medical transcriptionist

[OnourwaytoWDW]

is anyone here this profession and work at home. I would like to ask a few questions.

Thank you!

 

[tadamom]

I'm interested in seeing the replies on this myself.

 

[LovinPooh]

I would too. Always worried about scams with the ones advertised in our newspaper.

 

[luna99]

I am a medical transcriptionist.

I can tell you it's not as easy as those newpaper and ads seem and so far I haven't made the kind of money they promise you. I started out by taking a 9 month course at my local community college... there isn't any "offical" degree you can get to be a medical transcriptionist as far as I know.. so after I finished my class I had a "certificate of completion". This was back in 2003. My plan was to move after I finished the class to a bigger city (I lived in a really small town then) and I figured I could find a job there. I moved to Austin, Tx for a year and never did find a transcription job. Most hospitals outsource now to outside companies ..... I will admit though that I probably didn't push as hard as I could have to find a job there.

In 2005 I moved to New York State and in 2006 I got a job doing transcription in a Nursing Home ... I worked there for a little less than 2 years but I noticed that I was doing the same thing over and over at that point and not really learning anything new. I decided to look into working from home with a national company that takes on those outsourcing hospitals. I started working from home in 2008 for a big national company and let me tell you.. the 2 years I spent at the Nursing Home certainly helped me a bit but I really had a lot more to learn (and I'm still learning).

It's really not as easy as it seems. I'm not saying this to bring you down.. just to be honest. If you can sit still and type for long periods of time.. if your grammar and spelling are good.. if you can type fast and are organized and can focus (especially if you are working from home)... and if you wouldn't get frustrated easily by hearing doctors talk in VERY fast, mumbly, slurred voices for 8 hours a day (OK, maybe it's not that bad.. I'd say with the company I"m with now I get one bad doctor out of ever 7 or 8 reports I type) then I'd say go for it.

There are a few "schools" or "programs" that I think are more highly recommended than others.. I can't think of the names of any right now though... (since I didn't take that route myself).

I think a good place to start is to look at MT websites and to go to MT message boards and read what people are saying..that's what I did. See what people complain about and try to think if you could handle those issues...

my personal experience might not be the normal.. so I also wouldn't just take my experience as the only advice... see what other people have to say.

I currently am not sure if I want to stay in MT forever. I do it now, it helps pay the bills, it's not TOO bad of a job, and I like being able to work from home...

but I'm considering going back to school to become a teacher actually!
anyone out there have any advice on becoming an elementary school teacher? LOL. maybe I'll start a thread about that now.

anyway.. if anyone has any more questions please let me know!

 

[lucigo]

I have been a transcriptionist for about 15 years. I have a 4yr degree from Univ of MO in something totally different, but after my first child was born I knew I wanted to be home. I was trained by a "little old lady with a big red pen". I have worked in a hospital, for clinics, and for nationwide companies. Currently I work for a small company that is across the country from me.

Transcription has allowed me to be home with my kids and to know where they are and to actually parent them. I have worked part time most of my life, and usually make around $500 a week, though sometimes more and sometimes less, its all dependent upon how much I work. Right now I guess I probably work about 3-4 hours a day, but I also surf the DIS boards and read email between reports LOL The down side of that is if you don't work you don't get paid. So you have to budget for vacations, sickness, etc.

I have a friend who recently went through a program and was able to get a job right away, called Career Step. I also suggest you look on mtdaily.com

A lot of the big companies are now sending their work overseas, and are using programs with voice recognition, so I'm not sure what the future of transcription holds, but for now its paying the bills.

Good luck with your choices!

 

[Disneymucks]

I too am finishing up my certificate in Medical Transcription through my local college and would love to be working real soon. Any advice on real companies or on how to get that first job working at home would be great. I would love to be making money already and have done extremely well in my classes with this. I will be doing an externship at our local hospital starting in August, but would love some work now. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[GCM]

I just competed medical transcription training through Career Step too. I am really pleased with the training and was able to get a job within 2 weeks of applying. I have actually had 4 offers, so getting a job after using Career Step is not difficult.

As far as the work goes, it is not a job where you will make money quickly. You still have to learn things like the way a doctor wants his reports to be set up. I can see though that my speed has increased significantly in the month I have been working. I truly love it. My goal is to eventually quit the PT job I have outside the home right now. I also home school and I want to be able to be with my family while making a little money.

Overall, I am very pleased.

Christy