White Lily MT

Ok, so I have to admit that while I was out on maternity leave I watched way too much Martha Stewart.  This put my creative part of my brain in overdrive, and now that summer has finally arrived my gardening side as well.  On her website, while cruising the gardening section, I found an article about salad tables and growing your own vegetables.  Last year I really wanted to put out a gar den, but that was about the time that I found out I was pregnant and it just never happened.  Since we are renting the house we are currently living in, I don’t really have a place that I can plant a real garden, so this is the next best thing.  It’s basically a wooden frame on legs with plastic mesh hardware cloth and screening material stapled to the bottom of it to keep the soil from falling out.  It’s 58 inches long by 30 inches wide and 3-1/2 inches deep.  So far I have planted a lettuce mixture, green onions, spinach, cucumbers, and green beans in my salad table.  We’ll see if anything grows!!  The recommended mixture for the growing medium is 50% compost and 50% soilless potting mix, and once the little plants pop through the soil they will need fertilizer.  It is recommended to use 1/2 the dose of whatever kind of vegetable fertilizer you choose since the compost will provide some nutrients for your plants.  On top of the salad table, I also planted a yellow bell pepper plant, an anaheim pepper plant, oregano, basil, along with some flowers in pots to liven up the very bleak looking deck out back.  Here’s to hoping that in a couple months I will have fresh veggies growing in my backyard!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic MT week.  My employer sent me a wonderful coffee mug and a recipe for microwave cake in a coffee mug, and I wanted to pass it along.  I haven’t tried it yet but can’t wait to.  It sounds delicious and super fast, which I am all about right now!!

Microwave Cake in a Coffee Mug

• Cooking Spray
• 4 TBL flour
• 2 TBL baking cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 TBL oil
• Small splash of vanilla
• Chocolate syrup (optional)
• 1 large coffee mug
• 4 TBL sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 TBL milk
• 3 TBL chocolate chips (optional)
• Chopped nuts (optional)
• whipped topping (optional

Instructions:  Spray mug with cooking spray.  Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.  Add egg and mix thoroughly.  Pour in milk and oil and mix well.  Add chocolate chips (if using), vanilla, mix again.  Set mug in the microwave and cook for 2-1/2 to 3 minutes at 1000 watts.  Cake will rise over the top of the mug.  Some report that 2-1/2 minutes works best.  It depends on your microwave.  Watch carefully not to overdo it.  Remove from microwave.  Allow cake to cool a little.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with whipped topping and cherries if desired.  This can serve 2 if you care to share!

First of all, I want to say how very proud I was of our baby girl this past weekend.  We had some friends that were getting married  and decided to make the trek back up to Michigan to attend the wedding.  I was so worried how she would handle the drive up there.  It was supposed to be about 6-1/2 hours according to Google Maps, but we had to make some extra stops with Hannah so she could eat and to change some diapers.  The trip ended up taking us right at 8 hours.  I have to say, she handled the car ride remarkably well.  She never got fussy until we were about 1-1/2 hours away.  For that last part of the trip she was entertained by the awesome Ipad.  What would we do without Pocket Pond?  I have to say this is a great app for babies.  The app pretty much is just like watching a koi pond.  There are many different brightly colored fish with lily pads and bugs flying over, but when you touch the screen, it makes noises like you are splashing in the pond.  For the last month or so, this has been one of her favorite toys.  I’ll have to post some pictures of her playing with it soon.  They are quite hysterical.  It is just so amazing to me how a baby so young can be so intrigued with the Ipad.

Anyway,  we left our house around 11 AM Friday morning after a rocky start with last minute packing and got to the hotel around 7 PM.  I knew we weren’t staying in a 5-star hotel by the price that the hotel gave us (It was discounted since we were with the wedding), but at least it was clean.  The funny part was that our room had what we all called a “pick-a-boo” shower and whirlpool.  I had never seen anything like it before.  You could take a bath or shower and watch TV all at the same time through a large octagon opening between the bedroom and bathroom.  This came in handy while showering.  I could just leave Hannah in her pack and play and still keep an eye on her but not so much if you needed privacy in the bathroom.  This became the running joke the entire weekend.  I felt like we had taken a trip back in time to the 70’s.

