Kelly  resides near Seattle, Washington, her home state where she was reared.  After being  honorably discharged from the Army, she completed a medical transcription terminology course at her local college.  She had a grade point average of 4.0.  However, most of her transcription knowledge is from on-the-job training.

Let’s  find out a little more about Kelly now.

How did you get started as a medical transcriptionist? 

Later, I applied for a radiology transcription job and was hired!  Three-plus years later, I wanted more of a challenge.  I then went to work at our local physician’s office (about 15 doctors in all specialties) and later transitioned to hospital work.

Did your situation then change?

Yes.  About two years later, the hospital medical transcription was transitioned to an overseas contractor.  As a result of my pay and benefits being slashed, I worked as a 9-1-1 operator for a while.

Oh, okay.  Then what happened?

I returned as a medical transcriptionist for a different hospital and remained employed with them for nine years.  One day, the work was all gone.  Voice recognition had replaced the medical transcriptionists’ jobs.  I then worked for a few months for another company that ultimately filed for bankruptcy.

So, altogether, I worked as a medical transcriptionist for 25+ years.  I trained and mentored MTs, along with doing QA and editing.  

RELATED:  Medical transcription.

What do you see as the future for medical transcriptionists in the USA?

Grim.  The pay has plummeted to next to nothing, yet the companies place outrageous demands on the medical transcribers.  They are independent contractors but treated as “employees” with no benefits at all.

Most of the work today is editing reports created by voice recognition software.

Anything else you want to say about this type of work?

Yes.  Several online companies sell courses teaching medical transcription.  They lure students by saying that it is still a viable career.  Little do students know that finding employment usually requires extensive experience.  Even then, the pay is terrible.

Did you  ultimately consider another type of transcription?

Yes, I did.  I took the Legal Transcription course at Learn to Transcribe.  It was very educational, and I highly enjoyed it.  However, I do have a hearing loss.  As a result, the multiple voices in depositions were a bit too challenging for me.

So I switched to transcribing audio from one or two clear voices. I am currently transcribing sermons and educational seminars from my home.

RELATED:  Transcribing sermons.

Conclusion …

A big thank you to Kelly for sharing her journey with us.  She can be found on Facebook at this link and online forums.  Kelly is a very smart and truly remarkable woman!