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

Frustrated Newbie! - jwhiting

Posted: Mar 09, 2012

Hi, I graduated from a local community college with Medical Transcription back in May, last year. Since then it has been simply aggravating finding a job, I wish I had chosen a school on line instead. So far, I've come up with nothing, job wise, and I'm thinking I made the wrong decision about getting into this career. Everywhere I look, they are asking for two years of experience at least, to start out with, or they won't even give me a chance. It's extremely frustrating! If anyone has any tips on how to get into the business, I'd really love to know. Also, I was wondering if the school on line called Career Step would be worth signing up for, or not. Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

IMHO, I would cut your losses and go back for Med. Assisting - and then get job as a scribe

[ In Reply To ..]
They are hiring for Medical Assistants who can do the Scribe work for the MD so he/she does not have to waste time on the computer.

A lot of the classes are the same and because you just had them, you will not have to retake them (anatomy, body and disease, psych, ethics and law).

Online Schools - JT

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm sure you've read which 2 schools are top in the country, after that... If you do decide to go outside those 2 for online, be SURE to ask if they have INSTRUCTORS.

I would do med. assisting or front office, and just - skip the scribe part. Pay"s too low.

[ In Reply To ..]
x

"Scribe" Job Has All of the Disadvantages of Hands-On Patient Care But - None of the Advantages

[ In Reply To ..]
I think the "Scribe" idea is going to turn out to be one of the worst ideas ever. You have the disadvantages of the horrible shifts that nurses have, but not the hands-on skills or pay that goes with it.

You have the pressures and responsibility of being accurate, but no control over the situation.

You are in the middle of situations where patients are sick, dying, and really don't need an extra person.

The negatives go on and on, with few, if any, positives to balance them out.

Not only that, but when lawsuits come, scribes are going to be right in there too - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Just as the scribe is crammed into the small hospital rooms and exam areas, they will also be crammed into the lawsuits, because they were present in the room--and may even be considered part of the cause for whatever negative outcome the patient had. I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot-pole.

As a patient, I don't want anyone in that room who isn't providing healthcare to me - No Way!

[ In Reply To ..]
Wait until patients find out that your doctors and nurses can't do their work properly because they are too busy messing with dragging in a machine, figuring out why it's 'down right now', delaying procedures, doctor messing with it to see if he can fix it, nurse trying to scoot by to take care of her duties without knocking over the machine or stepping on the Scribe. What a ridiculous situation! This is an insane world.

and who do you think will get the blame for errors (no record to check) - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
Let's say the doctor is focused on the patient and misspeaks. The scribe puts it in the record and things go wrong. There is ABSOLUTELY NO RECORD OF WHAT THE DOCTOR ACTUALLY SAID. All we have is, the scribe put in erroneous information. That scribe better have a very large malpractice insurance policy. The doctors and nurses already are covered. The scribe is hanging out there exposed to all sorts of liability and will be blamed, fairly or not.

I'll bet the worst will be when - Not a pretty picture

[ In Reply To ..]
I can visualize a patient having surgery for the wrong side, because the record clearly said...the wrong side. Ouch!

getting experience in transcription world - zingo

[ In Reply To ..]
I am so sorry you are having such a bad time. I have been transcribing for 24 years. There are still accommodating doctors that have their own clinics that I think would listen to your story. I think I would send my resume, or better yet, go see doctors in their offices in your area. You might have to start out doing boring office notes, and maybe a smaller hourly wage than you would prefer, but if you land a job doing clinic notes, that would look good on your resume, and possibly lead to other jobs and a recommendation from the doctor. Good luck. I had an angel who taught me from scratch. I know they are few and far between...

Thank you for all your responses. - jwhiting

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you everyone for your responses. I am going back to school to get my Bachelor's degree, but I'm looking around to see what jobs are more accessible at this time. Being a Scribe seems to be the 'thing' and so I'll research that career more to find out if it's available in my area. I live in a very small town, so it's difficult at any avenue finding a job here. But I will look into the Scribe field for Medical Assisting and see what happens from their. Thanks again.

jwhiting - DM

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been wondering where Old Pro is and your post makes me wonder even more. She (almost) always replies on the New MTs board. I sure hope she's okay. Anyway, maybe you could search the archives and look for her previous responses to new MTs?

Otherwise, here's my take on being an MT, especially a new one: I have been in this business in some form or another for 25+ years and have an Associates Degree in Medical Records Technology. I am actually considering going back to school for coding, which I learned so many years ago in college.

From what I can see, speech wreck is not going away, at least not in the near future. Fortunately, I have not been exposed to it thus far, but I think the writing is on the wall. It is certainly NOT something I am interested in, so in my case, I'm now considering my options in a different field.

IMO, for a new MT right out of school, I can't possibly see how you can count on making any money for years without more training, putting in a tremendous amount of time trying to make it in this business, and probably still finding yourself making maybe $10 an hour or less.

Sorry, this got a little long. Even the "best of the best" MTs are finding themselves floundering these days. IMO, it is so discouraging. Of course, this is MY OPINION and I certainly wish you the best of luck!

I was afraid of that. - jwhiting

[ In Reply To ..]
I think I am going to cut my losses. I might still try to get into the field by sending in resume's and such, but I'm not going to hold my breath and wait around for nothing to happen. I was wondering about Medical coding and billing, it seems like it's kind of thriving right now along with the Scribe work for Medical assisting. I want to be sure this time, when I go back to school that I'm not just going to be wasting my time and money. Thanks for your response, I will look into it some more before I make a final decision. Good luck to you too, with your career, and thanks again!

jwhiting - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Community colleges do not even come close to giving you what you need.

SCRIBE - Angie

[ In Reply To ..]
My cousin and I both went to the Junior College in our town and the program had MT in it, but the overall course was acalled HealthCare Data Technology. IT was a 2 year course, we graduated and she is now a Scribe in the hospital as another post was talking about and loves it, it is more than just MT at a computer all day listening to jabber. I got a job as a MT, but that is what I wanted and the only one in our little town, it just so happened a lady was retiring at the same time I was looking.Good luck though!

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