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

Nurse Medical Transcriptionists ?? - What Happened to MT Industry?

Posted: Jun 26, 2011

I came across an ad recently catering to unemployed new registered nurses who need jobs badly. I am understanding that the market for RNs and healthcare in general is saturated and then some; however, this article specifically stated "Nurse Medical Transcriptionists." I saw it on All Nurses forum; I don't remember the company . . . BUT a lot of nurses were responding with interest because they can't get jobs. The only thing that was running through my mind was "you have no idea people what you are getting yourself into." ??? Anyone else see this?

Also -- check out this month's edition of For The Record. There is an article in that magazine about how to establish your offshore office, i.e. for coding and transcription.

I saw a post on here once where an RN was thinking about doing MT - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
I also saw a post from a person who was degreed (masters) in a different area, I think in therapy, who was thinking of going to school to do MT. At least she was thinking of going to school. I replied that she really needs to do her research on this field and that if she thinks she is going to be making the kind of money she is currently making, she really needs to wake up and do a lot of research. Unfortunately, this career seems to be going nowhere but down, which is unfortunate for us MTs, but most unfortunate for the patients who have no idea that the reports may be substandard at the best and plain wrong at the worst, possibly compromising their care, especially if the doctor and/or nurse does not pay attention to what is written.

I heard a conversation between a dictating doctor and a nurse. The nurse was questioning a potassium dose that was transcribed into the chart. The doctor said, "There is no way in the world I would dictate that dose! I'm not trying to kill the woman!" Thank goodness that nurse was paying attention and asked. But do they all? Very scary indeed.

RN wanting to study MT - NONE

[ In Reply To ..]
I just want to state agreement in this profession's downward spiral. The company I work for has to decrease our line rate in order to keep docs on board or they will go overseas for cheaper costs! I have had it - and I tell anyone that is considering this field to RUN AND RUN FAST. I loved this job and made great money several years ago. Now it is slave labor and I am out soon.

RNs wanting to do MT - What Has Happened to the MT Industry?

[ In Reply To ..]
I think that it is just unfortunate that the situation in healthcare (all positions) has become so dire that first of all the MT positions are and have been trending on a downward spiral for many years. Secondly, it is REALLY awful that some RNs are so desperate that they are considering work as an MT. In my opinion, if the "Nurse Medical Transcriptionist" proves to be the next trend, it will be awful for the RNs who choose this path. The pay will definitely not increase and IMO the downward trend will continue; however, I believe that what WILL happen is there will become a new requirement expecting people to have nursing education in order to do this unbelievably unsustainable job. What is worse is that once these RNs choose the MT route, they will get sucked in and eventually realize that it is a trap and many won't be able to get out -- and those may have even let their license lapse.

RN who became an MT - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
I am an RN who became an MT. I was an RN for over 20 years, but wouldn't want to ever be an RN again. So, when I became an MT, I was comparing a zero income to MT income. Working at home without office politics, especially minus the cat-fighting, back-stabbing female RNs that I had known in the past, was a very attractive alternative to me. If you think that MT supervisors can be vindictive *****, what do you think in-your-face coworkers can be like? In the hospital environment, your group of patients can be the worst on the floor or the best, determined by your assignment, which is determined by your supervisor. And, if your coworkers decide to call in sick, who do you think gets to take over their case load, essentially having a double case load of patients in a day? The main difference between MT work and hospital work, in my experience, was that I would not, as an MT, be responsible for hands-on care of multiple patients at one time, frustrated at not being able to be in multiple rooms at a time, watching all patients at a time. Now, I am responsible for the medical record, but it is generally not as gut-wrenching, potentially dangerous, fatal, or emergent as was the case many times in the hospital situation. Also, RN work is more physically demanding than MT work.

I did train before becoming an MT and enrolled in one of those expensive online courses. It wasn't like I was an RN one day and thought that MT would be an easy one-day transition. I never expected to earn as much as an MT as I could as an RN, either. But, again, I would have to be very desperate to ever want to return to work as an RN.

