Medical Transcription

[dakcp2001]

I was responding to Ohiomom, whom I quoted. She just graduated from an LPN program but couldn't find a job.

I would definitely NOT recommend the thread OP go into nursing.

That makes more sense!


OP

And for the record, I do not think nail techs are breaking the bank these days. They work for tips, very little hourly. If the economy is so bad, the likelihood of people getting their nails done or tipping well is not good. \


The BEST IDEA so far has definitely been to carpool in with your husband and hit the pavement in that area to find a job. Great idea!

 

[dakcp2001]

You must have missed the part where I was quoting another poster. Again, I was responding to Ohiomom, who commented on how she recently graduated from an LPN program but couldn't find a job. I quoted her in my post, not sure why everyone seems to be missing that and assuming I'm talking to OP. I wouldn't tell someone who won't even consider CNA to pursue an LPN to RN bridge program.

And I realize the job market for RNs is not what it used to be. But with each graduating RN class, only a handful of them have been working IN patient care while in school. That to me is the key. I've worked with some amazing CNAs/Nurse Interns while they were in the nursing program, and I've never
seen any of them fail to land a job pretty much the second they pass their boards.

Unfortunately this does not help in my area. With out hiring freeze and wage freeze, all our great techs end up unemployed. I feel so bad some of them are wonderful! But the hospital won't hire any new grads because of the cost of orientation. And once they pass the boards they are not allowed to work as techs anymore. It is so frustrating!

 

[BlovesC]

Unfortunately this does not help in my area. With out hiring freeze and wage freeze, all our great techs end up unemployed. I feel so bad some of them are wonderful! But the hospital won't hire any new grads because of the cost of orientation. And once they pass the boards they are not allowed to work as techs anymore. It is so frustrating!

That's sad. That hasn't been my experience at all, either back home in NJ or since I've been down here in FL. I work in ICU and many of our baby nurses are just putting in their two years before they apply for CRNA/ARNP/PA programs. We ALWAYS have openings for CNAs simply because every new one we hire is in the nursing program and eventually gets hired on by our unit director. Occasionally we'll hire on a graduate nurse with no previous experience and it's like night and day between them (even a BSN grad) and an RN who was an intern/CNA!

 

[LisaR]

Interesting to read the opinions on employment for RN's. We went on a college tour recently that seems to have a large nursing program. I don't know anything about it since DD isn't interested in that, but they sure did talk up the program. When we broke out into smaller groups, almost everyone is our group was planning on majoring in nursing. If you would hear the school talk, they made it sound like employers would be standing at the end of the stage when you graduated waiting to offer you a job. DD and I were talking about it on the drive home and we both got that same vibe from the tour. I hate when schools do that.

 

[crashbb]

I'm a certified medical coder and biller. Right now I cannot find a job in the field. I have heard that once ICD-10 comes out jobs will be more "plentiful" but I don't know. I now work in medical scheduling and I LOVE it. I schedule MRI's, CT's, Stress Echos, Mammos, Ultrasounds (pregnancy and non pregnancy) and a bunch of other things. I use my medical terminology/anatomy every single day and I verify diagnosis codes (ICD-9) with some appts. I'd look into medical offices/hospital situations regardless of if you like them or not. This job just kind of fell into my lap. I searched all of the major hospitals, division of workforce services and the aapc website for medical field jobs.

When are you guys switching over to ICD-10? We've been using it for a number of years (well, ICD-10-CA, which is the Canadian "twist" to it). I'm not a coder, but in my job I deal with the codes daily. I'm always impressed when I talk with coders and the fact that they can tell me what a code means without looking it up!

 

[Coconut36]

Interesting to read the opinions on employment for RN's. We went on a college tour recently that seems to have a large nursing program. I don't know anything about it since DD isn't interested in that, but they sure did talk up the program. When we broke out into smaller groups, almost everyone is our group was planning on majoring in nursing. If you would hear the school talk, they made it sound like employers would be standing at the end of the stage when you graduated waiting to offer you a job. DD and I were talking about it on the drive home and we both got that same vibe from the tour. I hate when schools do that.

Schools always talk big about job opportunities..they want you to give them your money and go through their program. I have little doubt they are careful in their wording and there is fine print that indicates they can not guarantee anything and there are plenty of graduates that find that the job market is not what the school made it out to be (not saying that is absolutely the case where you were simply that the school is there to talk it up big because they want you to go there..your employment options after really are not their problem).

 

[chloelovesdisney]

There's RN jobs where I am, for new grads and experienced nurses.

