A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
confusion over mt career - nikecam
Posted: Nov 12, 2010
my company is laying off and since i will qualify for unemployment, my new plan is to finish school in an MT program. i have tried 2x in the past but could never set aside the time/money to do so.
now i have found this board, and am a little confused by some of the comments. i had no intentions of working from home but rather a hospital or office setting. i have seen job postings around town and a government site says something to the effect of 11% rise through 2018. so with all that said, how can it be such a miserable job market?
i'm assuming the community environment is a contributing factor. my community seems to have a large medical community and medical university.
thanks, april
confusion - nycmt
[ In Reply To ..]maybe the 11% rise was just an all around rise in clerical medical work? i don't see how there could be an 11% rise in MT, when we're being replaced by VR, offshored to India, etc.
if i were you, i'd take a course in billing/coding instead.
my area has a very large medical community and my hospital MT job is being outsourced to an MTSO. and a lot of the larger (better paying) medical offices in the area use MTSOs as well.
my opinion? you missed the boat on MT...go for billing. check the jobs in the area. if yours is like mine, there are tons of jobs in billing. and ignore the "you must have X years experience". if you take a billing/coding course at a local community college, do really well in the course and get your terminology/anatomy and physiology (very important. a lot of courses will just teach you to code...not easy when you don't know what the words mean), get a nice recommendation from the instruction, have great interviewing skills, etc., you've got a shot at a new career.
not to mention that billing pays more. say you get a job at like 7 cpl to start @125 lines/hour. that's $8.75. you'll do just as well working in the mall.
billing option - nikecam
[ In Reply To ..]well billing/coding is taught along with transcription where i will be going. i will also have an accounting certificate so i thought that might help me if i wanted to go to an office. i just always figured billing/coding would be boring so i never gave it much thought.
thanks for the quick reply!
If you really like MT - MY2c
[ In Reply To ..]and you don't mind working outside the home, call around some of the medical offices where you live and ask what they use. You may find a whole new career path.
Confusion - My 2 cents - Anonymous
[ In Reply To ..]You are mistaken in some of your statements about billing and coding. First of all, most employers do look for people with experience, do not "ignore it". You will start out at a lower salary because you are new and will have to work your way up. Most coding jobs require you to have certification (CPC, CCS). Almost all of the coding programs I am familiar with include anatomy and physiology in their course work. There are still on-site transcription jobs, I see advertisements quite often and I have an on-site job. Investigate coding thoroughly and make sure it is what you want to do, but don't entirely give up on MT either.
Mistaken? - nycmt
[ In Reply To ..]How can I be "mistaken" if it's simply my opinion?
The biggest mistake a person can make when starting out in a new career is to assume they won't be hired because they have no experience, so they don't even try. So ignoring the "you must have experience" is key. Apply anyway. How can it hurt?
Starting out at a lower salary in billing or coding is better than starting out in a lower salary in MT, when you don't know what the heck you're doing and it's taking you 12 hours to get 1000 lines done. You must remember those days...we all had 'em. Fortunately I was paid by the hour back then so it didn't matter. Being paid by the line as a newbie, you're dead. If someone can find an in-house job as a newbie working by the hour, that's great! I wouldn't spend the $ or time on a class, only to find that that job doesn't exist.
I'm only familiar with 2 coding courses. One of them had AP, the other didn't (just terminology).
It's simply my opinion that MT is dying a slow death and I'd go a different route. Look at all of the new MTs who post here, talking about difficulties finding jobs. I wouldn't want to be one of them...
And of course there are still on-site transcription jobs...unfortunately, you have to worry every single day that your job will be outsourced to an MTSO.
Most people don't know the difference between "Billing" and "Coding" - Coder/MT
[ In Reply To ..]There is a huge difference. Billers can be hired off the street. Coders need an excellent education in order to get a real coding position which pays well. A coder in a doctor's office is not what I'm talking about. They don't usually make any money and are not certified coders. There may be exceptions, but not many. The description in the post above is more of a Medical Administrative Assistant position which has a dab of coding, some medical terminology, and maybe how to answer the phone. There's nothing wrong with that, but it isn't what the industry calls being a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), which is a very nice job.
You're on the right track if you're looking for inhouse - work rather than working for a service.
[ In Reply To ..]You stand a far better chance of making a living at MT that way. And it sounds as if the community you live in would have more opportunities to do so than most. Don't wait around for ads to pop up, either. Call the hospitals and clinics and see if they have a transcription department. Even if they're not hiring now, you could put an application on file for when they are. If they don't need an MT, they might know of someone who does.
mt field is not dead - june
[ In Reply To ..]MT field is not dying, just changing. A lot of us are now Editors. A hospital job is the best choice. Production at home can be very difficult even with a lot of experience but there are tons of jobs. Don't make your decision based on posts on this board.
Let's not forget... - nycmt
[ In Reply To ..]The OP hasn't taken a course yet. So editing isn't even an option. As an extremely fast typist, I think editing is a waste of skills.
These are all just opinions...I doubt anyone would make a decision involving money, in this economy, based on a couple of other people's experiences.
Nikecam - Adidas
[ In Reply To ..]Unfortunately, community enviroment is not nearly so much of a contributing factor as is the fact that so much work is being offshores to INDIA. I could never in good conscience advice anyone to enter MT today. You can do better for yourself. Good luck!
Correction by Adidas - Adidas
[ In Reply To ..]I meant OFFSHORED, not offshoes. Nonetheless, same story, no work, dangers of foreclosures because of low paychecks, etc. for many people. I couldn't in good conscience advise anybody to go there.
i agree 100%...the future of MT is terrifying, especially for a newbie. - nycmt
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Some do very well, but MT is not a job for everyone - but then what is?
[ In Reply To ..]I know lots of MTs who never should have gone into it. I know lots of others who are doing well. I'm old enough to know that many were 'grandfathered' in, so they've been working for year with skills that wouldn't be accepted now if they had to change to another employer. That's a hard fact.
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