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

Out of the fire into the frying pan? - sm

Posted: Jan 12, 2013

After almost 10 years of working at home and in house doing MT, and the last 3 at Nuance, I have decided to take a coding course. I am so demoralized w/Nuance. Lost my bonus (and I have not gotten sloppy and careless in my time there) and then they made it more difficult to get a bonus; the crummy health insurance, the VR is a joke ("can be twice as fast as typing," but we are absolutely paid 1/2 what we are paid for typing), the offshoring, the drs on cell phones, the horrible ESLs.

I really am interested in coding/billing. Any ideas on if I am just thinkiing the grass is greener? Or if coding will somehow end up in India as well? I am will to put more time and money into my education to get into coding. Just don't want it to be more money down a rat hole.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

check out the coding board - here on this site

[ In Reply To ..]
about once a week someone there will ask whether coding is going off shore, and someone will come back and rag on them and say no there is no way it will happen. About once a week someone will say I got certified and can't find a job because I don't have experience, and someone will come on and tell them it's all their own fault. I suggest you spend a little time there.

Agree - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
It's the same poster who monopolizes the board. Someone emailed me once that they're affiliated with one of the coding schools and that's why they're such a bully if anything is asked that could be negative.

I've been following the board as I've thought about going into coding and so far have decided against it for the above two reasons. I've especially noticed that new graduates are finding it very hard to get a good job without experience. The advice seems to be to get you foot in the door at a low-paying coding-associated job first. Also, the only recent graduate to comment they found a job was a 2011 graduate who was hired by the same employer where they worked as an MT.

To MT and the other coding hopefuls - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I think I am the 2011 graduate you are referring to and you are correct, I was hired by the same employer where I worked as an MT. I'm not coding for the reasons stated but working on the periphery and loving what I do; I don't think I would want to code at this point as I make decent money, probably more than I would in an entry level coding/billing job. Speaking from what happened to me after a long and difficult job search, it is difficult to get hired as a new coder, don't ever let anyone tell you it is your fault. I was a victim of the "bullying," and it was not what I needed to hear after the demoralizing experience of not being able to find a job. Coding is probably no different than a lot of other fields, a person needs to gain experience to become proficient. I don't know if it will end up in India, but nothing would surprise me with all the changes that are taking place in health care documentation. If you're serious about doing it, that is great. Just know that you may have difficulty at first, even if you have all the certifications. There are also a lot of good schools and programs besides the one that begins with "A."

After more than 35 years doing only MT, and now - trying to get out but cant get hired, -sm-

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm planning on going back to school for a while, but not to learn to be a specialist in anything else. Specializing might be nice for a while, while that specialty is in demand, but history has shown us that whenever anything is in demand enough for pay to be good, and jobs to be plentiful, it gets outsourced, offshored, or the schools crank out a ton of new students of that profession, which creates a glut.

Instead, after more than 3 years of reading thousands of job ads, applying to a couple hundred, and getting interviewed on about 5 or 6 of them, I've learned that it's better to know at least something about a lot of different skills, than a whole lot about just one. I plan to take some courses that will hopefully get me at least a comfortable clerical job in professions OTHER than the cheapskate healthcare industry.

Other, less-ladylike skills that are in a lot of demand these days include forklift operator and class-A truck driver. I would seriously consider getting into trucking if I were still 25, but even at my age, I could still work in a warehouse driving a forklift.

Anyway, my new strategy is to take courses in as many things as possible: computer classes, bookkeeping, entry-level management and HR skills, graphic arts, etc., in order to become a "Woman of Many Skills, Master of None."

good for you! - add this to your list

[ In Reply To ..]
digital scanning

I hear there's a coder glut now - Many MTs retraining

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been an MT for over 40 years now, and am just trying to hang on until I can retire. I was barely making it at Transcend, and I'll let y'all do the math on how I'm doing so far at Nuance....

My older sister was laid of 2 years ago from an in-house job because they outsourced to . . . guess who. Apparently some of those who refused the offered positions at Nuance because of the massive pay cuts were refused unemployment, although one who lived just across the line in the next state was granted unemployment because her state has classified MT as an unviable job...!

Meanwhile, so many MTs have been retrained in coding, there is rumored to be a glut of entry-level coders now. I have no data to back this up, but it makes sense.

I have been a biller in the past, and I got sick of beating my head against the wall trying to get my providers paid for services that were covered, authorized and medically necessary; but the insurance companies just stonewall and stonewall, hoping you'll get tired of fighting and just go away, so you have to fight for every penny. And it's only getting worse.

Anybody know a nice middle-aged single guy with a few million in the bank? Introduce him to me, would you?

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