Is Medical Transcription Right for You?

Medical transcriptionists transcribe medical reports dictated by physicians or other health care providers. This field has gone largely digital with the dictated reports delivered over the internet to transcriptionists to be transcribed.

While there are still hospitals and clinics that hire in-house employees, the majority of the work is done by at-home workers.

I confess - I'm an introvert. I enjoy the solitary work life I have within the MT field. But you don't have to be an introvert to be a medical transcriptionist. Any work is more enjoyable when it fits your personality however.

Here is a checklist of things you might want to consider:

• Can you work well unsupervised or do you need someone cracking the whip? This may seem like a rude question but not really. It's just a matter of knowing your limitations and time management skills.
  
  
• Do you need a lot of social stimulation? While most people don't enjoy office politics, some people would miss working with other people.
  



• Does tedious work drive you mad? MT work is repetitive and detail oriented. Is this something you are used to or can get used to?

Contrary to what some hyped-up internet schools will tell you, your time isn't always your own when you work at home.

MT is a career based on production. Most employers will want you to produce a certain amount of work per day.

Even companies that hire independent contractors need to know when they are going to work and approximately how much work they do. Think about any other career that hires contractors, and you will know what I mean, i.e. construction, home maintenance, etc.

Some things to consider as a parent entering this field are:

• The age of your kids. Do they need constant supervision? Are they in school? Are you able to shut the door on them while you do your job?



• Support. Does your significant other help with the kids? What about grandparents or other caregivers. The cost of hiring a caregiver if that is necessary needs to be taken into consideration.



• Can you say no? This is a biggie. Do you have kids and other family, neighbors or friends who won't respect the fact that you need to get a job done? And if they aren't respectful now, can you make it clear to them that you have a job to do?
  

The salary in any field needs to be taken into consideration no matter what personality you have.

Medical transcriptionists working from home are generally paid on a per-line basis. As of this writing, companies that hire full-time employees generally want them to type between 1000 to 1500 lines with the average starting pay being .06 to .07 cents per line. The median starting wage would then be $70 a day before taxes.

Can you live on that? It's up to you to decide that for yourself.

If you take into consideration what you will save on clothing, fuel and other expenses, this may be an acceptable starting wage for you.

The cost of living in your area and whether you need medical insurance will need to be considered as well.

Many other MT companies hire independent contractors instead of employees, so you would be responsible for your taxes in that case. Is that something you want to deal with?

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