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

How To Not get Burnt Out - FeelLikeGoingCrazy

Posted: Aug 02, 2014

I've only been in the field for 5 years and have had my share of jobs. The best was, of course, the in-house job which eventually got outsourced(as many often do). I'm with a service I'm happy at albeit the pay is what it is (dreadfully low). I'm only part-time, but I find that 4 hours a shift is just enough for me to handle mentally. Maybe I bring it on myself, rationalizing what I paid for schooling versus what I actually get paid. I just find myself barely making it to count and when my 4 hours is up, I log off with a hefty sigh of relief. For those who do this FT, I applaude you, cause I sure couldn't do it. I actually start a job in September with the cafeteria service at my son's school and am actually looking forward to it. My question is, how can I not burn out, what can I do to stay sane in this industry? I'm trying to stay in it to appease my husband, who often says "Stay in the field to make your student loan 'worth it'. Fingers crossed, hopefully, I can do just that.

Keep a stack of unpaid bills by your computer. I can understand DH - wanting you to stay with it. SM

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I would be angry if we took out a loan for my hubby's education and he ended up not using it. I would rather he do what we paid for to some degree, maybe not to the extent that it would support the family. He could do like you and also have a 2nd job for main support. But I would resent if he didn't use his hard earn, paid for education at all.

Understandable, but a little vindictive - Why punish someone?

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Why punish someone for things that are beyond their control???

I think "resentment" has a lot to do with this ... "you used up a lot of our joint resources, depriving ME, and I resent you for it, so now you have to be punished."

If she is still paying off a student loan for MT - sm - InkMT

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after working as a MT for five years, albeit part-time, she still paid way too much for her class/course. She is not clear though about that. If the loan is paid off the most I would work for (in addition) is maybe the length of time it took to pay it off, so if it took 2 years to pay it off, then you worked another 2 years and you still hate it then get out. Why torture yourself. If the school job pays the same what is the difference, and it may lead to better opps within the school system. You may want to point that out to him.

How to not get burnt out- - that is a hard

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question. Most of us would like the answer to that :-). As far as your husband, I totally understand his reasoning, but just remember, you can make the money in another field to pay the loan, but your time and happiness is priceless. Don't torture yourself any more than you have to doing this job. I can only speak for myself. I have done this since 1979 and the last couple years have pretty much sucked the life out of me but my light at the end of the tunnel is 1 month away, then I am out. I spent a lot of years working hard, good line counts, great quality and the reward, low pay, disrespect and stress. Life is too short and transcription is not an easy job to do, run as fast as you can.

My feeling with - MT now is that

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it really could work much better as a part-time pin money job than full time, especially if your full time job is very active. You may find yourself enjoying it more when you assume the other job full time.

Staying in the field to make your student loan - "worth it" - Sunk Cost Fallacy

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Sticking with something because of the money, time, or effort you already invested in it is known as the "sunk cost fallacy." See the link below or google.

It sounds reasonable to stay the course so you don't "waste" that money, but it is an illogical ... and very poor ... decision.

OK, so you spent a lot of time learning this, spent a lot of money, and also invested time and money gaining on the job experience. Now you find that the work is miserable and you make poor wages. In fact, it is so bad that you are looking to a cafeteria job to make ends meet.

Yet, you continue with the MT because of what you already spent on it . . . literally throwing good money after bad. You are CONTINUING TO INVEST in it!

There are other things going on as well. The belief that quitting is bad. The idea that we learn a career and stick with it for life. The idea that you have to lie in the bed you made. There is even the idea that you have to be punished for wasting all that time and money in the first place.

I think a better plan would be to recognize that what you learned in school is applicable to other fields and that the time you spent on the job is good experience you can use for something else. What is it applicable to? HIM and coding, both of which can pay much better. You could learn coding at minimal cost. Medical office. Medical admin assistant. Even billing.

Grow what you know into something bigger.

My 9 month course cost $12k - FeelLikeGoingCrazy

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I have a balance of $8600. The school wasn't even AHDI approved. I had great teachers and they went over and beyond, even after being told to "push people through". My recruiter told me that I could work from home right after graduation. I found out the hard way that wasn't true. You live and you learn, I guess.

2 forebearances so far, 1 for 6 months then - another for 12

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x

Well, ok, but you can pay it with money earned - outside MT

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Is that what is keeping you from moving on? The idea that you have to pay it back with money earned in MT? Or that you have to do MT until you pay it back?

Those terms were not in your loan.

If you took a college course, you must have taken many of the same courses coders take. Med terms? A&P?

Are there coding jobs in your area? Can you get a book on medical office reimbursement and study it? Is there an inexpensive adult school (city sponsored, not a rip off) in your area offering billing or coding?

Or how about just getting a job in a doctor's office doing reception, MT, and such? Where you can learn billing and coding? It is not all that difficult.

Yes, you made a terrible decision. You fell for the student loan scam. That is especially true if the college was not regionally accredited community college. My point is that you do not have to keep suffering because of it.

