Transcriptionist

[love__goofy]

Can anyone tell me what is involved with being a transcriptionist? Also, how do I get training, or is there any? Do you happen to know what the pay is hourly? Any information at all, would be greatly appreciated. I am a SAHM and homeschool my kids. I was looking to make about $1000 per month.

Thanks in advance

 

[ccgirl]

I can tell you around here they are doing away with them. A lot of computer system now have computerized transcription. i.e. a dr. speaks into a recording device and the computer transcribes instead of a live person. My neighbor is one of the few that still transcribe. SHe has been doing it for years and she gets paid per report. I don't think she makes $1,000 a month as she can only do it at night.

 

[scrapbookmommy]

Same around here. I have a friend who worked at the same health care facility as a transcriptionist for 23 years and she left her job last week. She had gotten down to where she have very little work because it was all going digital. I even heard her say a few years ago that she wouldn't recommend anybody go into this line of work any more. I think they are a dying bread.

 

[love__goofy]

Ok, thanks for the input. I'll scratch that one off my list..lol

On to the next thought.....

 

[csharpwv]

I work in higher education and all the previous posters are correct. MT's are becoming a thing of the past.
However -the jobs that are being created for the new systems pay much better and require the same amount of training.

Health Information Technology is the up and coming field.

Another type of stay at home work is Court Transcription. The work is exacting and you have to have a very high word per minute with near 100% accuracy.
You aren't actually the court reporter - you just type transcript of what is recorded.

 

[Poohbear5]

I did a two -year certificate program of very involved course at our local community college in transcription and never got a job in that field. Shortly after, the hospitals and docs all went to voice recognition systems. They still need people proof the transcript but reduced the time and therefore the amount of employees needed to get the job done.

Some of the course I have taken did help me get into an office position in the healthcare field.

 

[wdwgal]

Health Information Technology is the up and coming field.

I am in this program right now. I completed the Medical Transcription and Coding program last year and there are no jobs where I live. Also, any medical transcription jobs online want someone with experience...catch 22!

Anyway, I am presently in the Health Information Technology program at my local college and I think (hope) it provide more job opportunities. It is a degree program vs. the program I was in last year was a technical certificate.
Hope this helps! Good luck!

wdwgal

 

[Tree]

Transcription is fairly hard to get into for medical. I would recomend that if you want to get into it Quicktate.com is a company that you transcribe cell phone calls and then can get into their main company idictate which has more transcription types.

 

[S. C.]

Wouldn't there still be a need for legal transcriptions?

 

[Sadie22]

I do legal and general transcription at home. I make more than the amounts mentioned here. I have many years of experience, however. For more information see the transcription folders on WAHM (Quicktate is a separate folder) and workplacelikehome.

Medical transcription is evolving, not disappearing. More MTs are needing to become voice recognition technology editors but there will still be those doctors who cannot use the VR technology and will need to have their reports transcribed. If considering this career, only attend an AHDI-approved program. These programs should include training in the VR editing skills now needed. Experience requirements are waived for graduates of some AHDI-approved programs.

 

[mickey25]

I have been a medical transcriptionist for over 15 years. It is not an easy job. You have to have as much medical language knowledge as the doctors in order to transcribe what they are saying. Most people feel "I can type so I can transcribe." WRONG! I transcribed for many years and then took an 18-month course recently through M-TEC which is one of the few accredited online MT schools. There are 2 exams to take: RMT or CMT (registered or certified) and I am a RMT studying for the CMT. CMTs generally make more money per line/report than RMTs or non-certified MTs.

As for the business disappearing.....not likely. The speech recognition software available now is still so infantile that it takes longer to edit a document than it does to straight type it. I work for a national company and there is rarely an out-of-work situation.

It is a wonderful field. I love it and recommend it. I work from home at night after my children are asleep. If you have a medical background or love of medical information, then this is the right move for you. The money is good if you type quickly/correctly and have the time to invest in it. Good luck!

Wendy

 

[bemily]

I, too, am a medical transcriptionist/speech editor. Most of my job is 95% speech editing, but I do get a report to transcribe completely once in a while. I lucked out. I knew someone years ago that I had a big account, asked her to try me out and did it while my daughter was a baby. I got out of it for many years, and got back into it 2 years ago completely transcribing but now editing for Mass General. I never had any schooling in MT, but I dont know if that is the norm anymore. We get constantly checked in quality control and I have never scored below the target of 98%, so I guess I have a knack for it I guess. It is not the easiest job at times, but allows me to be home with my kids.

