A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Is there any hope for me? - OrthoMT
Posted: Aug 27, 2010
I am no where near as experienced as some MTs even though I have been transcribing for 12 years. Problem is, I have only done ortho. When my in-house job went with the service, I went to. Then my work was offshored, so I moved to a different company, still doing ortho, and making better money, about $40,000 a year. Now the company has lost that account and I am unable to go with it.
I have been switched to an acute care account (clinic work only), doing VR. Can anyone out there know how I feel like a fish out of water? It is so difficult to learn to do the VR, using my hands differently and learning the function keys (not the best platform in the world). What makes it even more difficult is now I have all these new specialties like cardiology, oncology, neurology, on and on and on. I have to stop and research drugs, demos, abbreviations, procedures, etc. Absolutely everything is new to me except the ortho work. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I was just learning the VR or just learning the new specialties, but both at the same time is driving me crazy.
I decided that this is the way of the future, checked my attitude, and have tried to learn and push through. I am told that my work is very good, but I am very slow. Of course I am. When I look at my paycheck now I feel like crying. I have never worked this hard for so little money. How long is it going to take for this to improve, I don't expect to make what I was making in the past, but a 50% cut is tremendous. Should I stick with it, and hope to come back to maybe at least $30,000. Perhaps I could get a $25,000 to $28,000 job in my area and get out of MT altogether, but I don't want to wonder if I cheated myself.
Please hold any insults. I am just venting and wondering if anyone else has been through this who could offer some helpful advice.
Every single time I have had to learn a new specialty or platform. - MTPockets
[ In Reply To ..]What you are feeling is completely normal. It does feel overwhelming when you have to keep stopping to look up terms and drugs, but hang in there! By doing so, you are giving yourself a great education and you will be zipping past words that you once had to stop and look up. There is always a learning curve with any new specialty or platform. A good supervisor should recognize that you are simply overwhelmed right now. They should have the ability to remove some work types from your work pool. Can you talk to her and let her know you are feeling overwhelmed? Tell her you will glady accept the challenge of another specialty once you are comfortable with what you are doing. She should appreciate your candor and accommodate your wishes.
Do not give up. We have all stood where you are right now. If you have done ortho for 12 years, you have the right tools and you will soon be feeling just as confident about other specialties. Don't give up! It DOES get easier.
Thank you. I guess I have no choice, besides.... SM - OrthoMT
[ In Reply To ..]What would I put on my resume?...."Excellent ortho MT - Stupid about everything else."
I guess it wouldn't seem so difficult if it was just 1-2 new specialties, but so many at one time really blows my mind. However, it has just become too diffiult to chase 1 specialty and I have come to realize no matter how good you are at it, companies don't like that.
I am a hard and dedicated worker. I am very reliable too, but since I have seen what has happened to my paycheck I have become very depressed and feel worthless. I know many come on here and brag about how good they are and how smart they are, with loads of experience but surely some have found themselves in my position, even if they are afraid to admit it.
I'm smart and good with loads of experience but - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I hate ortho, so my hat's off to you! Also in the same boat having the ridiculously decreased paycheck and the terrible treatment and the offshoring and, and on and on, now will be learning a new platform and new account.
Weird, I didn't mind being treated like a machine as long as they pay was good and I was valued as an employee. But machines don't need food and shelter in order to keep doing their work and I do. Also I care about document quality and that was not rewarded; in fact, it is nearly discouraged these days.
The only reason I've stayed in the profession this long is because I care about clarity of the written word--even when NOBODY else does and I don't get paid for it.
Just wondering if your employer would do this - Hmmmm
[ In Reply To ..]Would they be receptive to giving you just 1-2 new specialties at a time to learn, along with ortho? That way, you could take your time learning 1-2 new fields but also have the ortho with which you are familiar to keep your line count (and paycheck!) up.
Since they know your situation, maybe they'd be receptive to such an arrangement and relieve you of some of that stress.
In any event, as other posters have said, don't give up. You'll learn, and more quickly than you realize. Once you have to look up those new meds and new terms, they'll stick in your brain and before you know it, you'll be whipping out ANY specialty report with the same speed and confidence with which you do ortho.
Good luck!
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