MT Prayer

This is an MT prayer that was sent to me by a friend. Medical transcriptionists take their job quite seriously!

Dear Lord,

Bless the work of my hands and may it glorify You.

In all that I do, help me to remember that a patient's life may depend on the quality of my work. Keep me alert to discrepancies and inconsistencies, and help me to concentrate.

Give me compassion, Lord, and never let me see the report I'm typing as a case or a number.

But let me remember the patient - a living human being who may be experiencing pain, fear, and uncertainty. May the patient feel Your healing touch and be comforted by Your Spirit instead.

Bless the doctor, as well, and may he be filled with Your Wisdom and Your Compassion as he cares for his patients. 

And let me remember tolerance for the physician whose dictation slips may be due to fatigue or some great concern of which I'm not aware. Let me remember that he is human, too, and deserves the same amount of patience I would like shown to me.

Finally, let me always remember that You are the Great Healer, the Source of all Comfort and Joy.

May I acknowledge You in all I do and reflect Your Love to all whom I meet.

Amen.

By Ellen Drake (considered public domain)

Medical Transcription Resources

A medical transcriptionist is only as good as the resources she keeps. Here are the resources I use on a daily basis to assist in the art of transcribing medical reports accurately and efficiently.

Benchmark KB Online - This is a great tool for transcriptionists. There are many facets of this resource in that there are specialty-specific and searchable word books and contains the Holy Grail of our business the Book of Style in a handy searchable format. There are also QA alerts for terms/phrases that need to be changed to avoid confusion in medical reports. The best part is there's a searchable physician database that is constantly updated.  This is a MUST for all transcriptionists.

Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics - Great orthopedic specialty information. Just a great and detailed site.

American Medical Association - I use this to look up past practicing physicians and if I can't find what I'm looking for in Benchmark KB Online.

OneLook Dictionary Search - This is a one-stop shop for dictionaries -- medical, general, translations, etc.

Google - The All Mighty Google scores again! This is the quickest way to information, but a good medical transcriptionist will not take the sites listed in Google's word for it and absolutely must verify, verify, verify!

Skullcandy INK'd Headphones - Every transcriptionist needs a great set of headphones, ear buds, etc., and I blogged about these. They are of great quality, reasonable price, comfortable and can be worn for hours on end.    

Below is my single, most used and most coveted asset for medical transcription.

*** Drum Roll Please ***

Instant Text - Without this, I could not be successful. Well, that's not totally true, but it would take me a heck of a lot longer to get there without it.  Instant Text is a text expander.  Actually, this is not JUST a text expander. It's the most feature-rich, easiest to use and amazing text expander I have found. The possibilities are limitless with this program. No memorizing shortcuts = super easy to use. I have a command glossary for common tasks used in Word and/or other programs. For example, if a physician dictates a sentence and then goes on to dictate a compound sentence, I have a command that will go back and insert the comma + and.   My hands rarely move from my keyboard. I've made a drug database with brand name drugs, generics and dosing schedules.  This program also offers me a "compile" feature. I save reports and later can run the program and IT pulls the common phrases, words, etc., from the reports. The productivity potential is incredible! They now offer a free trial, and believe me, it is truly the best thing since sliced bread.

So....that wraps up my list of key resources for medical transcriptionists. If you're not using these resources, you really need to be. There are many others that I use, but these are the ones I use consistently.

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Do you have what it takes to be a medical transcriptionist?

Some myths about medical transcription:

• Yearly income will be in excess of $40,000 per year right away.
• Medical transcriptionists type what they hear.  
• Medical transcriptionists are a dying breed.  

Some truths about medical transcription:

• Medical transcription is not a get rich quick opportunity.  Income largely depends on many factors.  Some factors include geographical location, grasp of medical terminology and anatomy in addition to account size, part-time work versus full-time work, workflow, acute care work (all specialties/more challenging terminology) versus clinic work (less specialties / easier terminology).  Other important factors are if you're a subcontractor or an independent contractor.   
• According to Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual wage is $32,900.  
• You are typing a document for a patient's chart, therefore one must ensure ACCURACY.  Would you want your medical record to have errors in it? I believe this is the most important factor.  A transcriptionist will never be respected in this business producing low-quality, error-ridden reports, and that's a promise!  All we have is our reputation as most times doctors, MTSOs, etc., never meet us, so we build our reputation on accuracy - one perfect report at a time.  
• Medical transcription often can be feast or famine.  <br>

Some questions to ponder:

• Are you proficient with computers?  
• Do you enjoy spending hours sitting in front the computer typing?
• Are you good at navigating the Internet for research?  
• Is your typing accuracy 99.5%?
• Do typos jump off the page for you and bother you?  
• Do you have good command of the English language / grammar?
• Do you take pride in all the work that you do, each and every day?  
• Are you self-directed and dedicated?  
• Are you flexible?  
• Are you teachable and willing to learn each and every day?  

 If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, medical transcription may be the field for you!

Ways to work: 
Because there are so many ways to work as a medical transcriptionist, one must define which is best for their situation.

• Are you the primary breadwinner or supplementing the income in your family?  
• Do you want to work for a service (subcontractor), being paid on production wherein if you don't have work, you don't get paid?  
• Do you need to be an employee for the benefits?
• Do you want to get your own clients (independent contractor)?  

Where do we go from here?
With all these points in mind, what's next? First, you need to heavily research the profession.  A good place to start is AHDI's article Becoming an MT.  Next, you will need training.  See my previous blog post How I Found Medical Transcription for my experience with Career Step.  Not all AHDI-approved schools are created equal, so it's best to research the school, check the BBB, ask questions of the school or program, post questions on forums, etc.

Once you decide on a school and get started, since most of the online schools are self-paced, be certain to be thorough.  You will get out of the program only what you put into it.  I have seen many a transcriptionist not take enough time with schooling and once looking for a job cannot find one.  Transcriptionists MUST take online tests to gain employment, so if those tests cannot be passed, a transcriptionist will have a very tough time finding work, let alone decent pay.  I cannot stress enough being thorough during the schooling portion and how much it will pay off in the long run.

Looking for a medical transcription provider or 
know someone who is?

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