At many MT forums and online communities, I have come across some people who rant about lack of alternative careers for a medical transcriptionist and how the skills developed in this profession do not serve as a stepping stone to some other avenues. Here I would like to jot down my feelings on the same.
Most of the medical transcription companies are making available the work from home option and also providing flexible working hours (mine does that). Working from home coupled with flexible working time can pave the way for adding some extra skill sets to one's resume (time scheduling is the key).
Indian hospitals are also taking in MTs, but the pay wont be anyway near the BPO sector, but on the positive side, there wont be any strenuous work pressure too. However, many of these hospitals describe the job profile as data entry operator, which I strongly resent. Working in such hospitals coupled with doing part time work for any MT company and also pursuing a distance education diploma in hospital administration would be a safe bet for the future.
The other opening is available in content writing, search engine optimization, , copy writing/editing, where good language skills and writing skills come handy. Although above average English language skill is a must for an MT, flair for writing is not something part of the skill set of an MT, but still it may be lying dormant, who knows, only when one tries, does he realize what he can accomplish.
Medical writing is another venue for those medical transcriptionist with a flair for writing.
I will surely add to this post when I come across more options for an MT.
Good that you addressed this issue, this will give direction to all those who "rant about lack of alternative careers for an MT"
ReplyDeleteThe progress being made in speech recognition will lead to a demand for training the recognition engines in language modeling. This may be a new area for MTs to explore.
ReplyDeleteThe other is transcription of other types, business, legal, oral history, etc.
However, the skills acquired in a career in MT will always be valuable -- listening, decoding, adapting to accents and dialects, typing accurately, researching, and proofreading. All of these are precious assets in any career.
"training recognition engines in language modelling"....sounds interesting...
ReplyDeleteyeah...but i was thinking about other than transcription sector, that is why did not mention BT, LT etc.
typing, researching and proofreading skills will also come handy in publishing sector..(had seen 1 ad for a Chennai-based publishing company for the post of editor, where they had said, "those with MT editing experience can also apply".....
Well if you are not into medical transcription career anymore, you can choose other relevant field such as medical billing or coding. You can even take up medical office management or assistant training programs so you can start a new career there.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with your first option.
ReplyDelete