I honestly have to agree; even after a nursing degree, with tons of biology, ....sm
Posted By: CindiRI on 2007-12-31
In Reply to: You really don’t have a clue and would be in over your head. - Thinking you can be a transcriptionist
anatomy, epidemiology, physiology, chemistry, etc., it all comes down to intricate knowlege of the human body, in all specialties and subspecialities, along with excellent grammar/punctuation, BOS, great listening/interpretive skills, computer/peripheral skills....there is really so much to this career that I really get more than annoyed when referred to a "medical typist." We need constantly changing, growing, intimate knowledge of the human body, pharmacology, psychiatry, surgical specialties, special procedures, and how many of us, as the doctor is stumbling over his dictation or cutting himself off have to KNOW what the doc SHOULD BE dictating at a certain point during a quadruple bypass or salpingo-oophorectomy? I think you may do very well with oral surgery/dentistry, and even some maxillofacial surgery/plastic surgery, but in-depth understanding and knowledge, along with all the tech troubleshooting, listening skills, constant vigilance in editing, etc., comes with a comprehensive and up-to-date program, continuing education, and lots of hard work and mentoring. The AAMT modules, in addition to my own courses, helped me out tremendously in Surgery, General Med, and Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging. Good Luck!
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
same way in nursing - men in nursing make more on average than women in nursing and quickly
move into management. Just what we needed.
Agree to a degree
I do agree to a degree but I do know that I have my clients basically because I do not balk at doing tapes and am agreeable to do them and accept them. Once they used me then they saw my quality but if I were to tell them it was digital or nothing, they would go somewhere that would come and pick up the tapes, that is medium that they wish to use. And if I pressed the point, I would be without 60K a year.
have to agree with your assessment of what nursing really is...
I'm in my junior year of a BSN program, on my second clinical and in the hospital I see nurses working really hard to get all their ducks in a row and pass meds. Not too much therapeutic communication, just keeping those ducks in a row...I already decided a long time ago that acute care wasn't my cup of tea. I went back to school just to get a Bachelor's and felt nursing was the only thing that made sense because of my healthcare experience (paramedic, medical assistant, MT). I then thought about going into the physician assistant program but where I live, it would be a daily 1.5 hour commute for 27 months. I still have a 4th grader and 8th grader so didn't feel I could pull that off. However, at the university I attend, there is a nurse practitioner program. 5 more semesters, classes are scheduled back to back with some saturdays to allow people to work at the same time. Can go part time if you want. If I go full time, there is a grant that will pay for my tuition (nursing shortage, you know). Most of the job postings ask for NP/PA so it looks like I would be in the same job market anyway. Last week in the Chicago Tribune I saw an ad for an NP to work in a physician's office, $75,000 plus benefits. Some practices will let you be a partner, or you can even have your own (supervised) practice in some states...which will become more of the norm, I think.
I've already worked in a physician's office so I have an idea of the work load....that's where I'm heading. After having the autonomy of a paramedic working in the field, I know that suits me just fine.  I can go to school longer, but then have 9-5 hours and look at sore throats instead of bed pans 
Gack! Is nursing your idea or his? Nursing is highly demanding and long hours.
I'd check with a college counselor/advisor on programs they have for women over 30 to return to academia and enter new careers. Then I'd ask to take some career tests to see what your interests are and what you'd be be suited for. Also, there is scholarship money available for women over 30. Ask about it.
Since I've already raised my kids, I'd also like to state that jr. high and high school are the years our kids need us at home the most. Those are the years they can get into the most trouble if left to themselves. If he's already 9, why not just enter college part-time to finish in about 6 to 7 years? But definitely go talk to a college counselor.
Weird Biology!
He must have some really weird ideas about biology, lol -- I have one doc that calls polycythemia "polycyclothemia" -- maybe it's a red blood cell mood disorder? hahahahah
BA in chemistry with a minor in biology
xx
TONS
X
tons
I have a couple large accounts with hundreds of docs and a smaller one with 50 or so. I rarely get the same doc twice.
tons of work
im loaded to the gills...and i need some time off...crazy how some companies can be so different in there work load.
TONS today.......
Been very slow and all of a sudden BAM!
I'll take it!
and they are still making tons of $$....sm
the naysayers panning the Stones probably could never afford to go and buy a ticket even to see them today....that's how expensive their tickets for a concert are today!!!
*snickers*
Tons of them this week. I just sm
reregistered for the do not fall list. We will see if it changes. Very annoying.
