Medical Transcription Working Conditions

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Learn how to start your career in medical transcription

A Solitary Profession

Well, sort of. What I mean is, it can be a solitary profession once you're lucky enough to get the chance to work at home.

Are you the sort of person who likes and needs a great deal of human contact day to day? If so, and you start transcribing at home, you'll likely feel like a hermit. You can go most of every day without seeing another person other than your spouse (and children) if you work at home for a nationwide service.

You may not talk to anyone else either in that situation, because most if not all of your contact with your employer will be through E-mail or instant messaging. If you are single, you can go days at a time without talking to or seeing another person.

Think of it -- day after day of sitting listening to a doctor's voice droning on and on while you do nothing but sit and type. Some folks love that; would you?

If you work at a hospital, you'll have the socialization provided by other transcriptionists, but you'll still spend the majority of your day sitting at your computer typing, listening to those doctors. Since most transcriptionists are paid on a per-line basis, if you are socializing you are not earning money.

A 24-Hour Profession?

Do you like to work from midnight to 8 in the morning? Have you ever done it?

Most folks don't wait until Office Hours to get deathly ill, so hospitals are open 24 hours a day. And consequently, they usually have transcriptionists on duty at all hours in order to get "STAT" reports done. If you happen to have been assigned the graveyard shift and you have a spouse and family, so much the worse for you.

Now, I don't mean to scare you, because the number of folks working that graveyard shift is far smaller than the number working a standard day shift, but it is something to consider. Especially since this is probably the shift you will be working as an inexperienced transcriptionist.

Medical transcription work can also turn into virtually a 24-hour job if you're an independent contractor and take on too much work. This happens all the time, as most folks don't want to turn work away for fear it may not be offered again.

It's very easy to get into a pattern of no work on Monday, and 18 hours' worth on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. By the time Friday comes around you are so exhausted you leave your work until Sunday night - if you have that luxury -- and before you know it you are up until 2 a.m. trying to finish up in order to get the work in on Monday morning, and start the cycle all over again.

The government notes that many self-employed transcriptionists are likely to work irregular hours.

If you want to get the real story about what it’s really like to be a professional medical transcriptionist, then you should pick up a copy of Inside Medical transcription by Pam Lyon. You can get your copy here.