I have heard of this before and I have been fascinated by the industry but I have always been hesitant to try it out. My hesitation stemmed from the fact that there is not much assurance of stability in the work I will enter. What if there are no jobs to be done or what if I am not able to sell my skills properly? And so even if I knew the advantages of freelancing, I never had the guts to try it out.
Until now.
I left my medical transcriptionist job, not because I hate the job per se, on the contrary I love it, but because I can’t take the company policies. Besides, my mom made a very valid point that I would fare better if I stay at home first, rest quite a bit (no one is forcing me to work, after all) and finish my ever-delayed thesis (and as such my hopelessly delayed graduation). Besides the pay for freelancing, whether it really would be stable or not, is way better than what I am currently earning.
So I made the switch. I must have had 3 job experiences already within the year! So much experience for someone barely out of college (technically).
But I am not complaining. By the “explorations” I’ve made I formed a pretty much clear picture (or goal) in my head on how to get rich without engaging in business (which I am not so keen to enter just now) or doing illegal stuff (which I will NEVER do).
For one, I found out that MT’s, really good ones, earn at least $9 an hour and some are even paid per line such that they earn really ludicrous amounts. Since I saw during my 4 weeks training that I have the skills to become a good (even excellent) MT (and I’m not bragging), I know that I could earn as much as several thousands a day doing home-based transcription work. But of course that’s a long way off because I would need proper training and perhaps a license to boost my credentials. Then perhaps I could pursue that application I have with RareJobs for online Japanese English Tutorials. Then I could continue my current freelancing writing jobs and maybe look for more.
In the end, I realize that employment opportunities for me are never endless. I just need to be brave enough to seek out the right ones and leave the wrong ones. And of course, there is no higher paying job than the job I once had with NuSkin. Perhaps in the future I will go back but for now I am content to remain where I am.
All is not gloom and doom at work. There are admittedly glorious moments which makes me believe that I have made the right choice of leaving my otherwise brain draining work for a more challenging one.
In fact, because of the many medical jargons I encounter daily, and the medical knowledge that comes with learning what all those jargons mean, I feel I can improve on my other blog, Practical Biology, by posting quite a lot of articles about how biological issues, particularly medical related ones can be easily understood by the common individual and how it can be applied to daily living.
I do not propose to know extensively about the topics, but I do know enough knowledge to convey it. And the best way to ensure that knowledge does not atrophy in your brain is to use it. Perhaps I can even include in my blog some helpful tips for the amateur medical transcriptionist like myself.
How many times have I felt frustrated searching for medical terms I heard sounded like this and that but actually were spelled this and that? And wouldn’t I be immensely greatful if I find out that this term is associated with this term so that the next time I encounter the words, or their sound-alikes, I would know what they mean? I don’t know if you can relate really but just to give you an example, today, I found out that a usual dictation for the results of a rectal exam is normal sphincter tone. Now I do not yet know what that means but the way I found out was by searching in Google for “rectal exam synchter tone”. I kept hearing something like synchter tone when in fact it was sphincter tone. Of course, a necessary skill in medical transcriptionist which is more important than listening skills are proof-reading skills which would involve a lot of common sense. If the word doesn’t exist – you can’t find it anywhere, not in the dictionary, whether medical or not, or Google – then most probably it doesn’t especially if the sentence doesn’t make sense.
Also, in the 2 to 3 weeks that I have been transcribing files, which we call dead files because they have been transcribed before, I have learned a lot about a wide range of diseases and the cures for them, even the drugs most commonly prescribed for their treatment. Example, a history of hypertension or some cardiovascular disease usually has Coumadin or Lasix as part of the prescribed medications. Also, do you know that there is such a procedure as urinary diversion? When a patient undergoes a radical cystectomy (removal of urinary bladder because perhaps it is infested with cancerous tumors), then of course, the urine produced by the kidneys would need some place where they can be stored until micturition (urination). Unless of course the patient sits in the toilet all day long or has some sort of external pouch to catch his frequent outflow of urine — eww! What a discomforting prospect! And so there is the process of urinary diversion which can be done in several ways. I won’t elaborate. This must already be too much epistaxis (nosebleed) for some.
But I must admit I am enjoying myself. I enjoy encountering these terms again and using them in sentences and even in daily expressions. I guess I live for the knowledge of it all. Isn’t it evident by my blog title, Cerebral Insights?
Because of this being a medical transcriptionist becomes really exciting and rewarding. I get to learn a lot about new things and even if now, I don’t exactly know where to apply them, I’m sure I’ll be able to use the knowledge in the future.
All is not gloom and doom at work. There are admittedly glorious moments which makes me believe that I have made the right choice of leaving my otherwise brain draining work for a more challenging one.
In fact, because of the many medical jargons I encounter daily, and the medical knowledge that comes with learning what all those jargons mean, I feel I can improve on my other blog, Practical Biology, by posting quite a lot of articles about how biological issues, particularly medical related ones can be easily understood by the common individual and how it can be applied to daily living.
I do not propose to know extensively about the topics, but I do know enough knowledge to convey it. And the best way to ensure that knowledge does not atrophy in your brain is to use it. Perhaps I can even include in my blog some helpful tips for the amateur medical transcriptionist like myself.
How many times have I felt frustrated searching for medical terms I heard sounded like this and that but actually were spelled this and that? And wouldn’t I be immensely greatful if I find out that this term is associated with this term so that the next time I encounter the words, or their sound-alikes, I would know what they mean? I don’t know if you can relate really but just to give you an example, today, I found out that a usual dictation for the results of a rectal exam is normal sphincter tone. Now I do not yet know what that means but the way I found out was by searching in Google for “rectal exam synchter tone”. I kept hearing something like synchter tone when in fact it was sphincter tone. Of course, a necessary skill in medical transcriptionist which is more important than listening skills are proof-reading skills which would involve a lot of common sense. If the word doesn’t exist – you can’t find it anywhere, not in the dictionary, whether medical or not, or Google – then most probably it doesn’t especially if the sentence doesn’t make sense.