Yeah, there are tons (sm)
Here is a link showing how to find the 'Word command list.' The list itself is too long to post. http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/2207/2207article6.htm
I also subscribe to Word Tips. I usually find a tip or two in each E-mail that is useful and I save them in one document for reference. http://wordtips.vitalnews.com/
I do PT and make tons of money...sm
very easy work. Few ESL in that field and they are very agreeable to working with you. Lots of word Expander phrases, hardly any drugs, no labs. Love it. Make more money in PT with less cpl than any of my other accounts just because I can crank it out.
There are TONS of stores that I see every place I go.
x
Never had a slow day, still tons of work.
STruck me funny that you said there must be tons of it. Probably mostly us MTs. (sm)
I always give tons of praise...
if I see the newbie is consistently giving her best, looking up words and even THINKING about them LOL - I find most newbies are pretty hard on themselves without my help! 
or this one is my fave tons of work..
There usually is for thre first three months at most..then nothing. I have no problem working on the hard accounts, but when it gets down to $30-$50 a day at most, it gets very frustrating. One spends all day logging in a looking for work to find one or two jobs. When you can't pay your bills, you have to move on. I want to find a company that consistently has the work...have yet to find it.....
Would help me tons if all dictators sounded like
Patrick Stewart. Ah, if only someone could make it so! (she grins)
yes of course I use tons of expanders. At the most 25% normals though.
x
Tons of up-to-date resources;) sm
Make sure you have all the resources you need that will cover a lot of specialties, especially for ops. I wouldn't worry too much. You will basically just be learning more words. Just have the resources you need for quick finds to help you pick up speed. I'm sure you'll do fine!
Can you email me the name of the company you are starting with? Even though I've been in this business for over 15 years, I don't have the "recent" acute care experience most companies are requesting. However, I do have at least 10 years in the past. Thanks!
I get this to a certain degree also (sm)
It usually happens after quite a while of typing, and usually only when it is a little cold in the house, but I think it happens in warmer weather too. Mine doesn't sound as bad as yours though. It always resolves fairly quickly, does yours? I haven't had to wear gloves (yet). Let me know what you find out, if anything. I have always attributed it to poor circulation because my hands and feet seem to get cold easily, but I suppose it could be something else as well.
Sorry I didn't have any words of wisdom, just wanted to let you know that this happens to others as well and you are not alone!
My mother in law has tons of toilet paper too!
I mean probably 30-40 rolls at any given time and always feels the need to get more. She says she does that because she was poor as a child and she feels secure when she has a lot of something. She also buys tons canned food, shampoo and soap. Everbody has their reason and it really probably is all about feeling secure having what you think you need.
Want to keep winning? Having fun yet? Got tons more neat stuff!
my 3 y/o girl cat loses tons of hair too...nm
I use a Lanier transcriber - they cost TONS
eBay comes to mind - and what the other poster said about contacting Lanier for a used one. As I know it, a new one is about $600 (?), Lanier being the BEST transcriber around, JMHO
.......with ebay though you have to be very careful.
You should be making tons of lines today. LOL!
xx
I am making tons of money doing tapes.
Just like tapes get misplaced so does digital dictation. Also, have you ever timed how long it takes to download and upload files? I think it runs about the same. I am assuming this is clinic work. So, if you don't go the office, then you'll need patient lists faxed or e-mailed, what have you. It also costs money to have a secure FTP site for transfer. So, no matter how you look at it, there is that time taken for the administrative end of transcription so to speak.
To the OP: I would ask if the problem really is the delivery if you could cut back to two days a week and given them the option of typing STAT reports to be faxed to them OR you could ask if they'd go halfers on a courier service. But, I think the problem is the cutting of the paper, so you may just want to mention that you'll need to attach a fee.
I had to attach a FAX fee to an office that was constantly calling and requiring me to search for letters that they apparently hadn't filed yet, so I started charging them for that service. Guess what? They don't call as much. Just a thought.
But you get tons of deductions and write-offs.
x
Applied to tons of companies and hear nothing!
Anyone else applied to lots of places and never hear anything? I have 5 years experience and a good resume so I don't understand.
Do you have a college degree, and in what?
I know there are MTs out there who have Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees. According to other posters, those of us with higher education who choose to do MT are pitiful.
what online degree are you looking at
.
However, a lot of people think getting a degree
is like getting an automatic ticket to an entirely different life with better job opportunities, more money, and career satisfaction. I thought that, too. Things have drastically changed out there, though. More and more people have degrees, so the competition is fierce. They're willing to work for less money, too, just to have A job, any job.