You are losing even more money by staying in MT. My advice is to get out of the rut, add to what you learned, and get a better job.

The average pay for new coders is in the 30s, I believe. They start making in the 40s soon after.

It is hard not to get burned out. My MTSO is training us - as coders

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we type 20 hours and have class 20 hours. Those 20 hours of typing feel like torture. MT is a hard field to not get burned out because it is so repetitive and there is little variety if you are with an MTSO. I think outside MT has some great ideas and would well worth checking out.

Good luck with your new job!!

That is MM, right? I thought there was a big hold-up on - learning coding. nm

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x

there is actually a push to get the current CAP students - done and into jobs as there is

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a tremendous need for MM coders right now.

In the real world - Anonymous one

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It would be very difficult to be a receptionist, an MT and a coder in the same office. Think about it - transcription would need to be done in a quiet area away from patient contact and phone interruptions, the same applies to coding, those are both back office jobs. Receptionists rarely transcribe and vice versa. A job like that, if it even existed, would not pay very well, unfortunately, and that also sounds like a lot of stress to me for someone who is burned out now doing MT part-time. Learning billing and coding is great, but that is not a guarantee of employment. Without advanced study and at least one certification, it is difficult to get a job as a new coder. Coding salaries vary by region, and coders work their way up the ladder just like everyone else. In my area, 40K is the top of the pay scale for hospital coding, office coders make less than that and it does not happen "soon" after you are hired. I did not know that student loans were a scam. 12K for a transcription course seems high, though. My suggestion to the OP since she is feeling burned out and will be starting another job soon, would be to take a break and enjoy some free time, if possible. I would say not to feel obligated to stay in MT unless you have a contract with your school to work as an MT for a certain length of time. You can pay back your student loans regardless of what you are doing. The job at the school might lead to other things, as you will have access to other internal jobs. Do what is right for you.

Disagree, there are loads of medical office - jobs with mixed duties

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Do you even work in healthcare???

There are loads of medical office jobs that involve a mix of duties ... that is what a medical administrative assistant does. And, seriously, you think that will pay less than a job in a school cafeteria??

And what is that with the "without advanced study and at least one certification"? Yeah, you need a certification, but it does not require "advanced study" to get it. A basic AAPC course prepares you for exactly that.

What kind of school obligates students to work in MT for a certain length of time???

Student loans are not a scam, but there are scams related to student loans. How can you not be aware of that?

Where do you live that 40K is tops for coding?

Yes I work in healthcare - Anonymous one

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I was an MT for years and now work in HIM. No receptionist/coder/transcriptionist jobs exist at my facility, they are all separate positions. Receptionists range from $10-12 an hour where I work, and they are spending their days answering phones, checking patients in and assisting people - I'm not sure how or when they would fit transcription or coding into their day, not to mention that the number of calls they handle is monitored. Coding? Well, I'm not sure when a receptionist would manage that either as that also takes a good deal of concentration. The combo job you are describing would only exist in a small one-doctor office, and you would probably work your tail off and get paid as little as they could get away with. That does not sound like a job for someone who is already burned out as a part-time MT. I don't know what kind of school obligates people to work in MT for a certain length of time, I was just throwing that out there; for some reason the OP feels trapped and thinks she needs to keep doing what she is doing. I can't divulge where I live, but it is rural. Coders here top out at around 40K unless you are an analyst, manager or auditor; it is definitely not starting salary for a front office combo job. MTs and coders were generally paid about the same hourly wage. AAPC only teaches outpatient coding, so going for the big money jobs would require more schooling. My goodness, I was only trying to make suggestions and offer some help, leave me alone.

Big Money Jobs in Coding do NOT require - more education

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You seem misinformed about salaries and jobs, as well.

AAPC teaches outpatient coding, but that should not be misunderstood to mean only doctors' office coding. It includes ambulatory facility coding and physician services coding, i.e., anything coded under outpatient coding rules.

Some of those areas pay very well, with some going to 70K a few years ago.

In contrast, AHIMA certified coders in hospitals might do better early on -- or they might not -- but they max out faster because hospitals are cheap. Some of the AAPC specialists in complex invasive specialties do much better.

I think you need to look at the salary surveys and the job situation in urban areas rather than relying on what you see and hear in your rural hospital.

Nothing wrong in trying to help, as long as you are providing accurate information. Some of what you provide seems to have been made up for the occasion. That is harmful to others.

Not all facilities are the same. - sm

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When I worked in-house, I was the morning receptionist for our department. After lunch, I worked on transcription, which rarely took the whole afternoon, so I would then move over and help our billing department submitting authorization requests and putting the ICD 9 codes into the hospital's computer system. My department manager even taught me to do some of the basic accounting for the department and I would help her with that when needed. I loved being able to do something different each day. Eventually they pulled me off of receptionist completely because they kept me busy with all the back office jobs that needed to be done. Granted, I didn't make the greatest pay (surely more than a school cafeteria worker though), but I had excellent benefits that I paid next to nothing for (was like $10 out of each check and minimal copay), PTO that I actually got to use for vacation (not required to use for out of work situations), and our hospital paid if we wanted to go back to school to learn a new field. They paid for my sister's entire nursing degree. There were many more benefits to working in-house and I loved that job. I only left because we moved, but I miss it all the time. The ladies I worked with were great. Often we were told to quiet down because we were laughing too much! Now I am working at home for an MTSO and it sure is totally different. But even if one doesn't find a job like this, there are still many jobs within the hospital that our skills would transfer to.

