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#87441 - 12/27/07 07:09 AM
Spheris
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purselady
New Member
Registered: 07/26/06
Posts: 24
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Just wondering how you feel about working for Spheris. I decided to send my resume to them, I had a phone interview and was totally disappointed in the person interviewing me. I feel she didn't have enough experience in the MT field to be interviewing someone with 35+ years experience.
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#87444 - 12/27/07 07:41 AM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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MTmagic
New Member
Registered: 05/15/07
Posts: 19
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I worked for Healthscribe which was acquired by Spheris.
My advice to you is to run, don't walk, to another employer. You can ignore this advice if you desire to be put upon, demanded of, told you aren't doing enough, work on multiple accounts with different requirements, etc.
Did I mention that all the decent dictations seem to be moving offshore? That leaves you with the worst of the worst. Do you crave a diet of bad ESLs?
Spheris has been very thoroughly discussed on this forum -- generally unfavorably. You might want to search the archives, and then you might want to run, not walk.
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#87451 - 12/27/07 09:18 AM
Re: Spheris
[Re: MTmagic]
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purselady
New Member
Registered: 07/26/06
Posts: 24
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Exactly. I heard some good things from a friend and thought I would give it a try just to "see" how things were. I had my fill just from the phone interview.....I have already ran!! Very, very unprofessional.
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#87501 - 12/27/07 11:34 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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rainloveslife
Member
Registered: 07/31/06
Posts: 401
Loc: Georgia on my mind
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Purselady, I too used to work for Spheris - I highly recommend Webmedx. They are absolutely the BEST MT company out here and treat all of their MTs with respect, never fail to let us know how thankful they are for us as they realize we make them the $$$$. Great benefits package too. Recruiters are very professional. Also, Webmedx recently purchased Transhealth, so there may be openings there as well.
_________________________
Aspire to inspire before you expire. Smile, it improves your face value 
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#87508 - 12/28/07 10:25 AM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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Cleo2
Member
Registered: 06/28/04
Posts: 2699
Loc: Birdwell Island-PBS
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Spheris took over my hospital account a year or two ago. Nearly 20 existing MTs were given job offers (with recommendations from medical records management), and only 1 MT accepted (I know this because I maintained an excellent relationship with staff).
I found the Spheris recruiter completely inflexible. I was ASSIGNED BY HER to 3rd shift Friday through Monday. Working that account for many years, I knew with 100% confidence that there is nothing in the tank at that hour. Either this was a signal they did not want to hire me or they wanted to bait and switch, and force me into multiple other accounts.
I was able to easily find another job that paid about 5 cpl more than Spheris, and with more flexibility in scheduling. BTW, their recruiter wasn't nearly as offensive as the recruiter from Spheris.
Funny thing, Spheris recruiting subsequently sent me an e-mail to ask if I would reconsider working with them. And even funnier......my original hospital contacted me for work as well.
My own personal opinion is that most nationals serve themselves best, not MTs. There are hospitals that still have MTs, and with persistence, you can find these jobs. In general, I think MTs do much better working direct than working for most nataionals.
Best of luck with your continued job search.
Edited by Cleo2 (12/28/07 10:26 AM)
_________________________
Cleo
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#87509 - 12/28/07 10:54 AM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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Agnostic
Member
Registered: 06/28/03
Posts: 3118
Loc: Chennai, TN, India
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I've sent you a PM. Best of luck.
_________________________
Harry
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Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so.--Bertrand Russell
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#87572 - 12/29/07 06:50 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: Cleo2]
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mom2huskies
Junior Member
Registered: 11/06/06
Posts: 26
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I work for Spheris, but I am looking at other companies. I am just about at the end of my rope with them. Today was basically the last straw. They put me on an account that has 40 pages of account specs and expected me to remember everything right off the bat. In fact, I had an editor e-mail my supe saying that i needed to improve because I was not able to remember all the account specs. I had only been typing the account for a few days.