Also, minimum wage went up but middle wages didn't, cost of living went up, and wages have actually gone down in other industries besides MT due to offshoring.
I guess I'm just in an "if I knew then what I know now" mood. LOL None of my siblings went to college, and they're better off than I am. They make way more money than I do and don't have that monthly payment to make.
I love writing, too. Have you done any freelance writing or editing? If you get some clips built up, you might be able to break in based on talent instead of having a degree. With that specific career field in mind, it might be worth it for you to get a degree. I don't know how much competition there is in that field right now.
Bachelor's Degree
I have a BS in Communications 1990 with some graduate work. I worked as an instructor in a college doing medical assiting job placement and then I just kind of fell into transcription when my daughter was born in 1998.
PAs have at the very least a Bachelor's Degree ..
correct??
I think it's a 2 year degree (sm)
I looked into this also, but I think the pay is really low, like $7.50 an hour.
With your degree, there are a lot of things you could do.
This is only my opinion, so follow your yeart. As all the other posters have said, this is not an easy business to get into. Although many have done PT with young children, I could not have done it without help. My baby had special needs, though. When you consider working at home, the key word is "working". This job takes concentration and long hours at the keyboard. With many jobs you work a shift. My hours have been flexible, but you have deadlines, and you cannot always just stop to take care of your baby. My baby needed lots of attention. I was lucky in that my mom and mother-in-law kept her when I could not. I never tried to do transcription unless she was asleep or my husband was home. With a business administration degree, however, I think you would have a lot of options in starting your own business. Many people have done well with ideas they came up with themselves. I now do MT full-time now, but have other part-time home businesses that I am involved with as well.
Eh, I am going ahead with the BS degree.
I can always take electives for x-ray tech. This program has a lot of identical courses, so it would not be hard to switch to another discipline like x-ray. X-ray pays less, but either of these careers is more than what we get as MTs these days... and in 18 months from now, hospitals and clinics will still need on site techs like this, unlike transcription which can unfortunately go poof gone any day now. It's going to be hard, but I am going for it...gotta get out of this business I am sad to say of Mting.
but yet you would state someone's else name so freely when tons of other people read this...
that is my point...i am not trying to be mean or spiteful...i was not the original poster that is why my name is not on here...
hmmm, I have tons, but I'll list some favorites
pt=patient, hle=hyperlipidemia, hx=history, nd=and, nx=nontoxic, gm=gentleman, wsg=worsening, nt=nontender, fp=followup, fup=followup, otc=OTC, otcc=over-the-counter, gi=GI, gii=gastrointestinal, nvd=No nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. The list goes on and on!
Those are just a few of many. I have most brand name meds set up for auto capitalization. I also have abbreviations for most headings, ie: alg=ALLERGIES:, pexn=PHYSICAL EXAMINATION, soh=SOCIAL HISTORY, laby=LABORATORY:.
I don't know what I would do without my expansions. I highly recommend them. Good luck gettin more set up.
Might be something like a right-angled something-degree scope..nm
s
What are you planning to do with the psych degree?
x
How many jobs are out there (without a college degree) that actually pay this well? NM
A year???? Is that possible? What sort of degree is it? - nm
x
There are plenty more jobs if you have a degree
I live in Atlanta. If you go to craigslist.org right now and look under the admin. jobs section...there are dozens of jobs that pay 50,000 or more if you have a degree...in anything.
There are many jobs in many different fields that pay well. In many many cases, they just want the person to have a degree, it doesn't matter in what. The ad just says...must have a bachelor's degree.
I'm currently an MT and will graduate in May with a degree in Psychology. I intend to apply for some of those 50,000+ administrative jobs and feel very confident that I will get one.
There's still going to be some prerequisite degree you'll need before you do this. nm
s
I didn't know there was an associate degree for
Guess we do learn something new every day. How long did it take you to get this degree in MT? Did you go to college or tech school? If you have an associates degree in MT, you should be overloaded with job offers, I'd think...
I have a friend who did that, and the 2-year degree I don't think
has the salary range I am looking into. A master's degree may be a bit much, but I really have not seriously considered it. Maybe that is another thing I can speak with the counselor about. Thanks. :)
The cat story...that would be a good thing to not have to deal with, lol.
It will definitely be a challenge doing all this with the kids, but on the plus side, I am still young. I do have that advantage. So, are you doing the 2-year program or going to be a PT? Good luck on your application. :)
So true! Nowadays a B.S. Degree is just that --
hee
I believe you are my QA headache -- English degree -- uh la la nm
n
|
