A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Getting Back Into Transcribing - fna

Posted: Dec 09, 2013

HI! I am happy to announce that I decided to get back into transcibing. It has been 7 years since I have done it . This is a big step for me because I am older and memory has failed me a little so I will have to refresh my memory before going back in. Are there any webinars that I can take or any websites that will update me on anything that I need to know about reports or software?

Why??? - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
WHY would you get back into a profession that is just about obsolete? Just read the Nuance and M*Modal boards. What you read there is indicative of the MT industry now.

Disappointed - fna

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for the heads up. Its bad I feel like my certificate is being wasted

Wasted? You have not used it in 7 years. - ???

[ In Reply To ..]
You have not used that certificate in 7 years, but now feel sad about wasting your certificate???

Your skills and knowledge are used in other fields, particularly health information management, which includes coding, privacy, medical record technology, etc. It will be valuable in many other medical fields, as well.

fna - Glad to be out

[ In Reply To ..]
What kind of certificate? From a legitimate school or a matchbook?

Maybe you could go into something else that would - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
use your medical language, such as coding or medical secretary. Who knows, the sky is the limit.

You're joking, right? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You can't be serious.

Getting back into transcribing - willow

[ In Reply To ..]
A dying profession thanks to Nuance and all the outsourcing. Used to be able to make a decent living but now your're lucky if you make $300 every 2 weeks

$300 every 2 weeks? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If I made that I would have to rethink this "career" right away. I am already rethinking it because I only bring in around $1300 every 2 weeks. That still is not enough to live on as an IC after you take out taxes, etc. I am hanging in there while I take some classes and hopefully wean into a new profession sooner rather than later.

I bring home $1300 a MONTH... - sad

[ In Reply To ..]
My mortgage alone is $800. I'm employee status and have insurance, PTO, 401k, etc. but I still struggle. And have a husband with a FT job too. But he is salaried and can never work OT. It sucks how broke we are, you would think a 2 income household only supporting 2 people (and a dog) would be enough, but any "extra" gets eaten up quick by a sick dog, car repairs, unexpected bills, etc. I have to pay my mortgage so I have a place to work, I have to pay my electricity to turn my computer on, I have to pay my internet bill so I can work. No way could I survive on $300 every two weeks. God Bless you MT if you're making it.

I had that happen when I first started with a different MTSO, my very first paycheck straight production ST only at the time was less than $100 for 2 weeks. I bawled my eyes out! I immediately started job hunting and found a seasonal job for $8 an hour but that only lasted 3 months.

Fricken sad!

have you tried refinancing your mortage? thats what i had to do - when we got switched to VR

[ In Reply To ..]
I have an FHA loan, did a streamline. No real income checks. My mortgage went from $815 a month to $644. Not a long term solution but gave us some breathing room at Christmas. Good luck.

$1300 a month - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not bragging and I know all the negativity I will get but I get home with a little over $1300/every 2 weeks. I don't have to pay health insurance (have it on my husband's retirement) and this is a hospital hourly job.

but those are pretty scarce these days - Old School

[ In Reply To ..]
You're very fortunate and we all wish we had jobs like that, but the fact is most of us don't. There are few to no inhouse jobs in my area.

I work for MM and bring home about $500 a week, and that's more than most.

um, you're going to be a little bit surprised - it has kind of changed

[ In Reply To ..]
good luck. The last 7 years have seen some major changes.

Surely you jest... - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
Well, it's no longer a field where you can actually make money.

That being said, even if it was a good field these days, you'd need an entire new course. Seven years is a very long time---the ear training for ESL is lost, the new drugs, surgery equipment, procedures, everything. You cannot "brush up" on new meds and surgery equipment, it's something you just learn as you go along transcribing. Absolutely no way to memorize all that through a webinar class or something. I am hard pressed to think that you even did acute care---someone who has done acute care in a big way knows better.

If all you have/had was clinic, you can forget that. Clinics have replaced with electronics and no longer use their own MTs, or even the MTSOs.

fna - Nick

[ In Reply To ..]
This is a little like saying that, although I played college football, I am now a law student and do not have too much time for exercise. Nonetheless, I have always wanted to be an NFL quarterback, and I truly hope they will give me shot at their next draft. Truly, my friend, give it up.

Perfect Analogy! - It is an intense training

[ In Reply To ..]
Couldn't have said it better myself. It's a continuous training, not a quick brush-up.

To fna: I am kind of doubting your experience--not that you told us how many years and what type of experience you had, but I'm just concerned. You seem to think that a quick class will "bring you up to snuff," and that is the talk of someone who never did this in a big way to begin with.

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