Also, in the 2 to 3 weeks that I have been transcribing files, which we call dead files because they have been transcribed before, I have learned a lot about a wide range of diseases and the cures for them, even the drugs most commonly prescribed for their treatment. Example, a history of hypertension or some cardiovascular disease usually has Coumadin or Lasix as part of the prescribed medications. Also, do you know that there is such a procedure as urinary diversion? When a patient undergoes a radical cystectomy (removal of urinary bladder because perhaps it is infested with cancerous tumors), then of course, the urine produced by the kidneys would need some place where they can be stored until micturition (urination). Unless of course the patient sits in the toilet all day long or has some sort of external pouch to catch his frequent outflow of urine — eww! What a discomforting prospect! And so there is the process of urinary diversion which can be done in several ways. I won’t elaborate. This must already be too much epistaxis (nosebleed) for some.
But I must admit I am enjoying myself. I enjoy encountering these terms again and using them in sentences and even in daily expressions. I guess I live for the knowledge of it all. Isn’t it evident by my blog title, Cerebral Insights?
Because of this being a medical transcriptionist becomes really exciting and rewarding. I get to learn a lot about new things and even if now, I don’t exactly know where to apply them, I’m sure I’ll be able to use the knowledge in the future.
Am I dreaming? It still feels surreal – this new job of mine. I still wake up every morning or go to work daily thinking that I would need to log in on the AVAYA and deliver my opening spiels. Sometimes I wonder if I would wake up in the middle of a call, only to find out that I am not really an MT but a call center agent still. Maybe it’s the distance of the two companies – they are literally neighbors so going to work everyday as an MT feels like going to work as a call center agent. Maybe it’s the swiftness of the transition – one evening I was taking calls, the next I was already training as an MT.
For whatever reasons I may have, I am glad to be in this new job of mine and if it really is a dream, please wake me up so I can turn it into reality. Much as I miss the old environment I was in – apparently it had more comforts when it came to amenities and facilities, I still wouldn’t give up what I have now. Even though the work is definitely more frustrating – it gets challenging when you find that you cannot spell a particular word and you cannot understand what the dictator is saying, I am still immensely contented with it. For I am learning new things everyday and I know I will continue to learn. I know I will not stagnate – not for a really long time.
And as I told my interviewer, being an MT is the closest thing I could get to a medical career. I cannot be a doctor, for I know that I could not cure patients – I lack the sympathy criterion. Yet I am deeply fascinated by the study of medicine – this branch of science that deals with the human body and its processes. However, to study medicine for the sake of education is a luxury I cannot afford as of the moment. And so I must get what I can get and being an MT is one sure way of learning medicine without really paying for it. In fact I am earning while I am learning.
Finally I’ve done the inevitable. I made the jump. I crossed the bridge. I did it. I resigned from my call center job and moved on to a new job. Fortunately for me, it was a very swift transition. Right after my last shift as an agent last Sunday night, I had my final interview with the new company Monday morning and tonight I’ll begin training. Somehow I still can’t quite believe how fast everything was or is. The transition wasn’t smooth. Because of the speed of everything I am unable to render the 30 days requirement after passing the resignation letter. As such, my supervisor informed me I will be terminated which according to him would be like a black mark in my employment history.
But I don’t care. Talking to other agents who’ve also been terminated from the BPO companies, it doesn’t really matter to the next company whether you resigned or you were terminated. The thing they’ll look at eventually are your skills.
And so I am excited to enter my new world tonight. I will begin training as a medical transcriptionist – MT in short – the closest thing I could get to a medical career. I graduated (or technically graduated) with a degree in Biology. The reason why I chose Bio was because I’m fascinated with life and its processes. I do not want to be a doctor – my constant forays to hospitals told me as much. Patients would die in my hands rather than be healed. Yet I am fascinated by the study of medicine – of how diseases affects the body and how procedures are performed to mitigate or cure them. Then again, to study medicine without really pursuing a career as a doctor is a luxury I cannot afford right now.
But with this medical transcriptionist job, I am able to meet the best of both worlds. I get to learn about medical procedures – diagnoses for certain illnesses, drug treatments, even surgical procedures – and at the same time I am paid for it. What’s even better about this job is we have quotas. I know for some people that would spell doom but for me it does not. Because we are paid by the quality and quantity of job we do. If we exceed our quota, we are paid extra. If the quality of our work is superb, we are additionaly compensated. Unlike in my previous job wherein you’re all paid the same rate even if you took more calls than the person sitting right next to you.
Another grand thing with the MT job is if I happen to finish all my work ahead of time, I get to do whatever I want. And since we have unlimited net access which is not blocked by some blocking program like —- , I can write blogs, play in Facebook, even watch YouTube videos right at work and they won’t mind. The freedom is overwhelming. I came from a job wherein every second is timed and controlled. CR break is 10 minutes for the entire shift; breaks are only 30 minutes and a second longer constitutes a reprimand; calls have AHT’s; etc. Now I am in a job wherein so long as you get the work done, they don’t care how you handle your time.
And the promise of a promotion is more tangible than the previous one and if I don’t want to get promoted, I can always opt to be a home-based MT which would entail more freedom.
I haven’t started in this job yet I am already loving it. I can already see how it will benefit me. Yes, it will be more toxic than the previous job in terms of workload. But that is the point exactly! It will involve more brain cells and my mind won’t be in danger of rotting away.