I have been with Spheris for over 2 years but now I plan to quit within the next month if I can stand it. But, if i can't then I will tell them where they can stick their job. 
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#87576 - 12/30/07 12:10 AM
Re: Spheris
[Re: mom2huskies]
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purselady
New Member
Registered: 07/26/06
Posts: 24
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She asked me questions that did not pertain to transcription at all. I told her I had 40 years experience. She wanted to know every type of op note I have transcribed in the last 5 years, every nationality of ESL docs. I told her in a nice way that if I tried to decipher every ESL doc I have done or kept notes on every type of op note I have done, I would be in the poor house as I would be taking notes instead of transcribing. Then she offered me a level 3 because She didn't think I could handle a level 4. I have taught transcription in a teaching hospital, I have done QA and she insisted I was only a level 3. I was ready to tell her where to take her job too. I did not even test but was already told what I would be making. She said your cpl is based on our phone conversation.
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#87586 - 12/30/07 12:43 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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mom2huskies
Junior Member
Registered: 11/06/06
Posts: 26
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A lot of times I now wish I would have never taken a position with Spheris. At first they were not too bad but the last year things have gone down hill. The MTs are the last to be considered. They expect you to remember account specs that are 40+ pages in 2 or 3 days, which is not realistic. So, I am at the point where I just do not care anymore.
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#87599 - 12/30/07 03:32 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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Cleo2
Member
Registered: 06/28/04
Posts: 2699
Loc: Birdwell Island-PBS
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She said your cpl is based on our phone conversation
I think they offer you the least amount that they think they can get away with. My experience was based in a metropolitan, 1000-bed, teaching hospital. I did every worktype including OP notes, discharge summaries, radiology, psychiatry, radiation therapy, SOAP, ER, and clinic notes. Most often I was pooled to the harder work that no one else would do. Every nationality under the sun rotated through their doors.
Not only was their offer financial suicide, I suspected they were interested in having me work on "up to 5 different accounts," because THEY ASSIGNED ME to 3rd shift F-M. There's not a drop in the tank at that hour.
When Spheris and my former hospital contacted me again to reconsider, I treated them with equitable consideration.
It is my personal opinion that big nationals and the organization formerly known as AAMT are toxic to MTs.
_________________________
Cleo
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#87613 - 12/30/07 07:04 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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truetran350
Member
Registered: 10/31/06
Posts: 297
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I used to work for them. I am at Webmedx now. Does that answer the question. I have no major issues, but I may have quit before issues other than my headers and footers got dropped in the line count. It does not sound like it got better.
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#87696 - 01/01/08 09:27 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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imainfp
New Member
Registered: 08/13/06
Posts: 10
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Spheris is no place to be looking for a position if you are highly experienced. All their openings seem to be in the lower paying clinics and ER work. They rate their accounts from Level 3 to 9. The lower account level, the lower you get paid. I think they save higher paying acute care MT positions for those MTs ready for advancement. Interesting of note also is that in the past few years, any time they get a new account, they seem to rank it at the lower paying scale even when the account has a high rate of ESL dictators. I think they are trying to eliminate all higher paying MT jobs by not adding any more new ones. Spheris doesn't care if you are highly qualified. If you are a newbie though, then you probably would like Spheris as long as you don't mind hiring in at low pay and building yourself up. But then, if you need good medical insurance, forget Spheris altogether because they have the most inadequate insurance plan in the country. I do work for Spheris and only hang on because I can retire in 2 years 9 months and don't want to start out all over again. I keep my fingers crossed that I can hang on for that long.
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#97328 - 05/06/08 09:46 AM
Re: Spheris
[Re: purselady]
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Piglet
Member
Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 766
Loc: Cromwell, CT
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I hired with Healthscribe which was then acquired by Spheris shortly thereafter. I have been working for Spheris for three years. I love it.