 

[ohiomom28]

Have you considered going back to school to be an RN? Many community colleges offer 'bridge' programs where you can go from an LPN to an RN in just about a year. There's a very limited market for LPNs now as many hospitals are making ASN 'required' and BSN 'preferred'. If you got into an LPN>RN program and landed ANY sort of job while you're in school, i.e. a nurse intern/patient care assistant, you'd greatly improve your chances of securing a nursing job.

Yeah, I will be going back but I have to work for now at least. I've been off work for 16 months and we need the income. I will try to do my pre-reqs online and then when we are more stable I can go back full time. There are a ton of LTC facilities in my area with openings but I have to find one that will hire a new grad. I'm not losing hope! I just passed my boards on Aug 18th so it hasn't been too long. I will keep looking! Thanks for the advice!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[dbrn]

The way I've heard it explained is that while there was a nursing shortage, new grads are competing with more experienced nurses who are returning to the workforce (after retiring or after quitting to raise families, etc.) due to the economy. T

OP, I wouldn't recommend going to school for a career based on what someone else will pay for - you're not going to be happy in the end. You need to really sit back and examine what you want to do with your life and then look at what it's going to take to make that happen. Chances are, it's not going to be an easy road. Right now, though, it doesn't sound like you have a good solid idea of what you want to do with your life - it's a really big leap to go from pharmacy tech to nail tech to medical transcribing to medical coding. Medical coding is a tough job; it's like learning another language.

With your transportation issues, will you be able to commit to school right now? Several career-based programs, especially those ending with certification or licensure, have pretty strict attendance policies due to a required # of hours of education - will you be able to swing that? Are there any public transportation options? One hour out of Manhattan, it seems like there should be some sort of public transportation into the city that you could take advantage of, although I must admit, I'm not familiar with New York at all.

I don't think any of the other posters intended to offend, their posts sounded quite helpful. Simple fact is, the perfect job is likely not going to fall into your lap without some effort and sacrifice on your part, and your husband's part. The question is, what career is worth that effort and sacrifice to you?

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

After reading all these post I was thinking : have your mom buy you a cheap /reliable car, then work as many hours as possible as a waitress, save your money from waitressing for 1 year. Then next fall apply at Comm. College for a program that intrests you.
You'll have a whole year to research programs and classes. Work as many hours as you can waitressing and save every penny.
How about becoming a Legal assistant, Radiology assistant, Mammograms, Occupational Therapy Assistant , Medical Assistant....our Comm College offers lots of options...
Take another year to figure out what YOU really want.

Another thought , if you had a reliable car you could TRAVEL and get the Pharmacy Tech job you are qualified for. You have to start somewhere...working 11-7, weekends etc...start at the bottom and work your way up !!!
Having a reliable car is essential to ANY job ! Good Luck

 

[sookie]

You must have missed the part where I was quoting another poster. Again, I was responding to Ohiomom, who commented on how she recently graduated from an LPN program but couldn't find a job. I quoted her in my post, not sure why everyone seems to be missing that and assuming I'm talking to OP. I wouldn't tell someone who won't even consider CNA to pursue an LPN to RN bridge program.

And I realize the job market for RNs is not what it used to be. But with each graduating RN class, only a handful of them have been working IN patient care while in school. That to me is the key. I've worked with some amazing CNAs/Nurse Interns while they were in the nursing program, and I've never
seen any of them fail to land a job pretty much the second they pass their boards.

I'm sorry! LOL
It is really helpful when someone works as a CNA or NA while in school. They are a LOT better at task and time management, at the least, when they get out. It makes a huge difference.

 

[ohiomom28]

After reading all these post I was thinking : have your mom buy you a cheap /reliable car, then work as many hours as possible as a waitress, save your money from waitressing for 1 year. Then next fall apply at Comm. College for a program that intrests you.
You'll have a whole year to research programs and classes. Work as many hours as you can waitressing and save every penny.
How about becoming a Legal assistant, Radiology assistant, Mammograms, Occupational Therapy Assistant , Medical Assistant....our Comm College offers lots of options...
Take another year to figure out what YOU really want.

Another thought , if you had a reliable car you could TRAVEL and get the Pharmacy Tech job you are qualified for. You have to start somewhere...working 11-7, weekends etc...start at the bottom and work your way up !!!
Having a reliable car is essential to ANY job ! Good Luck

This is a great idea!

 

[dfchelbay]

The economy here is really bad. I can't even get a retail job at this point. Believe me, I've tried, just to get a little bit of income.

I wanted to go to beauty school to become a Nail Tech, which I would've loved doing, but my husband and I cannot afford the tuition and my mother doesn't consider it a worthwhile endeavor so she wasn't willing to contribute (she is/was willing to pay the full tuition on the Medical Transcription or Medical Billing & Coding programmes so that I would have that training/certification).

