Posted: March 10th, 2005

The VLC talks with working grads

VLC: Where do you work as a medical transcriptionist and how long have you been there?
Christine: RI Unlimited (out of the Twin Cities, MN). Work from home as an I.C. in Des Moines, Iowa.

VLC: Do you work at home or in an office?
Christine: I work from home approximately 4-6 hours/day. You are expected to choose any 10 hours of the day or night you wish to work. I work 5:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. as I like to get up early and have the rest of my day free. The company has around 57 accounts and within those accounts are several forms of dictation: letters, daily notes, evaluations, etc. The company hires people from all U.S. states and Canada and is primarily made up of independent contractors.

VLC: What did you do before becoming an MT?
Christine: I worked as an assisted living coordinator at a group home for mentally/physically disabled adults. I also have 10 years experience in other types of social work (have a degree).

VLC: Why did you decide to become an MT?
Christine: I love the medical field and want to be a nurse, but didn't want to be away from my children while they are growing up, so this job allows me to have a flexible job working from home, yet learning all about the medical field.

VLC: Which of VLC medical transcription courses did you take?
Christine: The professional course.

VLC: How long did it take you to complete it?
Christine: One year and three months to be exact. A few weeks in there, my computer was in for repair, and I worked only on the course part time. If I had been at it full time, I could have finished earlier.

VLC: Who was your instructor(s)?
Christine: Started out with Carole Nusca until she left, then had Susan and Carol Simpson.

VLC: What did you enjoy most about the course?
Christine: The ability to work at my own pace, start and stop when I needed to, and the immediate feedback from the teachers.

VLC: Do you find the practice tapes are helping you in a real-work situation?
Christine: The SUM tapes were very helpful, especially when applying for jobs. Actually, all of it was helpful. I found that school was much harder than my job currently.

VLC: How did you go about applying for jobs?
Christine: I had a list that another grad gave me, plus the website with the school. I often checked the grad board to see where people were getting hired.

VLC: How long did it take you to find a job?
Christine: One month for my first job; three weeks for my second job.

VLC: Are you paid by the line or by the hour?
Christine: By line. I started my first job at .06 per line and my second at .07 cents per line.

VLC: Do you have any advice for anyone thinking of training to be an MT?
Christine: Don't go into this thinking you'll make big money right away. There are start-up costs and it takes a year or two to get up to speed and learn to do the job well. But it's a wonderful job once you get experience under your belt and the opportunities awaiting those with experience are endless! Lots of jobs out there with great pay and benefits, but you'll have to put in your time first…which could be up to two years.

VLC: Do you have any advice on beneficial resources for new MTs?
Christine: A good medical spellchecker is a must. I love the Stedman's. Worth its weight in gold as it not only checks errors, but it gives a list of suggested words, if you didn't spell it right. I've found words there that I would never have found otherwise. The books I use the most are my Drake and Drake Word book for meds, a few Stedman words books (mainly the one on orthopaedics as that's the account I'm working for) and I use the web site www.google.com every time I do my work. Very helpful. And, I wouldn't be without my space heater under my computer. It's cold here in Iowa!