Working for a national isn't for everybody but I never experienced any of those things that the others are talking about.
It seems that you a great deal of experience, but no one is going to hire you at what you feel you are worth. You have to, unfortunately, work your way back up. Level 3 is nothing to sneeze at, and if you feel you are better than that, you can quickly move up once you have proven it.
The employment package is nothing to sneeze at. You get PTO, 401K and health coverage. The health coverage is certainly not the worst. None is worse. You get $3000 account to cover your healthcare expenses for a year. If you go over your allotment, that is when the 80/20 split comes in.
I think a lot of success or nonsuccess of MLS at Spheris is finding a good team leader. I was fortunate to find this right off the bat. In discussing with others, some don't, but you certainly do not have to stay on the team you initially hire on to. There is a great deal of opportunity to move about the company once you are in. With your experience, it is possible after a short time that you could move into another position. Spheris is very good at promoting their exceptional MLS into other roles within the company.
For the new hire, you aren't going to make any money the first year or too anyway. It's all a learning curve. However, Spheris does offer one heck of a mentoring program that is fairly unsurpassed and that is hard to find today. I would encourage any newbie to hire with Spheris, if for nothing else than to gain needed experience and taken advantage of the mentoring program that may not be afforded to you elsewhere.
_________________________
Unapologetically me.
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#97343 - 05/06/08 12:11 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: Piglet]
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Endiqua
Member
Registered: 04/28/05
Posts: 3468
Loc: At the computer - where else?
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The employment package is nothing to sneeze at. You get PTO, 401K and health coverage. The health coverage is certainly not the worst. None is worse. You get $3000 account to cover your healthcare expenses for a year. If you go over your allotment, that is when the 80/20 split comes in.
Um...I'm not going to get into too many specifics in public, but that is absolutely not correct. A small amount (less than $1000 for an individual) is provided for initial expenses by Spheris, there is a deductible to be met after that, and THEN the 80/20 kicks in.
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#97351 - 05/06/08 02:18 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: Endiqua]
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Piglet
Member
Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 766
Loc: Cromwell, CT
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You are correct, I was mistaken.
It is less than what I had previously listed, but it is more comprehensive that it seems. It is an HRA if anyone is familiar. I have never gone over my allotment.
I will leave it at that. If anyone is looking for more information, you can always PM me and I will be happy to answer any questions if I can.
_________________________
Unapologetically me.
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#97362 - 05/06/08 05:59 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: Piglet]
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Mojeaux
Member
Registered: 09/21/03
Posts: 2127
Loc: Kansas City
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I will leave it at that. If anyone is looking for more information, you can always PM me and I will be happy to answer any questions if I can.
Yeah, except you seem to be wrong quite a bit of the time. Answer questions in public where dissent can be raised and good information gotten out.
No MT can afford to follow the misinformation and, dare I say it, disinformation you've been spewing since you came on this board.
ETA:
I shouldn't skim. I missed this the first time 'round.
Edited by Mojeaux (05/06/08 07:23 PM)
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#97370 - 05/06/08 07:18 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: Piglet]
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Julie W8
Member
Registered: 01/10/99
Posts: 3490
Loc: Los Angeles, CA USA
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For the new hire, you aren't going to make any money the first year or too anyway.
Are you serious?
A good MT should be up and running in weeks, not months and certainly not years.
Nobody can afford to "not make any money" for a year or more.
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#97419 - 05/07/08 02:27 PM
Re: Spheris
[Re: steelmagnoliadi]
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lsettle
Junior Member
Registered: 12/18/04
Posts: 26
Loc: West Virginia
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I am feeling the same way steelmagnoliada! I am making less now than I was a few years ago. I am very disheartened and have to work for my insurance. I have been plugging away as a transcriptionist for 28+ years and have seen so many changes, mostly for the worst, with less money and prices going up so high it is making it very tough. I am ready for a new career, I think, but do not know what it might be! 
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