Does your local college offer classes in computers? That is a field that is growing and not dying off. Maybe graphic design or website design would be interesting and would offer you more options for employment in the future. Maybe look into the IT field. I think it would also fall under your mom's criteria of being a worthwhile endeavor.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I have been an at-home MT for over 12 years. Please trust me when I say this is a dying trade. Please look into something else. The school, of course, is going to feed you a load of bull to get you to sign up. Do research on-line and you will see what I mean. I make less now than I did 12 years ago due to voice recognition taking over. It is very tough to get a job when you graduate too. they all want experience, which you will not have.

I'd listen to this advice. Many of the schools that offer these programs are scams. They are more than happy to charge an arm and a leg for the program, then when you finish, you either have no job or one that pays barely minimum wage.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Interesting to read the opinions on employment for RN's. We went on a college tour recently that seems to have a large nursing program. I don't know anything about it since DD isn't interested in that, but they sure did talk up the program. When we broke out into smaller groups, almost everyone is our group was planning on majoring in nursing. If you would hear the school talk, they made it sound like employers would be standing at the end of the stage when you graduated waiting to offer you a job. DD and I were talking about it on the drive home and we both got that same vibe from the tour. I hate when schools do that.

The market is still ok for experienced nurses in my area but new grads are having trouble. When I graduated in 2006, we had our pick of jobs and specialties. I went right into the OR( I was a surg tech before), and many of my classmates went into the ER and ICU straight from school.

Now, many new grads consider themselves lucky if they can get a med/ surg position or LTC. I've known people that have moved clear across the country so they could get a job. I feel badly for new grads, that has to be the worst feeling ever.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Re the nursing shortage: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...u-s-is-over-temporarily-researchers-find.html

 

[duffy]

One hour north of Manhattan means that there is public transportation into Manhattan!

But, I notice the original poster hasn't been back since telling people to "shove it", so I don't think we will find out why taking a bus into Manhattan every day won't work.

 

[Allison]

One hour north of Manhattan means that there is public transportation into Manhattan!

But, I notice the original poster hasn't been back since telling people to "shove it", so I don't think we will find out why taking a bus into Manhattan every day won't work.

Since she also had an extremely rude response to a poster with valid points and wanted to punch the computer screen perhaps she no longer has a working computer.

 

[ilovefh]

since she also had an extremely rude response to a poster with valid points and wanted to punch the computer screen perhaps she no longer has a working computer.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

OP- I read through this whole thread and I think I know why you don't have a job. I don't think I need to spell that out for everyone here though because I think they know too. I hope your attitude changes though because you will have a difficult time no matter what career you chose if it doesn't. That being said....

I do believe the others when they say that the MT trade is dying down. Healthcare is always trying to cut costs so if they do not have to outsource work they won't. Personally I would not be wasting my time or money on that training as it most likely will not be sustainable.

As for being a nail tech- I am going to tell you what it is really like. I have my cosmotology license. Now I know I had to go for longer training than a nail tech but there are many job related things that are basically the same. Meaning- when you get your license most places will not hire you as a tech. You will be the assistant. You learn the basics in school and the health codes etc. A good nail salon (where you will actually make money) will make you work with someone and then you are going to have to take classes to learn all the new techniques out there. You don't graduate and have a job and skip off into the sunset like many would have you believe. There is a lot to learn post graduation. I had amazing training from top salons. The only problem is that the pay is minimal when you are training. The training is 2-3 years minimum for a hairdresser. As a nail tech it may be less. Just be prepared for that.

As for affording school- honestly, you have to want it bad enough. I worked a full time job and 2 part time jobs while in beauty school full time. I was exhausted but I wanted that license. I waitressed and worked as an assistant in a salon. Waitressing can be very lucrative if you are good at it. You mention that it was annoying working for a family business etc. Been there done that. I didn't care. I needed the money so I ignored them. Most businesses are family businesses unless you work mall retail or big box stores. All I cared about was that my paycheck was there. The end. I didn't have to spend my free time with those people.

You also mentioned having 10+ years of experience so you have "payed your dues". I hate to tell you this but you are not even close to paying your dues. Did you stay with the same company for 10+ years? From your posts it doesn't seem so. If you did and you were in retail you would already be training for District Manager if you were a hard worker. If you job hopped (which it sounds like) then you really don't have as much experience as you imply.

OP- I hope you find something that motivates you but I think you need to adjust your attitude first. You are not going to walk in anywhere and become CEO just because you think you should be. Good luck.