Archive for August, 2009
Home Medical Transcription
There are many advertisements online to become a home medical transcription workers. How does one go about getting into a career doing this? While the work may not me that hard to someone who has done it before, what about someone who has no prior knowledge and would still like to work in this field? There are basic things that one who is interested should first do to makes this work for them.
One of the first things that you need to do is take some basic courses. Local colleges will have courses on home medical transcription, or they are also offered through many online colleges that are available. Be careful when choosing an online college, and make sure that the credits will transfer to a regular school if needed.
You will need to know basic medical terms, and learn to be fluent enough to be able to transfer medical documents. Courses on human anatomy are a must. Knowledge of systems of the body, physiology, medical procedures, as well as knowledge of various diseases, etc. are highly recommended.
You will have to take a few courses on the English language, and know how to format medical reports. To do home medical transcription you will need to have a mastery of grammar, and know what kinds of medical reports there are, how to translate and transfer them over to other formats. Many colleges and universities offer all these classes in one bundle to not only make it easier, but also a little less expensive.
One important thing after taking these courses, update your resume. A well written presentation of you and your qualifications, will do well with employers. A potential company who may want to hire someone, will usually never meet them in person, (especially if you are working online from the home.) Most companies don’t have time to read all the applications that come across their desks. If your resume isn’t well put together, it probably will only get a brief glance, no matter how well you are educated, or may have experience.
Once the classes are taken and you are ready to try home medical transcription, then what? Where to begin? There are usually two kinds of transcription jobs available, either you are working for someone, and are hired as an employee. For entry level positions, these are a little more difficult to find. Most employers are looking for individuals that are more experienced and don’t have to have their work reviewed as much. But there is good news. There are some companies that do hire new workers, Spheris, and Medquist are just two of them. You may also want to check with local health care providers just in case.
Entry level positions in the home medical transcription companies is usually pretty low, but with experience in the company you should see your income grow. Just a few things to watch out for when looking for work in this field. Any company that asks you to pay them to hire you, avoid. Any company that offers to hire you with no prior knowledge in the field is one to avoid. If you feel something just isn’t right, trust your feelings. There are many legitimate companies, many that can be found simply by doing some researching first.

At Home Medical Transcription
At home medical transcription seems very appealing to a number of people. Getting to stay home with the kids is just one advantage. Some people who choose to do at home medical transcription do not even have children. They just like the fact that they are their own boss and no longer have to remain a slave to the clock.
Whatever your reasons are for wanting to do at home medical transcription, they are definitely going to be worth it in the end. Working from home is not as easy as it sounds. You have to be able to actually get up and do the work if you want to have success with your medical transcription career. Setting your own schedule may be the best way to go.
Before you start planning your day, you will need to make sure you get the proper training. The majority of at home medical transcription employers will not hire people who do not have the proper certification, experience, and/or training. But once you have obtained the proper training, you should have no difficulties finding employment.
On average, a general at home medical transcription course takes approximately two years to complete. While you are in the process of learning everything there is to know, you will be working on improving your typing skills, grammar and punctuation, listening to dictation, and best of all, transcribing medical reports.
In the beginning, at home medical transcription seems like the ultimate dream job, and it is for many individuals. But it takes time and patience before you can become an expert at what you do. There will be deadlines to be met and work to be done once all of your training is complete. You will most likely be working with doctors of all accents from Australian to Japanese.
Some doctors will not speak as quickly as others, and some will seem almost impossible to understand. You may find yourself rewinding the dictation a hundred times before you are actually able to make out what they are saying. When this happens, do not get discouraged. You are going to be in the process of developing your ear for quite some time during training as well as the first year or so after you begin work. Doing at home medical transcription will eventually be worth all of the time it takes to get the hang of it.
The median salary for someone who does at home medical transcription is around 45K. Medical transcription has also been one of the proven top paying at home careers. Some people who are a bit more experienced are making anywhere from 45K to 100K per year. It all comes down to what you are willing to put into it.
More than anything else, at home medical transcription should be something you can see yourself doing. If you are not someone who likes to spend hours sitting at the computer, then at home medical transcription may not be for you. Like all other careers, medical transcription also has a downside. Isolation and difficulty staying focused at home are just some of the disadvantages. The good thing is that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages and that is what makes this career such a smart choice.