Prepare for your new medical transcription career with the flexibility and convenience of distance education. As a medical transcriptionist, you will transcribe the dictated words of doctors to create error-free reports. Allied's Medical Transcription Course teaches you how to use common medical abbreviations, symbols, punctuation and grammar, while helping you to increase the speed and accuracy of your typing.
Ready to venture out on your own? If you've completed your medical transcription training and are ready to take the next step, there are some things to consider before you open for business. Starting a small business is a big step - make sure you have the long-term dedication and commitment to make smart business decisions and succeed as a small business owner. Here are some questions you can use to evaluate your readiness:
Are You Resourceful? If you are good at making the most of what you have, you are already ahead of the game. Working for yourself requires creativity and ingeniousness to grow your medical transcription business. The ability to create results from a small amount of resources is invaluable, especially when you are just getting started!
Are You Careful with Spending? It is important as a small business owner to ensure that you keep your spending in check. You don't want to lavishly spend on setting up your office, especially when cash is low. It is also important to stay on top of bills and create a spending schedule - remember bills must be paid on their due date and income can often be delayed due to a myriad of factors. Being frugal will help you effectively manage your finances.
Do You Have a Clear Vision? Before you start your medical transcription business, you need to define your short and long-term goals - this is usually done through a concise business plan. Having a clear-cut path of where you want your business to go will help you make sound day-to-day business decisions. This will also prepare you to effectively react to different business scenarios because you will know where exactly your business is headed.
Are You Self-Motivated? To be a successful small business owner, you need to be willing to do whatever tasks your business needs - such as creating an effective filing system, entering data into the computer or emptying the office trash. The success of your business is up to you! Since you may be the only one in your office, you need to take the initiative to get everything done. To stay on track, set daily goals for yourself - define the number of transcriptions you are going to get done. Keeping your business on target should provide the results you are looking for.
Do You Have Realistic Expectations? You have to realize that your medical transcription business will probably not be a top money-maker overnight. It will take tenacity and a strong commitment to your career to acquire success. To reach this point, you will have to dedicate many hours, grow your medical transcription business and generate a steady stream of money. There are many small businesses out there - be realistic and determine how you can make yours stand out from the rest.
Did you answer "yes" to all of these questions? If so, congratulations, you have many of the factors that are necessary to become a small business owner. Now, apply the knowledge you learned in your medical transcription training and business know-how to create the future you've always wanted. With your strong work ethic and dedication to your medical transcription career, you'll be prepared to reach new and exciting heights.
If you are looking for a job that gives you the ability to work from the comfort of your home, which has become more and more prevalent with recent technology, you might want to consider working as a medical transcriptionist. Considered to be among the most lucrative and manageable home-based businesses, this is one career choice that may be the ideal fit for you as well as your family.
Say Goodbye to Traveling to an Outside Office One of the most treasured benefits of starting a business out of the home is that you don't have to deal with difficult bosses, annoying dress codes, and the frustration that can come from office politics. At home, you can work in an environment that you find most comfortable and conducive to your productivity, while enjoying all the perks.
Enjoy a Flexible Work Schedule Second, you will have the flexibility to work when you are the most industrious, even if it's late at night when you are wearing your pajamas. You can determine your own work schedule and reap the benefits of skipping the daily commute, giving you more time to devote to family, friends, and to taking care of items on your "to do" list.
Have a Truly Family-Friendly Career If you have children, working from home can be especially ideal. Whenever unanticipated circumstances occur, as is a common phenomenon in every family, you will have the flexibility to handle any pressing issues that come up. Also, if a child is home sick, you don't have the added stress of finding back-up childcare.
Save Money While Building Your Business Cost effectiveness is another advantage. It turns out the start-up and operating expenses of a home-based medical transcription business are much lower than for other lines of work. Since most of what you will need already exists in your home office, you will no doubt incur huge savings by eliminating added costs of fuel, dry cleaning bills, and lunches with co-workers. Also, since you can claim portions of your utilities, mortgage and property expenses as business expenses, there are also tax advantages.
Experience Opportunity with a Career Positioned for Growth With healthcare becoming a rapidly expanding industry, largely due to the baby boomer generation, there is a growing population in need of medical procedures and tests, all of which need to be documented. Technological advances have spurred the use of resources such as electronic dictionaries, voice recognition software, medical spellcheckers and such that aid transcriptionists in increasing both their output and earnings.
Earn a Solid Salary According to the most current data provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, it's estimated that medical transcriptionists can make between $10 and $20 per hour. Factors such as prior experience and education level are taken into consideration to determine one's salary for doing the job.
With all of the factors pointing to a promising career, why wait? Enroll in a medical transcription today and prepare for an ideal work-at-home career that fits with the needs of your family.
If you are looking to work out of your home as a medical transcriber, you are likely to find many ads in the classified and help-wanted sections of magazines and newspapers that appear to be great opportunities with attractive salaries. However, be sure to proceed with caution when answering these ads, as not all of these employers will be able to deliver what they promise to their prospective employees.
Research the Medical Transcription Career...
