Suggestion - Coder Posted: Jan 30th, 2016 - 11:39 am In Reply to: I'm so, so sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time. - sm
Sorry to hear about your situation but there are things that you can do to improve it. The suggestion to apply to a temporary service like Kelly is very, very good. That will get you back in the job market and give you some non-MT experience. Many services like that will provide training in software like Microsoft outlook and Excel that you will need on different jobs. That is incredibly valuable.
Once you are unemployed, finding a job is more difficult. This is especially true if you have been laid off. While that is not your fault, other employers are leery of it. Getting jobs with Kelly will help improve your chances of being hired because you won't be "unemployed" and "laid-off" anymore.
Job counseling is also a good idea. You have already expressed things that you have done one thing your entire adult life and you think that's why no one will hire you. Well, it isn't that you've done one thing your entire adult life that is the problem. It is more that you think that is the problem. It is also going to become a problem if you cannot express your worth and value to employer in your resume.
As you are aware, medical transcription is not just "typing." It is what many employers may think it is, if they know what it is at all. In order to get a job, your resume is going to need to phrase medical transcription in its component parts that will show the employer what it is and what you can do for them. How to do this has been suggested on this board many times. You might want to look through the archives and see if you can't find one of those posts. Several of them listed exactly what you should say in your resume.
I do not believe that finishing a bachelors degree is going to help you. Well you might have lots of time to do it, it is going to cost you a great deal with a little value to show for it. Degrees are great, but they are not going to get you a job unless they are in something where you would become highly employable. If you could have become highly employable by finishing your degree you would have done it already.
A better plan would be to learn something new where you can use your past knowledge and skill in medicine and transcription. As you can see from my nickname above, I am a coder. I transitioned from transcription into coding very easily. I know many other MTs who are transitioning easily and who are getting decent jobs, some of which are remote.
Learning to code is challenging, but feasible. You already have the medical terminology, much of the anatomy and pathophysiology, and understanding of the content of the medical record, medical documentation, the relationship between laboratory and other diagnostic testing to patient care, the types of physicians and other care providers, etc. You also have the computer skills for it. For you, learning coding is not as much a matter of learning something entirely new from scratch, but picking it up about one third of the way through, filling in some gaps, and adding to it. If you are not working, you should be able to complete even a long course like Andrews in nine months if you work at it full-time. You could complete enough of it to pass the CPC exam in about six months. Many students get their first jobs at that point. You may want to check out some of the Facebook boards that discuss jobs and schools, like JOBS for American Medical Coders. Yes, I realize that there's a lot of talk on this board about the evils of coding, but I have not experienced any of that, nor do I know anyone who has.
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