom or myself. My first daughter was very sick and passed away. we had the same set-up, my husband, my mom or me. She received the care that she needed and was never with strangers. I work for a corporation, have flexible hours and job security. If you need someone to talk to shaemama02@yahoo.com