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

Same old story - sm

Posted: Mar 29, 2015

Same old story--lost my good hourly-paying, direct-employee job and wondered what to do next. I started looking into records because to me it seemed a good move for a transcriptionist to make.

It took some time but I did get a job in records--and I hate it.

I'll do my best and learn what I can, but now I'm glad I didn't spend time and money getting certified in records before having actually worked in it.

It might be worth trying another records job elsewhere, since each place has their own way of doing things--but I am looking into other areas as well.

Believe me, I know I'm lucky to have found something. That's the thing that bugs me; the national mindset--and I know I am generalizing--seems to be, just be glad you found anything at all.

Lost my good hourly-paying job and wondered what to do next. I started looking into records because to me, it seemed a good move for a transcriptionist.

I did get a job in records--and I hate it. I'll do my best and learn what I can, but now I'm glad I didn't spend time and money getting certified in records before having actually worked in it.

It might be worth trying another records job elsewhere since each place has their own way of doing things--but I am looking into other lines of work as well.

Believe me, I know I'm lucky to have found something. That's what bugs me; the national mindset seems to be, just be glad you found anything at all. That may be a generalization, but I know many who do feel this way. Sad.

On a positive note, I do like reading what others are doing or thinking about doing--the more ideas the better. Keep 'em coming.

May I ask what you are doing in records? - RHIA

[ In Reply To ..]
May I ask what you are doing in medical records? And what you do not like about it? And is this a small or large facility?

I am asking because you are probably in one of the jobs that does not require specialized training in HIT or HIM. Those jobs might not be sufficiently challenging for you. It might also be hard for you to see the challenging, interesting HIM jobs from where you are in the department, especially after only a few days.

I do not pull, file, or deliver records, make copies of records, scan, do record analysis, or any of those things. At least not anymore. I did them at the beginning so I would learn how all the parts fit together, and I am glad that I did because I use that knowledge every day.

Did you see the career map that AHIMA has? (Linked below.) If not, you really should. Those are jobs you could perform with experience or training. Once you see what those jobs are, maybe you would become interested in training. It CAN be worth it.

Jobs in privacy and security, compliance, informatics, data analytics, clinical documentation improvement, coding, and the rest of them are worthwhile and interesting. They fill important roles in healthcare -- making safe, effective healthcare possible.

No matter what job you do, the first few weeks in it can be less than rewarding just because you are learning something unfamiliar in an unfamiliar environment. You might not have seen the entire job yet. You might not have seen higher level specify jobs that, at your facility, might even be contracted out.

If you had gotten specialty training in HIM, you probably would have gotten a different job.

If you will explain what you are doing, maybe I can help you see where it fits in.

I do not think you should quit, either, because right now it IS a job and it WILL earn experience time that you can use to get a better job soon.

The jobs in HIM can go up to 100K and higher. (See the salary survey at that link as well.) The median is not bad, either. Please give yourself a chance.

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