Quick question about medical transcription

[angelpie545]

I'm looking to make a little extra cash from home or part-time at an office-does anyone know if medical transcription is a good way to go about this? I've heard that some people make good money at home doing this.

[carfreemama]

I am doing medical transcription right this minute! A little too easy to procrastinate, is the main problem.

I am in Canada, so there may be lots of differences. I have been doing MT for about 5 years. I am currently up to 4 days per week. I work from home, but am unionized. I make about $18 per hour. I set my own hours, but am expected to work a set shift (that I have decided). I can pick up extra hours when I want; I am actually only officially a 0.5 (half time), but they always need extra help.

I have Blue Cross (extended medical and dental, beyond the provincial), 4 weeks paid vacation (which increases the longer I'm there) and pretty good pension benefits.

I took a 3-month medical terminology class and somehow managed to get a job. However, I already worked at the hospital so was considered an "inside applicant." I also have a degree in English Lit.

This is definitely a "golden handcuffs" job. Way too flexible and good to leave and not so boring I'm motivated to do what it would take to move up to something a bit better-paying and more interesting. Although technically I am supposed to stick to a set shift, my employer has been amazing about offering flex time and being understanding about my desire to work around my daughter's needs.

Here, at least, it wasn't that hard to get into. You need really good typing, listening and sleuthing skills. We do dictations from every specialty, for doctors with every kind of accent and it's all dictated over the computer. Hope that helps!

[littleaugustbaby]

My MIL and a friend of mine both do transcription. Both of them had to take a course and get some kind of a certificate. Both went to the same school, it took MIL 2 years and my friend about a year (she did an accelerated program). I can't remember how much it cost, but it was at least a couple thousand dollars (though you can get financial aid).

From what my MIL told me, it isn't always easy to get a WAH job your first time around. Most places will hire you on and you have to work out of an office. And then once you have experience, you can start working from home, or you'll have the experience to be recruited by a WAH company. MIL happened to know someone through church, and was able to WAH from the get go (and she was able to use her contacts and get my friend hired to WAH too). I am not sure if this is typical for everyone or if that is just her area.

I am not sure what kind of money they make, but it is decent from what I've heard...I know they've both told me before, but I honestly can't remember. Both of them make their own hours (friend works after her kids are in bed, and MIL works in the evenings), and (obviously) get paid more for the more they work... I *think* they both get paid by the number of things they process, not by the hour, but I could be wrong.

[kallyn]

I just started doing transcription part time a few weeks ago. I took an online course that offered an internship program, completed the course and the internship, and got hired by the company I was interning for. The pay is pretty terrible so far, though. They pay by the line, and from what I've read their pay rate is at the rock bottom of the scale. I'm also still really slow. I'd like to find somewhere that pays better, but for now I'm just going to stick it out where I am until I can get some more experience...there is no guaranteeing anyone else would hire me at this point since I'm so new!

So, um, long story short, MT is quite an investment of time and money to learn how to do it and it doesn't seem like it will pay off right away. I started doing it because DH already makes good money for just the two of us, but I wanted to have something to do from home for extra $$$ for when we have kids.

[Billie]

MT isn't for everyone and can be a difficult job, but I love it.

Most at-home employers require years of experience or graduation from an AHDI approved course. Career Step, Andrews, and M-Tec are the more common ones. Any one of those would give you a good shot at finding a job after graduation. I went to Career Step because it is self-paced and partnered with several employers. I, personally, had no problem finding work.

It is possible to find a job without training, but you'll have to find someone willing to take the time to train you.

Most MTs are paid by production, so speed and quality will get you more money. Pay varies greatly among MTs, based on numerous factors: How well they picked up the terminology, WPM, whether they use a word expander, difficulty of the account/dictators, etc. Starting out can be difficult for some, but as they build up their speed and become more familiar with their accounts their wage should increase.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics states: "Wage-and-salary medical transcriptionists had median hourly earnings of $14.40 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $12.17 and $17.06. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $10.22, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $20.15." Though, I know several MTs who make much less or much more than these quoted rates...