A Turning Point

I really did love that first MT job at the rehab clinic.  I was there a little over 2 years. One of the rare things about it was that there was very little in the way of office politics.  We all got along very well.  I also realized that I absolutely loved medical transcription.  Who would have ever thought I would wind up doing something that had absolutely nothing to do with the 5 years I spent in college.  But I like to think that if our lives went exactly the way we plan them, it would be pretty boring.  Surprises are the best part of life! 

The one unfortunate issue was my salary. I did get a raise when I was promoted to MT coordinator, but the next year there was no raise and no hint to when there would be another one.  My job was so comfortable, and I did not relish the thought of leaving that comfort zone.  One day, I saw an ad in the paper for a position that paid about $3 more an hour than what I was making.  It was through an employment agency, and the location of this job was not given—only the pay.  My husband was just starting out in his career as an audiologist and would be going back to school to get his Master’s degree, so I felt I had no choice but to check out this ad.  I had to sign up with this agency before I could find out where I would be interviewing. 

 

As it turns out, it was St. Thomas Hospital, the hospital where I was born.  Just as I felt I was not qualified for the job at the rehab clinic, I felt equally unqualified for this position.  Even without knowing what types of reports are typical of the hospital setting, I still knew there would be terminology involved that would be way over my experience.  The director who would later become my boss felt that would not be a problem, so she gave me a typing test and then a transcription test.  I did not do that great on the typing test because I always had a problem with typing from copy—still do to this day.  I figured that would be the end of it, but they sent me to the medical records department anyway and handed me a discharge summary dictation on a patient admitted for an appendectomy.  I think appendectomy was the toughest term on that report.  I made no mistakes, and I was hired on the spot.  Lucky for me, my boss had the habit of hiring the first person she interviewed.  I don’t think she particularly liked that part of her job. 

I had to pay the agency when I accepted this job.  First time I had ever heard of having to “buy” a job, but that is exactly what I did.  It was so hard to turn in my resignation.  My boss asked me what they would be paying me.  Of course, I thought he would match it and that would be that.  When I told him, he wished me well and off I went!  Even though that discharge summary was a very easy test, I still knew I was in for some major learning curves with new terminology, new formats, even new ways of researching. 

The lesson learned from leaving what was a very rewarding and enjoyable job was to not be afraid to make a change.  It would have been so easy to stay put, continue in a job I knew backwards and forwards, loved my co-workers, the environment was pleasant and even fun—it was very, very difficult for me to walk away from that.  But I knew this new opportunity would not only be about a bigger paycheck, but also it would mean a new learning experience and getting into a whole new area of medical transcription.  My first day, I went home in tears and told my husband this move was a huge mistake.  I would never be able to handle this job and all that went with it.  I’ll tell you all about how I survived that day and the next 11 years that followed, next time.