So, I want to say that there are those of us RNs out here who have good reasons to want to change. I have also tried to warn MTs who are thinking about being RNs that the grass is not always brighter on the other side. But, to each his own.

Just my opinion and my personal experience.

BTW - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
RN jobs are not as easy or fun as they used to be. I'm sure if they could be offshored, they would be, but obviously, the patients are here. At any rate, nurses from other lands are often brought to the US to work, so that's kind of offshoring in reverse.

At my current job, if I would question a drug dosage or anything in the medical report, I would get a nasty response from QA with "that isn't your job." So, I stopped doing it, just made real sure that I heard exactly what was dictated. Sad, huh?

One time, there was a QA who I reported sounded odd, like he was inebriated or something like that. Again, I was told basically that it wasn't my job to decide if the dictator sounded odd. A short time later, he and the supervising physician were named in a lawsuit which I found quite accidentally when searching something else online.

Over time, I have learned to just stick with my job and ignore the rest.

When I was a nurse, I knew many other nurses who said that they don't support the methods of modern medicine, some refuse certain treatments and pharmaceuticals, but "I just work here."
Again, I find this trend very disturbing. It seems that no one is willing to stand up for what they think is right. As MTs, we just accept the lousy treatment and move on. That is likely why the profession is in such a sad state.

But, again, this sad state of affairs is not limited to medical transcription. Working as an RN, in a hospital or otherwise, is no picnic, IMHO. I let my license lapse.

Working as an MT - What Happened to the MT Industry?

[ In Reply To ..]
That is great that you made the leap and got out of floor nursing **** :-) I am not a nurse nor would I ever want to be; however, I did work PRN as a unit secretary for a VERY short time on a nursing unit and I can't believe how awful the nurses are treated, what the state of healthcare has become, and that the managers/supervisors actually don't really seem to give a care. What amazed me was that many nursing supervisors just sat on their ***** and read books -- especially at night. Many of the nurses wanted out and didn't know what to do, and there were many nurses who were just plain bitter to anyone -- life in general I think.

Those of us who were and are MTs did choose the profession because we didn't want to be involved with bedside care. As you know :-) the healthcare management is ALWAYS looking for a way to sit on their a$$e$ and get something for nothing. The first thing they did was turn the MT profession into a "mom job," after that it was outsourced, after that it was offshored, and I have even come across that many healthcare facilities are wanting "retirees" or people who just need money whenever. That is great for someone who just wants extra money, but the job with the pay-by-line, whenever status cannot support a person who supports themselves. This used to be a good "profession" and I actually could support myself and was paid by the hour like any other decent American. Anymore, there is just no way -- I need and want to go back to an regular office (not healthcare). BTW, I was only a remote transcriber for a couple of years; most of the almost 15 years was in-house.

I hope that things in MT stay good for you. :-)

The industry - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
Actually, things in MT have NOT been good for me. I didn't intend to give that impression, although it hasn't been all negative.

I was just explaining how it may happen that an RN may choose MT as an alternative. Along with everyone else, I have experienced many of the negatives that the MT industry has to offer, but I am still thankful that I am at home and doing MT work instead of RN work at this time, with no concerns for a commute, gas purchases, office politics, etc.

It almost seems like everything that has gone wrong with the MT industry has also gone wrong with other aspects of the medical industry as a whole. So, switching from one medical job to another may never be a good solution.

If I had it to do over again, I would have changed to some other profession. Now, I am really too old to change, and am looking forward to the day in just a few months when I can receive some social security to supplement whatever else I can manage to earn.

IMHO, the greed that is at the root of all the troubles with the medical industry, will hit each aspect of the medical industry in some form or another, at some time or another.

Actually, this greed is certainly not limited to only the medical industry. I have a friend whose hours at Wal-Mart were just cut back from 40 to 30, not her choice.