I take it you weren't the only one doing transcription? - considering you had time to

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Help out in the billing department. You said you only transcribed after lunch and it rarely took the whole afternoon? Did they not have many patients? Also prior authorizations and entering codes is not the same as actual coding.

Yes, I realize not the same... - sm

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My point was there are still positions out there that will train in-house if you can get your foot in the door. If I had wished to learn coding, I could have, but I had no interest in that. I personally find it to be incredibly boring. For me, I get bored very easily, and so I preferred having different tasks to do each day.

As for transcription, it is the same as any other transcription jobs. Some days I was flooded with transcription work and other days I would have next to nothing. Since I was paid hourly, there was no sense in me sitting around doing nothing when there was no work, so my boss crossed trained me in other areas so I could help out when they were bogged down. I am a very quick learner, and so my boss was constantly giving me new tasks to do, which is one thing I loved about the job. I felt I was constantly learning something new. They eventually tried to give my transcription away to someone else to free me up to help out more in other areas, but I told them I wanted to stay in transcription as I really enjoyed that job and I just wanted to help out as needed.

Realization - Anonymous one

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You do realize that a job like you had is extremely rare, especially the part about being able to laugh with coworkers and being told to quiet down. I know that not every facility is the same, but my work environment is really fast paced and stressful. This must have been a small facility or office. No way does anyone where I work, with the exception of reception, float around like that. For me, it would be difficult to switch gears, and with us they would never use an MT in accounting, reception or some of the other areas where you said you worked. You do realize that school districts offer many learning opportunities as well with good benefits, and I think if you checked the salary for lunchroom attendant and receptionist, it would be about the same, they're both considered entry level jobs. I think many of you are missing the point, anyway. The OP is burned out and needs something less stressful. Maybe she doesn't WANT another MT or office job.

Your unhappy situation and job - are yours

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Just because your experience and job are miserable doesn't mean that all jobs are miserable.

Assumption - Anonymous one

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I didn't say my job was miserable. What I said was that probably are no jobs that let someone code, transcribe and do reception work all at the same time. I said my job was stressful, that is true. The OP is burned out but you all have her learning coding, going to work in a doctor's office and doing all kinds of things that are probably going to contribute to her stress issues instead of supporting her in her decision to go to work in a non-medical field. 99% of the time these discussions get turned around and you end up ganging up on other people. Go back and read the entire thread, and then if you have something to add other than attacking me, feel free to say something worthwhile.

I have a $30,000 loan on an education I don't use now, - sm

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I have kind of the opposite situation. I left my current field after graduating with a $30K loan only to find out the most I could make was $12 an hour, which makes it impossible to pay back this school loan. I have been paying it for 10 years and still haven't made a dent in it. In fact, it is now $3000 more then when I graduated because I had to take a couple deferments and the interest capitalized. I needed to change careers or I have no hope of paying it off. I ended up doing MT because for me it was actually a pay raise. I only paid $1200 for my MT course and made that back in my first month. Now I make $20/hour, so now make over $1200 more each month than I would have made had I stayed in my original field (vet tech) and can now easily pay my school loan each month now, which I couldn't do before. I can still go back to that field anytime, but right now I stick with MT so I can actually afford to pay my student loan bill each month. You have to do what makes the most financial sense, and it makes no sense to turn down other opportunities that will benefit you and your family more just because it isn't in the field you went to school for.

How not to get burned out - eom

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The only way I can suggest is to not become an MT in the first place. However, for those already in the field, you should get out now if you can, because you will get burned out. When I was working as an MT I was full-time and then went to part-time to see if that would help. It didn't. It actually made it worse. The very nature of working for an MTSO will wear you out, not matter how hard you try to hang in there. Save yourself the aggravation and get out now.

My idea - an ATM - Mary Roach

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I used to imagine that my computer screen would spit out dollar bills each time I push "send" to finish a report. Unfortunately, no one came up with a patent.
Seriously, I had terrible burnout for years. The only things that helped were the following: Getting enough sleep and exercise, eating healthier, forcing myself to get off the computer and out of the house, making friends out in the community, volunteering. MT, whether it is on-site or at-home, is very, very isolating. I found that I completely lost all my social skills, and since my husband is quiet, I oftentimes had only my children and pets to talk to each day. I almost felt that my intellect was regressing (except for health care). As soon as I got a job away from the house, I went back to school, made friends at school, then became a triathlete and now have over 200 friends, and I don't mean to brag. (So sorry for the run-on sentence.) I will pray for you to feel better and get some relief soon. Take care of yourself before anyone else; you are your best and sometimes your only advocate.

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