All Things Transcription

Obviously lots of people are having trouble finding gainful employment these days. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 9.8%, according to the government figures from August of this year. Of course, most economists agree that this is not an accurate figure since it does not reflect the number of people who have given up on searching for a job and people who are underemployed; this refers to people who may desire full time employment but are forced to accept part time work.

Follow up:

Medical transcription is no exception in these hard times. I can tell you that it is hard to find accounts in my area when doctor’s offices are closing, or the doctor’s are turning away from private practice and accepting employee status from hospitals. (This absolutely appalls me, but that’s a subject for another post.)

However, I have noticed on some forums that some transcriptionists are obtaining jobs. The search has been an arduous one for most of these folks. Descriptions of their job searches give figures of over 100 resumes being sent out before receiving a response, much less actually being offered employment in some cases. You have to hand it to these people, perseverance is their middle name.

In looking at information about this subject I have come across a couple of issues that really bother me about some MTSOs (Medical Transcription Service Organizations). I have seen so many of their websites that are operating at an unacceptable level. Broken links, outdated software that leaves users open to all kinds of nasty viruses, application forms that are broken, and any number of other issues. That poses a question; Is it really worth your time to apply to these companies if they can’t be bothered to fix these issues on their websites?

Well, let’s think about it. You are applying for a job where you work at home. The only access you have to your work is through the internet in most cases. I would be willing to bet that if they can’t get their web issues fixed that you may run into some issues with being able to access your work. If you can’t access your work, the accounts fall behind. If the accounts fall behind the clients get a little testy. If the clients start out a little testy, they may become very unhappy in a very short time. Poof! The account may vanish in a puff of smoke along with your job.

I just think it makes a very bad impression to have a website for a transcription business to have a dysfunctional website. Of course, there are so many IT issues to deal with, it can be impossible to cover all of them, but come on people you can do better than some places I’ve visited. Some of them are so horrible I would not ever consider applying there.

Another issue that has raised its ugly head is what I consider to be a scam. Those of us with a strong desire to work from home have seen many, many scams. Make millions working 20 hours a week! You know the type of thing I’m referring to. One of the main rules in my mind regarding how to judge if a work at home job is a scam is the dead giveaway of the company charging a fee for you to start working for them. Come on again, people. The definition of employment is that you collect a pay check for performing prescribed tasks for you employer. If you have to pay to work all you are accomplishing is allowing someone else to work from home because you are paying them.

However, I have heard of many MTSOs that actually require their transcriptionists to pay for their own software. What? Okay, I can see purchasing your own foot pedal and head phones. These are tools of the trade that depend a lot on personal preferences. You may have to have a specific foot pedal to work with new software, but that’s not the same as being asked to purchase the software itself, now is it? However, I’m not purchasing specific software to deal with account specifics as an employee of another company.

If I am obtaining my own accounts, that’s a different story. I am responsible for these things then. Guess what? If I hire someone to subcontract these accounts, I am not going to require that the transcriptionist I hire go out and purchase their own software. That falls under the heading of the employer’s responsibility. If you leave the company, how is it a bonus that you have purchased this software? You may never use it again.

Ultimately, you may need employment in a terrible way. However, please don’t let this influence you to accept these poor business practices and outright scams. (Also, just to get you thinking about another issue; please try to avoid accepting slave wages if you can help it. I understand that your situation may be desperate, but it ends up setting the bar lower for the rest of us. More on that later.)