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

Returning to MT? - Lilt

Posted: Jul 06, 2011

I was a medical transcriptionist from 1999-2006, and 2007-2008. I worked in a regional health center; did all sorts of reports. And then suffered major burnout. I'm working retail and not really getting by at all. So, I'm considering the once-unthinkable: Returning to MT.

My problem is that I'm not up-to-date on things - the latest procedures, drugs, instruments, anything. I have no idea if my typing skills are up to snuff. I do know I want to do at-home work again as opposed to in-house.

I'm also considering going to school for coding/billing. I know there's a ton of education choices around - online and irl - but I don't want to waste my time and money going over things I still know from my education and years as an MT. Is there an MT-to-coder program out there?

I guess I'm looking for any and all advice.

Lilt - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I seem to remember someone saying that M-TEC had something like that. Not sure exactly, as it was a while ago, but could not hurt to give them a call and ask if they can help. Good luck to you! You are coming back and I am going out--59 more days!

Returning to MT? - Lilt

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for the tip, I'll check into it! Good luck to you too! Enjoy your retirement or your next career path!

Lilt - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you. We hope to visit Italy. We'll see. The dollar is not so good right now for travel. Good luck to you, too.

Don't do it! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I would not recommend returning to the MT world. If you thought you had burnout in 2008, that is nothing compared the burnout you will get shortly after returning to MTing. Did you do VR? VR is all there is now. The pay is horrible, the work load is low, the stress is high. I work "full-time" but I am sitting in front of my computer for 10 to 12 hours a day just to get 1500 lines in a day, which is $67.50 a day that I am making. I am still an MT but going to school for AA degree in HIM to become an RHIT then on to getting my bachelor's degree to become an RHIA and then possibly to graduate school. I hate my job now!

Returning to MT? - Lilt

[ In Reply To ..]
Hooo boy, yeah, VR. That was not my favorite part about the job. I shouldn't be surprised that it's the primary thing nowadays. Another thing to think about. Thanks!

Not to mention that pay for VR is down to 3-4cpl and - downward. MT"s not a job, its a JOKE.

[ In Reply To ..]

Lilt, most experts say there will be jobs in the future, - but

[ In Reply To ..]
I truly don't mean this to sound harsh, just to be helpful: If you were making so little in the past that retail sales was a viable alternative, you really don't want to come back today. Almost all jobs are paid on a production basis, and pay is dropping. A lot of people are in real trouble. Losing their homes, the whole bit.

Plus, you burned out at this work! A whole bunch of others never do, but you did. That's really significant because it hasn't changed--except that you're expected to do it for less. There's a lot of stress around, a lot of unhappy people.

My advice is to take a thoughtful look at yourself and find out what you would like to be doing all day long for decades to come, at least a good part of the time. Then go for that. Best wishes.

DON'T!! - OAF

[ In Reply To ..]
It's only gotten worse since you've been gone. Sorry Honey but I would look into something else. If you want to be stressed to the max, working 12 hour days for little compensation then come on back.... Paycuts for regular transcription. VR taking over elsewhere. No future here...

MT-coder programs - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Are you SURE that what you knew from MT is what is required for coding? The SAME?

You may be making the mistake of assuming that the knowledge base is the same--it is not. You need far more anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology for coding. You also need more than the recognition-level knowledge that works for MT. Coding isn't entirely a parrot operation where you see a medical word and code it; it's a complicated process in which you can find yourself reviewing medical records for evidence that something was NOT documented and you need the ability to identify what it is so that you can discuss it in writing with the physician in an intelligent enough manner that he understands but isn't led to document something he shouldn't.

The knowledge required varies with the type of coding you do. You can get away with little more than med terms for the CPC exam, but the CCS exam for inpatient coding is another story entirely. The failure rate on that exam is very high -- you need as much A&P, pharmacology, lab, and pathophysiology as you can get. You have to use that information to code. If you will be coding anything surgical, you'll need an in-depth knowledge of surgical procedures and technique, too, so if you have done that as an MT, you're ahead with it.

You also need to review -- you said yourself that you're rusty. One option would be to do a course that included everything and allowed you to review and move at your own pace. There has been a lot of discussion about this here. Andrews seems to be set up that way and a lot of MTs take that one. From that perspective, it seems to be very MT-friendly. To me, that sounds helpful because you would have the material available for review, but would not have to spend as much time on it as others might. You would not have to guess about what you might need to know because it would be right there for you. There might be other schools which do this, but that one was mentioned on the board in the past.

As SM says, coding is definitely not for all MTs. I'd - definitely NOT pay for even one course

[ In Reply To ..]
before finding out whether I had the personal abilities needed. It's about analyzing reports for meaning and involves intensive reading all day long. Our skills of fast typing and knowing where commas go are of very little use, and, as indicated, knowing medical terminology is just a good jump-off point for now learning what it all really means.

coding and mt - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
What kind of an MT are you that doesn't know what the medical terminology MEANS?

I do coding and MT. And my knowledge of anatomy and physiology serves me well on both sides of the fence.

Shhh. MT, lots of MTs do not know a whole lot much more than how to - spell the terms. Entry into this field

[ In Reply To ..]
does not actually require physiology and anatomy classes as many have come in by simply shifting work stations. Even those offered in MT programs are typically extremely shallow, learned quickly for the next test, and often forgotten just as quickly. That's because making a living at transcription does not really require us to remember what we learned about acid-base disorders and what an anion gap is, or even simple things like being able to define just what those perennially torn rotator cuffs are and do.

Instead it keeps us mostly too busy to think about what the text actually means as we focus on issues like commas or which account number is correct, and of course quickening the upward crawl of our line counts.

BTW, I'm not sure what got you so excited about my post, but way too many people have signed up for coding and MT classes before they learned whether they could do the work well enough, or even liked it, only to do poorly after spending thousands of dollars and months of their lives in training, and often after years struggling to make a living. Like leaping into a bad marriage, definitely to be avoided.

LOL! - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
"BTW, I'm not sure what got you so excited about my post, but way too many people have signed up for coding and MT classes before they learned whether they could do the work well enough, or even liked it, only to do poorly after spending thousands of dollars and months of their lives in training, and often after years struggling to make a living. Like leaping into a bad marriage, definitely to be avoided."

I agree with THAT point.

I'm dismayed by the MTs who think only knowing how to spell is required for the job. I'm working with some MTs right now who are upset that they are getting negative feedback and yet when I see the feedback they are getting, it's obvious they might know how to spell but don't have a working knowledge of A&P :(

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