This blog is part of a series on transcription. If you haven’t read the other blogs in this series, make sure to check out the summary page for a listing of all transcription blogs.
Sometimes, I think people envy medical transcriptionists a little more than they should. “Wow, you get to stay at home and make great money with a flexible job that offers health insurance and a 401k program??! Where do I sign up?!” I thought that since I was doing my best to cheer on MT work this week, it was only fair if I posted a bit about the reality on the ground floor.
The truth is, doctors understand that yes, dictation is something they must do, but almost all of them consider it a “necessary evil” and thus must be dispatched with all possible haste. This thought process ends up creating speed talkers, who you sometimes wonder if they are truly doctors or just perhaps auctioneers in disguise. Then you’ve got the ones who multi-task, and eat while dictating. You know how annoying it is when someone eats with their mouth open, chomping and slurping in front of you? Imagine that in your ears, and you can’t get away. You are stuck with this dictation to the bitter end. I have MT friends who refuse to chew gum, because they’ve heard that smacking noise in their ears way too much.
Other doctors also multi-task but they don’t necessarily do it with eating. I have a friend who transcribed an audio tape that had been done while the doctor was driving in the car. He had three other people in the car with him, and the other people talked incessantly throughout the dictation. They argued about what radio station should be playing, and changed the radio station frequently. (That kind of background noise makes transcribing very difficult, btw.) The doctor would stop talking mid-sentence and start talking to the people in the car, leaving the transcriptionists bewildered, “Is he talking to them or to me? Should I be transcribing this?”
None of that is topped by the times that the doctors have bowel movements while dictating. Yes, apparently doctors are taking their handheld recorders into the bathroom with them. Perhaps it’s all the rage with doctors, who knows. I have a friend who was transcribing a report where partway through, the doctor started making gagging noises, and it culminated by the doctor throwing up in the toilet, the dictation device still turned on. The transcriptionist had to listen to him throw up in her ear. She said she gagged so hard, she had to run to the bathroom herself. I think that one’s the worst, personally.
I’m not saying that medical transcription isn’t a wonderful field, and isn’t a good job to go into, because you can make good money doing it, and you can really enjoy your job. There are definitely some…downsides to the job, however, and I thought that it was only prudent that if I’m going to “talk it up” I should also point out some not-so-desirable parts to the job. After all, if it was a perfect job, everyone would be doing it. 😛
Are you still brave enough to want to? Aww c’mon, you’ll live, I promise. Let’s move on to less disturbing topics, such as the equipment you need as an MT.