The wedding was Saturday at 2 PM.  The bride is a veterinarian that I worked with in Michigan and her maid of honor was the practice manager at the same clinic.  It was great getting to see them again.  This was the first time they had met Hannah in person.  Of course they have seen lots of pictures though.  We woke up early Saturday morning and had the “lovely” free continental breakfast the hotel provided.  All I have to say is we would have been much better off running down to McD’s.  After that, we went back to the room and I helped the bride and maid of honor get dressed.  When we finally arrived at the wedding site (It was at a golf course and outside), I was so worried about Hannah getting too cold.  Good thing my husband was thinking when we packed the car and packed the stroller too!!  That way we could have her completely covered.  The weather was in the 50s and was threatening to rain.  Oh and did I mention it was right off Lake Michigan, which made the air feel even cooler.  The ceremony was very interesting.  It was officiated by a minister in the Mexican Indigenous Church.  Thank goodness Hannah slept through the entire ceremony, waking up only once with applause.  She even slept through the drums!  We unfortunately couldn’t stay at the reception long.  I was just too worried about the temperature.  We went back to the hotel and hung out there for the rest of the evening.  We were back on the road again Sunday morning after a great breakfast at Perkin’s.  It was so awesome to see friends again and I want to wish Paula and Chuck all the best!!

For quite some time voice recognition has been quite the hot topic amongst the medical transcription community.  What voice recognition is is a computer application/software program that converts a dictated sound file into text format.  In the medical transcription business whether you are a transcriptionist completing the work, a doctor dictating, or a medical transcription business stuck in the middle, this sounds very appealing.  Time definitely converts into money no matter which category you fit into.  My first MT job was VR work only.  What I quickly realized was that you get paid significantly less per line for VR work since you’re supposed to be doing mainly editing and not really transcription since that is supposed to be already completed for you.  I was just thrilled to have a job, so I was probably a little too eager to work for so little.  The VR recognition software that was being used to process these files was by no means even close to getting it right.  A computer program will never be 100% accurate when it comes to VR, but in order for this to be a productive way to do work, it has to do most of the work with the MT just doing editing.  In my first experience with VR, this was definitely not the case.  I found that it was much quicker to delete the entire document and start over, so I ended up doing straight transcription but getting paid for voice recognition work.

After only about 6 months I realized this company was not a good fit for me and moved on to transcription company that did only straight transcription for a much better line rate.  That was when I started making a decent living at doing this.  After being with this company for a couple years they too decided that they wanted to eventually convert over to doing all VR work and use their transcriptionists as editors.  I have to admit that I panicked when I first heard this.  My first experience with VR work was not exactly a positive one.  I am currently still with this company and they are still working on transitioning the accounts over to VR.  The majority of their work is still straight transcription.  I personally got officially trained using their VR software just a month or so ago.  I have to say that the software is much better than what I had previously used but still not good enough for me to the same amount of money as with straight transcription.  In order to do VR, it takes a huge commitment on behalf of the medical transcription company, as well as the provider.  It is like you are “training” the software to understand what is being said.  This takes time, as well as a really good software program to accomplish this.  I have also heard that many times the provider will have to change the way he dictates in order for the software to pick up on certain phrases or words.  Like many of us know, providers for most part do not want to change the way they do their dictations.  They like the quickest and easiest route possible.

On the other hand, there are some positives to VR other than it takes less time to complete files.  I pretty much worked on straight VR work for about a week about a month ago while the regular MT on this particular account was on vacation.  I quickly noticed that my hands and eyes didn’t get as tired as quickly doing VR work versus straight transcription.  When you’re working a 40-hour work week this make make a huge difference in how tired you feel at the end of the day.  There are sometimes when I get finished with work that I just feel both mentally and physically beat.  I did notice that with VR I didn’t feel as tired in the evenings.  This should also cut down on the rate of carpal tunnel, which anyone who works on a computer all day long worries about since theoretically you’re hands are doing far less work.

