Beware: The Truth About AM-Accuscripts

There is an MTSO that goes by the name of AM-Accuscripts. This company blatantly violates labor and human rights laws. Here are some of the malpractices going on:

1. No contract - Everything is verbal. Yes, you're simply asked to start on a certain day without any written agreement whatsoever. What are the implications? You can't prove you were ever employed by the company in case you plan to sue. What's worse is that the owner can impose a regulation at the snap of a finger.

It's so easy to get in; even a novice MT with good listening skills will bag that job; however, it's difficult to get out.

Moreover, once you leave, the owner will bug you with text messages in an attempt to make you feel guilty and miserable, as if you can't find another job elswhere. She even bragged that she was paying some of her people so much money, as if one was deeply indebted to her because of that.

2. No explicitly-written rules and regulations - There are bulletins posted warning you not to do this or that, but that's basically it. Employees were punching in for those who were late, thereby committing company fraud, but the practice continues to be tolerated; no, there are no rules governing this.

3. No tax deductions - Sure, they may be paying taxes, but the taxes they pay are definitely not what's due the government.

4. No SSS - Social security contributions are important. What if one suddenly needs money for an emergency? You can't loan from the SSS if you hadn't been contributing for the past 2 years straight. I know that employers guilty of this can be put behind bars.

5. No overtime pay - Imagine people slaving away for more than 8 hours a day without overtime pay? What do we get in return? A dinner of palabok or tapsilog? Is that fair? Here's something that will make you feel like a slave: The owner won't let you leave the office until she thinks that enough work has been done. Yes, working for 11 hours is common. You know how unfair she is? If you're late for 16 minutes or more, you don't get a proportionate deduction; instead, you get paid 0.50 centavos per line. Yes, that's how one-sided she can get.

6. No 13th month pay - By law, companies are required to give the 13th month pay to employees.

7. No medical/health benefits - Apparently, the owner doesn't care about her employees' health.

8. Late payment of salaries - This goes to show that the owner doesn't really care about her employees' financial needs.

9. Favoritism - What's the bundy clock for? If someone punches in for somebody else and she likes the people involved, she will let something like that pass. Clearly corporate fraud. How would you feel if you tried your best to arrive early every day of your life, and then for some reason you end up being late? Don't you think it's unfair that some cheaters don't get a deduction?

10. Low wages - Can you imagine an MTSO paying 0.79 centavos per line? The industry standard is 1.00 peso, and most of the companies are giving this rate.

11. A 1,500-peso bond is deducted immediately, which means that during your first 3 or 4 days, you don't get paid as you're being trained. Remember that you also spend for fare and food on those first 3 or 4 days. You can only get back your 1,500 pesos after one year of being exploited by being forced to work extremely long hours.

12. No HIPAA document signed by MTs. Wait till MxSecure finds out about this. An unannounced check will prove the nonexistence of such documents.

13. Most editors, if not all, usually try to correct something that isn't wrong to begin with simply because it's what they heard. These people won't ever likely be able to find a job in another MT company because, as they say, bad habits are hard
to break, and they won't get any better. They can't even follow simple instructions from clients. If you think you're going to get better as an MT in this company, you're wrong. The editors are going to make you dumber and dumber, dragging you down with them in the process. Besides, there are no expicit performance metrics there.

You're good in the eyes of the owner only if you've been there long and you want to leave, then the owner will promote you so you'll stay.

14. The owner keeps bragging about bagging new accounts only to lose them
because of incompetent employees; in fact, a bunch of newly hired MTs were forced to take a leave of absence. In addition, the company loses its employees because of the owner's unfair labor practices.

15. Wages are paid LATE. Yes, if payday falls on a holiday, a weekend, or a Monday, you won't get your salary on time. The owner doesn't care if you have to settle financial obligations. If you're unlucky and there's a 2-day holiday after the weekend, i.e., Monday and Tuesday, and payday was supposed to be on the Saturday of that weekend, you'd have to wait until Wednesday. I don't understand how much bank interest the owner stands to lose if she paid her employees on the Friday of that weekend. Maybe she really is that greedy.

I pity those who are lured by the owner's sweet talk. She will tell you that the files are easy and there are no ESL dictators, but what she's saying is the exact opposite. I also understand the fact that many have spent from 25,000 to 35,000 pesos on a medical transcription course, which makes them more likely to bite the bait in order to get back what they had spent for; it will take them at least 6 months to do so.

It's really up to the reader to decide whether what they're reading here is true or not. Go ahead and apply. You might be taken in; which is a good thing, so you'll know what I'm talking about. Don't say I didn't warn you.

It is unbelievable that businesswomen like her aren't behind bars.

AM-Accuscripts: Greedy Owner

I'm glad I'm out of there. Would you believe that the owner is so greedy that she refused to give me my final pay of 3,000 pesos? Can you imagine that? She chose to rob me of such a small amount? She even made it appear that I owe her rotten company some money despite her having clearly told me not to worry about my line count. I've worked a mere 35 days, not even 2 months, working up to 14 hours transcribing the most crappy dictations (because no one wanted to do those). Unlike most Filipino transcriptionists who cheat by asking other people to help them do their transcripts, I did everything on my own. And this is what I get in return.

Yes, that's AM-Accuscripts. I cannot help but reveal to you the oppressive measures that the owner, Arleen Medina, has been imposing on her employees. She does not pay taxes despite her employees earning way above the minimum wage. She does not give the 13th month pay required by law. She does not provide here employees with SSS (social security) benefits. What's worse is she forces you to work sometimes over 12 hours without overtime pay. You can't find a greedier Filipina than Arleen Medina.