I also make more than what was described here, but, again, a lot of that has to do with speed and accuracy, which I am good at...

Good luck!

 

[SarahKate]

I am not a MT, but my mom was for many years. I worked at the same MT office as she did and also have a 15-year background at a local hospital.

Transcription is definitely NOT easy as one would think. You have to have speed (since you typically get paid for production, not a flat hourly rate), accuracy, and a REALLY well-trained ear. I'm referring to medical transcription.

There are tens of thousands of medical terms that you would need to be comfortable with.

You might have a MD from another country who you can hardly understand. Or you might have someone FROM the US who is equally hard to understand because they might be dictating from an airplane, or with food in their mouths (yes, both things happened to my mom in her career!).

You also have to be comfortable w/ the foot pedals - they take some getting used to.

I'm not up on the latest with voice recognition technology. But do know that MT's will not entirely go away. As other posters mentioned, it's a field that's changing. There will always be a need for humans in some capacity. With something as important as medical records, there MUST be accuracy and I can't see a healthcare facility 100% relying on technology to interpret dosages, med names, etc.

 

[Kathi Mora]

The job of a medical transcriptionist involves listening to doctor dictations and transcribing them into ready to use text-based patient records. On paper, the job may look quite simple and straightforward, but in reality that’s not the case. You need to not only understand, but also interpret complex medical jargon, fix all factual and grammatical errors, ensure 100 percent accuracy, and format the records into standardized styles.

Medical transcription training usually incorporates courses in keyboarding, anatomy, pharmacology, editing, medical language, etc. Vocational schools offer medical transcriptionist training online, which is affordable and can be completed in a few months’ time.

Compensation is pretty decent too. MTs can make up to $20 per hour. Of course, the wages depend on their experience, education, certification, location, employer, etc.

 

[vicki_c]

A reminder - do not click on unidentified links in posts, especially from relatively new posters. I have reported the post above to the mods so they can determine if it is appropriate or not.

 

[Sadie22]

Be sure to attend a school which is recommended by AHDI, the professional organization of MTs. Career Step, MTEC, and the Andrews School have become known as the big three.

 

[angierae]

A friend of mine is a MT for a big hospital here in town, but it's at an off-site location that is staffed 24/7 (she works overnights) and the digital files are sent over from the hospital to this office location. It is not a WAH job in her case.

 

[starry_solo]

I work in higher education and all the previous posters are correct. MT's are becoming a thing of the past.
However -the jobs that are being created for the new systems pay much better and require the same amount of training.

Health Information Technology is the up and coming field.

Another type of stay at home work is Court Transcription. The work is exacting and you have to have a very high word per minute with near 100% accuracy.
You aren't actually the court reporter - you just type transcript of what is recorded.

I don't know if you could do court transcription. In CA (at least), the court reporter's have to certify the transcript as true and accurate so I don't know if they'd be willing to have someone else transcribe it. Plus, they have a program that already provides a rough draft/transcribes the short hand into easy to read English and it's just editing from there.

 

[vttkdmom]

I did a training program thru a local college. It is MUCH more than just typing, the anatomy course I took was the same one that first year med students take.

I have worked for a local hospital, as well as a national company. The national companies pay more, they pay per line, but in general they do not offer any benefits. You are essentially a contract employee, considered self-employed in my state.

Working for the hospital pays less, but with benefits. The large hospital in the area went to a back-end voice recognition system, so there is still a need for transcriptionists, but far fewer. There is a smaller hospital that still does 'regular' transcription because the cost of the newer/voice recognition program is prohibitive for them.

Getting into one of the national companies is VERY difficult as a new transcriptionist. I know ladies who have YEARS of experience who did not get hired because they 'failed' the application test because of some grammatical error...

Just adding my own experiences to help you decide...

 

[malibuconlee]

I remember one time two different transcriptionists trying to figure out what a doctor was saying LOL

It can be very difficult to understand some of the doctors. I used to work in Medical Records at a hospital. I used to hate it when a doctor would "code" a transcription wrong and not be able to figure out why it wasn't done ASAP. Um, you are using the wrong prompt. His office manager fixed that Or the doctors that put everything as a "1". Nope that's immediate, your op report is important, but you aren't transferring that patient out RIGHT NOW! LOL