The Pros and Cons of What I Do

Many of you may already know that I'm a medical transcriptionist and that I work from home.  I've been asked quite a few questions about this line of work, so I thought I'd go into a little more detail and tell you the pros and cons (in my opinion) of my job.

First off, after an appointment, a doctor will do a dictation about that appointment into a recorder.  A medical transcriptionist listens to a doctor's dictation and types what is said.  Sounds easy, right?... Think again...

Rewarding & Challenging:  Typing what you hear sounds like it would be easy, but it isn't, especially in the beginning. 

-Transcription takes training: You have to know your keyboard and know it well; there is keyboard kinetics in the training, so if you aren’t much of a typist like I wasn’t, it’s really not a problem.  You also have to learn the medical lingo, which really is basically learning a foreign language; it is, after all, derived from Greek and Latin.  You have to "train your ear;" not every doctor is going to speak clearly and at an understandable pace.  You'll get background noise, chewing in your ear, mumbling, fast talking, doctors with accents, etc. 

-It really is never boring:  It is very interesting work because, well, people are interesting!  You'll be amazed at what people visit the doctor and go to the ER for!  I do a lot of psych reports and I love psychology, so that's always interesting as well.  But, you can never discuss with other people what you hear except in the most general of terms (HIPPA).  You are held to the same standard as any other medical professional and have to comply with the “doctor-patient confidentiality.”

Commute:  Most transcriptionists work from home, so the commute is mega short seen as how you just have to walk to your home office (ha ha ha).  For someone who likes a bit of a drive to unwind after work, this might not be as appealing. 

Dress Code:  Working from home, you can wear jammies and slippers if you choose.  Although, sometimes I wish I had a reason to wear cute office attire (hey, I’m like any girl, I like cute clothes and killer shoes)...my checkbook, however, appreciates my lack of need for an office-appropriate wardrobe (I think my hubby appreciates it too).

Flexible hours:  For the most part, a transcriptionist's hours are quite flexible.  If you are a true IC (independent contractor) like me, you get to choose your own hours as long as you work a reasonable amount.  Sometimes the downside to being an IC is that the pay can be a bit lower; it's a bit of a trade off.  There are some companies that hire MTs as employees instead of an IC.  In this case, even though you work from home, they choose your shift and how many hours you work.  But, unlike an IC, an employee gets benefits and paid time off, and it pays better to start… It’s all about what you are looking for.  There are a lot of medical transcription companies out there, so you should eventually be able to find the perfect fit for you.

Social atmosphere:  If you are a person who thrives on socializing and the regular "water-cooler gossip," then working at home might be a drag.  On the other hand, if you hate having a boss breathing down your neck and staring over your shoulder, and don't much care for the stereotypical "9-5" atmosphere, well then working from home might be a little slice of heaven.  You also have to get used to most of the correspondence between you and your employer being via email and telephone.  The place I work for is in Massachusetts, so I have never seen anyone from the company; I've only had a few phone conversations with them, and most of the time our communications have been through email. 

Motivation:  To work from home and be productive, you have to be a self starter and self motivated.  You have to train yourself not to be distracted by the other things that you could (and maybe want to) be doing.  You also have to train the other people in your life to understand that they still need to act the same way they would if you worked outside the home; they can't call or drop by whenever they want.

I really like working from home...okay, I love it! I'm a type-A personality and do well being left to my own devices.  I love the fact that I am home if my husband or son need me.  I love the fact that I am basically my own boss and make my own hours.  I love how the time usually flies by when I'm working.  If I want to throw something in the Crockpot for dinner because I forgot, no problem.  If I want to start a load of laundry when I'm on break, I can do it.  If I want to watch some TV during lunch, I can do that too.  And I really love the fact that I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn and scrape my windshield or drive to work in a crazy Utah snowstorm!  Sure, there are days that I do sometimes feel a little cooped up, and there are some days I find myself getting a bit distracted, but for me the pros far outweigh the cons. 

If you are considering this line of work, there are many things to take into consideration.  I won't bore you with going into more detail, but if you are interested in being an MT, feel free to contact me for more details.  A great place for more information and for the best training is Career Step in Provo, UT.  There are many companies that actually recommend this school on their site and are more likely to give a new MT a chance if they've graduated from Career Step.  You train completely at your own pace and on your own time, and it is all entirely online.

I hope this was helpful, both in giving some information and appeasing some curiosity.  Like I said, if you have questions, feel free to ask me.