A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Hello all! It has been some time since I have posted here but used to visit quite often.
My daughter-in-law is just about to finish my transcription course materials (she has finished the book work and is working on transcribing the voice files). She has already started applying to companies, however she is running up against the same issue we have all run up against as newbies "experience required."
I am willing to sign a confidentiality agreement, have her work beside me and QA all of her stuff before sending it in for at least the first 4 months but am not sure how to approach a company with such an offer, or which company might consider this. I am the Transcription Supervisor at our local hospital and would love to hire her, however according to my supervisor (yes, I have asked) it is against hospital policy to have a relative working directly under you.
Any help/guidance you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Just a thought. Unless your hospital has a “no compete” waiver that you signed, you might actually be in a pretty good position to help your DIL get started. If your hospital is anything like the ones I worked in, there are tons of doctors who just dictate Admission H&Ps and possibly some Operative Notes, and actually have an office at a Clinic or their own practice where they do the majority of their dictating. What I would try to do is find an older, understanding, always-willing-to-help doctor who does a pretty good job of dictating, and ask him/her if they would willing to throw you a couple of tapes as an Independent Contractor for a limited period, on a trial basis. Smaller clinics and private practice physicians are always looking for someone either cheaper or more accommodating, so there usually is no real obstacle to using you on a trial basis, as far as their billing goes. That way, you would actually be the MTSO, hiring and supervising your DIL. You can ask an Accountant regarding taxes and such, but it seems like every day there are posts on MTStars with a newbie or fed-up MT looking to start their own business as an Independent Contractor, so I cannot imagine it can be too difficult to do. I think the main obstacle for most new Independent Contractors is finding the doctors or clinic to give them a chance. Since you already work for a hospital, you may know of physicians who would be willing to give you a try. If you only want to do it for a few months, you and your DIL probably will not make enough to worry about taxes. If things go well, however, as long as your DIL is progressing and is willing to do the majority of the work herself, you can give YOUR company a name, and she will have a great reference when she finally goes out on her own. If things fall through and your DIL decides Medical Transcription is not her thing, then no biggie – no harm, no foul. At least you, personally, have not committed to an MTSO.
There are even books that, I guess, walk you through it. Below are sites that give general information that is contained in books. If you read through the information, you will get a pretty good idea of what you can expect, before you pay for any books.
Book 1: The Step By Step Guide to Medical Transcription at Home by Michele Miller
http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com/
Book 2: The Independent Medical Transcriptionist by Donna Avila-Weil, CMT and Mary Glaccum, CMT
http://home.ivillage.com/homeoffice/homeoff/0,,bm7j-p,00.html#ixzz0iDs7qS7X
It might be worth a try.
Good Luck to you and your daughter-in-law. Let us know how things progress if you can find a way to give her a leg-up in the biz. I am sure there are a ton of newbies that would be interested in learning how you did it, so maybe they can get the same help too.