Before you begin to pursue a career as a medical transcriptionist, it's a good idea to learn as much as you can about the job, and find out exactly what’s required. There are many websites, such as MedWord.com or MTJobs, which offer pertinent information and also have message boards where you can read posts from other MT's regarding their experiences to help you determine if this type of work is right for you.
Don't Believe What All Ads Tell You...
While some individuals may earn good money working as medical transcriptionists from the comfort of their own homes, the truth is that others who prepare for this career may have to do a little research to find the right opportunities. Moreover, what many employment ads might neglect to tell you is that while you may receive training, it's ultimately up to you to find a job.
You're Going to Need Training and Experience...
There are many medical facilities that do not permit new MT's to work at home. In fact, some require a specific amount of time working on-site, and some firms that do hire home-based medical transcriptionists require a measurable amount of experience. However, despite the fact that to become a home-based MT one generally needs both training and experience, it is still a great option for a work-at-home job.
Before you take any steps toward your new medical transcription career, do your research. Ensure that you are getting exactly what you need to be a desirable job candidate. You can even talk to medical personnel and check with consumer safety sites such as the Better Business Bureau to avoid being a victim of a possible scam. After all, as we all know, if it sounds too good to be true, it's possible that it just might be.
Once you complete your medical transcription training and start your medical transcription career, you can choose to work from home. And creating a comfortable and functional home office is essential to your productivity - especially when you may be spending hours at a time sitting at your desk and working on your computer.
Check out this video from CNET TV and gain insight on how to create a ergonomic home office that may reduce carpal tunnel risks, including choosing the right keyboard and proper mouse placement.
One of the most attractive benefits of a medical transcription career is the opportunity to work from home. Here are some tips to help keep your work-at-home medical transcription career sane, productive and happy.
1. Create a Work Space. Whether it's an entire room or the corner of a room, designate a space as your official office. Next, stock your space with all the necessary office creature comforts: functional desk, computer, office supplies, etc. The idea is to create an environment that places your mindset into work mode - and not wandering off to pending household chores, daytime television or an unnecessarily long poolside break.
2. Set a Schedule. Set a goal to get up, begin your work and end your day around the same time every day. Not only will you be more productive on a set schedule, but your clients will know when to contact you. Managing client inquiries with prompt responses will show your clients that you are an organized medical transcriptionist who can be relied upon for future work and referrals.
3. Get Dressed. Sure, you could stay in that oversized, Garfield t-shirt you slept in all day - the one with the fresh coffee stain - and your clients will never know. However, starting your day with a shower and comfortable clothing that you wouldn't mind answering the door in will make you feel better, and more than likely, more productive.
4. Stay Organized. Keep your work space tidy. Items like bookcases, draw organizers, in-baskets, etc. can keep you sane. And instead of making your to-do list in the morning, make it at the end of each work day. The status of your day's tasks will be fresher in your mind.
5. Avoid Distractions. Close the door to your office. Set aside specific times during the day when you return phone calls and emails - and make sure your clients are aware of these times. And if you are a mom with young kids at home, do your best to get them tuned into your routine and try to keep them occupied with a variety of activities, like crafts, play dates, naps, morning pre-school, etc.
Want to become a medical transcriptionist? The good news is that this career field is projected to provide long-term opportunity. Learn about the career outlook with some fast facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
- Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow by 11 percent from 2008 to 2018, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
- Job opportunities will be good, especially for those who are certified.
- Employers prefer medical transcriptionists who have completed a postsecondary training program.
- Many medical transcriptionists telecommute from home-based offices.
- Medical transcriptionists held about 105,200 jobs in 2008.
- About 36 percent worked in hospitals and another 23 percent worked in offices of physicians. Others worked for business support services; medical and diagnostic laboratories; outpatient care centers; offices of physical, occupational, and speech therapists; and offices of audiologists.
- Demand for medical transcription services will continue to be spurred by a growing and aging population. Older age groups receive proportionally greater numbers of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that require documentation.
- A high level of demand for transcription services also will be sustained by the continued need for electronic documentation that can be shared easily among providers, third-party payers, regulators, consumers, and health information systems.
- Growing numbers of medical transcriptionists will be needed to amend patients' records, edit documents from speech recognition systems, and identify discrepancies in medical reports.
- Contracting out transcription work overseas and advancements in speech recognition technology are not expected to significantly reduce the need for well-trained medical transcriptionists. Reports transcribed by overseas medical transcription services usually require editing for accuracy by domestic medical transcriptionists before they meet U.S. quality standards.
- Hospitals will continue to employ a large percentage of medical transcriptionists, but job growth will be in other industries. An increasing demand for standardized records should result in rapid employment growth in physicians' offices, especially in large group practices.
- Wage-and-salary medical transcriptionists had median hourly wages of $15.41 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $13.02 and $18.55. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $10.76, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $21.81.
- Compensation arrangements for medical transcriptionists vary. Some are paid on the basis of the number of hours they work or the number of lines they transcribe. Others receive a base pay per hour, with incentives for extra production.
Ready to get started? Call (888) 822-2923 to prepare for your medical transcription career. Opportunity, reward and challenge await you!