Perhaps we can no longer depend 100% on a company, employer or IC client, for our livelihood. Perhaps our society will become more creative and evolve to one where more individuals follow their own passions and explore options for making their own careers and working for themselves instead of relying on others. If successful, I think that scenario would make for a perfect work life.

People In General - not just medicine - are spoiled and employers tend to be greedy - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Employers, corporations or small mom-and-pop companies, have always, since the beginning of time, been greedy. Abusive employers are nothing new.

What is new is that most of us want more money than our parents had, better working conditions than they and our grandparents had, and we want to spend lots of time complaining about it whenever possible, and I include myself in that. It has gotten to be a habit with me. I know it has gotten to be a habit with people I know.

So employers are bad and employees are spoiled. I think it's just a sign of our times. Oh yes, and the economy is super-horrible, which makes the employers grouchier and greedier and the employees more out of sorts. Nobody wins these days, whether you work in the field of health care, law, food service or anything else. It is what it is, a MESS!

Thanks, Judy, for both valuable little - windows into other worlds. :)

[ In Reply To ..]
WorkingAsAnMT, harsh reality is, most of those back-in-an-office jobs you're interested in are gone, and people holding the ones remaining are facing many of the same problems you describe. If you want a good income from a job your employer isn't doing its best to get rid of, you'll have to go back to school and upgrade your skills to get out of lower-level clerical work.

BTW, I'd actually have much rather been a clinical nurse and only came to this almost accidentally (and temporarily) after decades in a nonmedical field. No accident at all that I choose to avoid "office" politics and personalities, tho. :)

Excellent Message! I know RNs who have gone to school to become MTs and love it! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
There are lots of reasons to get out of nursing and into MT. Lots of RNs do it the right way, by getting a really good MT education. That, along with the nursing education and experience can be a really good combination!

Nurses are like anyone else. Some of them make really good MTs and some don't. They have some advantages, if they not only have good keyboarding and spelling skills but also the ability to sit behind a computer for hours at a time. I think it can be a really good option for nurses who want to get out of nursing.

RNs would not be good MTs - cardioMT

[ In Reply To ..]
I have worked with many nurses in the hospitals in the past. They make the worst secretaries. It was always our joke, but it's not funny when we realize that they want to become MTs. With so few MT jobs available, the nurses need to look for nursing positions - of which there are many and leave the few MT jobs for those of us who have paid our dues in this business over the years.

I wasn't an RN but I was an LPN who successfully - wannie

[ In Reply To ..]
made the transition from nursing to MT, and a good one at that. I learned MTing with on-the-job training from some top-notch transcriptionists who trained me well. Saying that a nurse wouldn't make a good MT because they're the worst secretaries is like saying an MT wouldn't be good at another job because all they know how to do is type. Both professions require great ability and willingness to learn.

And yet there are still people wanting to waste money - on taking "MT career courses". Unbelievable.

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Which clearly illustrates that old saying, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Agree - I never went to a course - mt

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And have done just fine in my position as an MT for over nine years. The pay is the problem for me. I'm very good at what I do - quick at typing and 390+ lph editing. The line rate is just too low. Luckily I only do this part-time for extra income. My husband is the bread winner here. I try to steer people away from this profession because the schooling is too expensive and the pay is worse than fast food, but to each their own.

MTSOs today require it for those who do not have years of experience. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Lots of people got into MT back when schools weren't available - and lots of them are not very good at MT

[ In Reply To ..]
The truth is, we've got a lot of MTs out there who either got bad training or none at all. They aren't very good at it, never were, but bad work was acceptable because there wasn't anything any better.

I got trained by the doctors, but they were very inconsistent in pointing out errors to me, so when I wanted to work someplace where they did care about the things I didn't know about, it was a problem. I wish I had learned it the right way from the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I loved learning from the doctors, and there were lots of things that I wouldn't have learned otherwise, but as far as actual medical transcription skills, I wish I had done it another way.

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