So to wrap up my ramblings, I personally feel for me the verdict is still out whether I’m 100% for voice recognition.  I do fear that somewhere in the future straight transcription positions will become more difficult to find due to VR taking over.  In my experiences, I have not found voice recognition to be anymore profitable than straight transcription.  In fact, I have found that I can profit more from straight transcription since the line rates are typically higher and I have an easier time just typing the work myself than having to worry about catching the computer’s errors.  Personally, I think it is much more important to focus on quality and accuracy in this line of work than quantity.

Oh boy, has this last year been a busy one!  On the home front, this past October my husband got a new a job, which meant we had to move.  As much as I loved our home in Michigan, we so badly needed a change, and the economy in Michigan is not exactly at it’s high point.  Under normal circumstances, moving would not have been a huge deal, but I was about 7 months pregnant!  So, that caused some extra complications.  Not only was I emotional about moving, but the physical limitations of being pregnant and moving added a new challenge.  I had to pretty much sit back and watch while my family did all the heavy lifting and packing. To some degree that was great since I had the perfect excuse not do any work, but it was difficult to watch all my stuff get packed up and I couldn’t help.  When we finally got to our new place of residence (I’m still struggling with calling it our home yet!), I realized why I felt like I needed to do the packing myself.  Everything was everywhere.  I found boxes that were labeled “random” thanks to my sister-in-law (love ya!), and they definitely held random items from all over the house.  There are still some things that I haven’t found yet, but that might be because not all the boxes are unpacked yet.  We just don’t have enough room here for everything.  The garage, the place where the cars are supposed to go, is acting like a storage unit at the moment.  Oh, and did I mention I was trying to work full time during all of this?

After getting moved and somewhat settled, things didn’t settle down at all.  The holidays came and went, and before we knew it, it was February.  We were so excited!  My due date was February 1st, but that day came and went.  At my last 2 doctors appointments, my obstetrician was very optimistic that I would go into labor at anytime.  Well, not so much.  On February 7th, I was instructed to report to the labor and delivery floor at the hospital to be induced, and on February 8, 2011 we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Hannah Miriam, into our lives.  She was 8 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches long with TONS of dark brown hair! She arrived by cesarean section at 10:17 p.m.  It was love at first sight or should I say first cry.  The whole family was anxiously waiting in the waiting room to meet her.

After coming home, I was certain that I was going to return to work in 4 weeks.  That quickly became a joke.  Not only was I recovering from the C-section but 2 weeks after Hannah’s arrival I had to have my gallbladder removed as well.  So I put off my return to work for another 2 weeks and by then still didn’t want to go back.  Working full time and taking care of a newborn have proven to be the hardest things I have ever done but wouldn’t give it up for the world!

Hannah at 2 days old!

Mommy and Hannah at 3 months old.  Look how much she’s grown!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy MT week!!

These cookies are probably my favorite and are very easy to make.  It is a family recipe that my Great Grandma Myer used to make all the time.  They are really good the same day you bake them but get even better the next day.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2/3 c. shortening

2 eggs

1/2 c. buttermilk

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Cream brown sugar, white sugar, and shortening together.  Add eggs and buttermilk until well mixed.  In separate bowl, mix flour,baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Slowly mix in flour mixture with wet mixture until combined.  Refrigerate for about an hour before baking.  Spoon onto baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Often times people ask me how I got started in medical transcription.  Well, you could say it was kind of out of frustration and the need for something new and different in my life.  At the time,  my husband and I had just bought our first house, which consequently made my commute to work go from 15 minutes to nearly an hour each way.  We were living in town at the time and really wanted to move out to the country where it was a little quieter and a little slower paced.  We both grew up in a rural community.  So, living in town was just not our thing. In the summer the drive really wasn’t all that bad, but those winter months could be a real bear.  Anyone who knows me knows that I despise driving when weather conditions are bad, and since we live in Michigan, the threat of snow lasts for about half the year.  The commute along with quite a bit of drama at my current place of employment made me realize that it was time for a change.