Lord, please forgive her.

Another Stupid Editor

Here's what that stupid editor did to my work.

We will go ahead and discontinue use of the Achillotrain today.

I had spelled it as AchilloTrain, with a capital T.

Check out their website and the link to the product:

http://shop.bauerfeindusa.com/cgi-bin/cart.pl?Dynamic+products.txt+ACHILLOTRAIN+template.html+3

Yes, that's the kind of quality that AM-Accuscripts produces. I don't know why it still exists despite the poor quality of work that it turns out. Most editors lack the common sense and English skills to make sense of the transcripts. Another theory is the fact that they get additional pay for the number of lines they edit, which means that they too have become as greedy as their boss.

English and Listening Skills: More Important than Medical Jargon

The problem with many companies hiring medical transcriptionist is their emphasis on one's educational background, specifically the pre-med or med course one studied in college.

The fact is, medical terminologies can be learned by anybody who can memorize and who is seriously interested in learning such words. When it comes to actual transcription work, it is ultimately hearing acuity and listening skills that will help one get through the day.

Additionally, one's English proficiency will help make sense out of the document. A female colleague once transcribed it as "... shaft on the penis ..." -- well, she could be "inexperienced" so I don't blame her, but imagine a penis (which already has a shaft) having another shaft on it.

Unfamiliar with these?

The doctor said, "... would cast doubt ..."
The editor typed, "... without a doubt ..."
Notice the opposing connotations.

The doctor said, "... up and about ..."
The editor said, "... up and bout ..."
Was the editor thinking of a boxing match?

The doctor said, "... and her face gets beet red ..."
The editor typed, "... and her face gets to be red ..."
Oh, you mean her face has a choice?

Obviously, these editors are not well read.

Nothing Wrong with This?

Here's an excerpt from a supposedly edited document:

... sooner if there is any other problems or questions that arises.

So nothing's wrong with this, huh?

Mystery of the Hidden Candy

There I was at work half-pissed and half-dumbfounded. A colleague told me that she transcribed the same doctor that I had been working on and didn't find his dictation difficult but went on to add that that it could be a case of mood swings.

After listening intently, I realized that the doctor could barely open his mouth, like half of his face was paralyzed or something. So I start cursing the mofo, still wondering why the f*ck he can barely open his mouth.

As my Express Scribe's scroll bar lazily chugged along, I suddenly had to step on the pedal like I was avoiding a fatal vehicular collision. Why? I heard a slurp. Yup, you guessed it. Mister Physician, M.D., was sucking on a piece of candy while dictating.

So have you asked yourself why don't news reporters eat candy or chew gum while working?

ESL Dictator Trying Hard to Sound Like an American

ESL is an acronym that means "English as a second language." So expect ESL dictators to sound everything but American.

The problem lies when the speaker tries to speak with an American accent. They more often than not end up badly mispronouncing words. They try to speak faster thinking that it was better to do so, perhaps in an effort to emulate their native American colleagues' manner of talking.

Honestly, it would be much easier if the ESL dictator syllabicated each word deliberately rather than slurring the syllables like most Americans who sound like they're lazy to pronounce the words and squeeze a five-syllable word into one syllable. A far cry from your favorite Fox News reporter, I must say.

One of my favorite ESL dictators is a male physician of Hispanic descent. He usually comes up with a decent dictation even while retaining his native accent: the long and overly emphasized letter 'R' similar to the way most Japanese would pronounce the letter 'L.' My major problem here is his grammar. I once tried to correct it, and my boss told me not to because it will offend him. Then I checked one of my edited files; the editor had apparently corrected the physician's grammar.

There goes another of my woes. The editors themselves do not agree on a single standard even if they worked on the same doctor under the same account. I will blog about it in a future post.

Intellectually-challenged Editor

At the office, there are MTs and editors. The MT does the transcribing, while the editor cleans up the transcript in terms of making sure that the client specs are followed to the letter.

Well, the correct templates and fonts should be used, and the spelling and grammar have to be error-free. Because the MT has a quota to meet, the race against time can cause errors, hence the need for editors. Some of them are really good; however, there are editors who refuse to think, most likely because they do not understand what is being said or simply do not have the IQ or even common sense. All they care about is what their ears tell their brains. Perhaps it's because they spent years memorizing all those body parts, medical words, and the like without really understanding what they've been trying to learn.

Here's a quote from an edited file. Note the tense inconsistency, then try make some sense out of this sentence:

"Unfortunately, he did not require any hospitalization nor developed any febrile illnesses in the interim."

You mean the doctor or whoever dictated this wants the patient to end up in the hospital or have some kind of fever? Hmm ... sounds like a hospital stockholder, a sadist, or both.

First Post

Yes, this is my first ever post for this blog. I've been trying to hold it off for the longest time, thinking that my woes would disappear or ease somewhat. I was wrong.

What's an MT? It's an acronym for a lot of things, but to me it means medical transcriptionist. That's my work. I transcribe audio files dictated by a health professional: an MD, an RN, or a PA-C.

You may think that the medical terminologies and the drugs (both generic and brand names) make the job difficult. Wrong. It's the way the words are spoken that compound an MT's woes.

For some reason many of these people with impressive titles attached to their names cannot pronounce certain words properly. Imagine a kid who's trying to learn how to say a newly-learned word, something rarely or never been used.

What makes life more difficult for MTs is the fact that these health professionals end up saying such words as fast as they can, perhaps to cover up the fact that they can't say the word properly. To make things worse, errors in the transcript are blamed on the MT.