When I started out this new blog, I was really REALLY angry. That has settled down, and now I find I don't have as much to say as I used to.
I am a medical transcriptionist. I started out my career about 3 1/2 years ago after getting out of college, a two -year stint I did here in the middle of the South. I didn't know what I wanted to do for a living 5 1/2 years ago, so I went in and told the counselor that I wanted a job where I type. A lot. That's all, just type. He put me in the medical office program. It didn't dawn on me until my second semester that he was telling me to be a transcriptioinst. What he didn't know was what a really crappy transcription program the college had. REALLY !!! I am the only one I know of that is actually doing medical transcription. Most of the others went on to do something not medical office related at all. I met one lady at Wal-Mart last week that opted to stay home and live off the state. Now before you jump my case about assistance and how some people really need it, this is the same lady that NEVER did an assignment, cheated on every test, and took elementary business math three times and talked on her cell phone through each class. She was a nice girl, I liked her a lot, she was funny and friendly, but girlfriend was LAZY. But, I digress. I didn't find out until I graduated how hard it is to break into the MT field. No one wants to hire a transcriptionist right out of school unless they have taken a program specifically designed to teach MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION, probably because quite a few of them have come from a program just like the one I did. I learned about 5% of what I needed to know to be a transcriptionist. The other 95% I learned from my employer. Yep, I got a job. Before graduation in fact. There was an ad in the paper stating "Top Dollar For Experienced Medical Transcriptionists!!" I called the number and asked the lady how much they would pay the inexperienced. She thought that was pretty funny, gave me a chance, and taught me what real transcription was all about. Digital transcription is a whole different ball game. I loved it. I worked with her for about 2 1/2 years. In that time I tried to decide if that was what I really wanted to do. I wasn't very fast and seemed to always be making mistakes involving things I should have learned in school. About the end of 18 months, I tried a different job with her that caused me to finally give my notice. It was data entry into the Electronic Medical Records. It was a nightmare. I got paid by the entry. However, I had to be on hand to do the job between 09:00 until..... which means until the doctor sent in the work, the transcriptionist typed it, and the proofer proofed it. Sometimes this meant I worked 12+ hours which equated to less than a $1 an hour. If I decided to leave the work at 5:30 to do the next day, it would get pulled from my computer and sent to the other girl who was doing the same job as I was, money out of my pocket. The doctors had all been assigned transcriptionists, so I left for another job. That lady and I are still friends, I just needed to make more money. I now work for the state of ** at a psychiatric nursing facility. The hours are good, the pay is paltry, but I love my work, I go home at 5:30, and I have NEVER had to cancel plans because of work. I am going to be using this blog to tell about transcription, and to clarify in my own mind if I want to look for another position with better pay.
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