I was working part time at a small veterinary practice working as a veterinary assistant.  Don’t get me wrong, I love veterinary medicine.  I graduated from Purdue University with a bachelors degree in animal science and had worked in veterinary medicine for over 10 years.  This particular job just wasn’t working out for me.  People weren’t getting along, and I just dreaded going to work everyday.  Anyway, a coworker started telling me about a friend of hers that worked from home and made a great salary doing MT work.  She told me she was even able to do all the coursework required through an online course through Career Step .   My great grandma once told me that if something seemed too good to be true it probably was, and through my experiences in life this has held true.  Of course, I was a little skeptical.

At the time, I didn’t think too much of medical transcription, but as my current work environment was by no means improving and I was completely dissatisfied with my current income, that little nagging voice in my head  just kept getting louder, telling me maybe I should at least check Career Step out and see what it was all about.  Well, I did.  I visited their website and requested more information about their program options.  After doing more research on exactly what MT work was all about and having some long discussions with my husband, we agreed that medical transcription was going to be the best option not only for me but also for us.  It was going to mean eventually more money, more flexibility, and more happiness in our life.

I continued to work part time at the veterinary clinic while working on Career Step’s course, but as gas prices started to soar to over 3 dollars a gallon with a 1-hour drive every day, I made the decision to quit working as a veterinary assistant and stay at home concentrating on completing the medical transcription course.  It took me right at 1 year to finish.

I graduated from Career Step with high honors at the end of February, and by the middle of April, I started my first job as an MT working as an independent contractor doing voice recognition.  I quickly realized that VR was not my thing.  The company’s VR program was terrible.  It seemed like it was almost easier for me to erase everything that the VR program had typed and start over.  Doing straight transcription at a voice recognition rate along with being a new MT grad was by no means profitable.  I knew going into this that medical transcription was not a get rich quick occupation.  I realized it would take time to learn all the doctors’ little quirks, document formatting, etc. before I could really bring in a paycheck that I could be proud of.

After about 6 months with this company, I knew I just needed to chalk this one up to experience and move on.  I began looking for another MT company.  After testing with the very first company I applied with, I received an email the very next morning wanting to schedule a phone interview with me.  I interviewed with them within the next couple of days and was quickly offered a position with a line rate that I just couldn’t turn down.

This move was the best thing I could have done, considering 2-1/2 years later I am still an independent contractor for the same company and love it.  I have worked my way up to an MT Specialist position, working with a broad range of specialties and on several different accounts.  I very much enjoy my job and would recommend it to anyone.

I have been working at home as a medical transcriptionist for nearly 3 years now and have been the recipient of those all too awkward questions and comments from family and friends surrounding the issue of medical transcription as a real and viable occupation.  I think most of us can safely say we have all gotten this and know how difficult it can be sometimes to just let the opinions or even the insinuations of others roll right off.  Well, of course MT work is a very real, demanding, but yet very rewarding profession.  Just because many MTs work from home doesn’t mean our jobs are any less “real” or profitable.  Actually, I make more money now than I have ever made at any other job.  I love the fact that I never have to fight rush hour traffic or worry about how much snow is going to be on the ground when I wake up for my next day’s commute.  In fact, most days I wear pajamas to work.  How many people can say that?  Oh, and did I mention I never have to worry about asking for time off?  Being your own boss does come with perks!  All in all I feel very lucky to be a medical transcriptionist.

White Lily MT is exactly what it says it says it is…a day in the life of a medical transcriptionist.  You will find topics ranging from issues surrounding the industry as a whole to tips on how to increase production, as well as a reference for great links and even a word list.  From time to time there might also be postings about some of my hobbies and interests…beading, crocheting, reading, gardening, and cooking just to name a few.  Come visit often and happy typing!!