keeping kids busy – Medical Transcription Basics

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Do Work at Home Medical Transcriptionists Need Childcare?

January 8, 2011 / Stephanie / Comments Off

One of the big benefits trumpeted about for working at home as a medical transcriptionist is that you don’t need childcare. You can just be there for your kids. How true is that?

Depends on the hours you want to work and the ages of your kids.

Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers need quite a bit of care. It only gets more challenging as they become more mobile, active and curious.

Doing medical transcription with children in this age range is difficult, but not impossible. You’ll need to work early mornings or late evenings into the night for the most part if you want to skip the childcare. You may also be able to get some work done during naptime or when your spouse or partner is home.

The simple truth about working with kids in this age range is that they aren’t going to give you much peace for getting work done. They want your attention. They need your attention.

School Age Children

Once your kids are old enough to send to school, your work at home life gets much easier. The kids are at school several hours a day, during which you are free to work, assuming you send them to school rather than homeschool.

School age children do need your attention once they’re home, of course, but you can also work some hours while they’re home. Teach them when it’s okay to interrupt you, and allow them age appropriate independence.

You may be able to set up your home office so that you can watch kids in this age range play in the backyard. Have your desk near a window with a good view of the yard, and you can keep a light eye on them while they enjoy themselves in the fresh air and sunshine. Or keep your office door open as they play in the house.

So… No Childcare Required?

All this doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t need childcare for your kids. It means you may be able to limit your childcare expenses if you do need to use childcare.

These clearly available hours may not be enough for you to work the number of hours you need in order to earn a living, for example. You may need the kids to spend some time in childcare so that you can support your family. This takes a bite out of what you’re earning, but so long as it’s significantly less than you earn while the kids are away, it should be worth it.

If you want to save on that cost, find another at home parent to trade off with. You watch their kids, they watch yours. It’s best if the children are friends and similar in ages, so that their time together is seen more as playtime than as being cared for by another parent. Just sounds more fun to the kids.

While you don’t want to miss out on those milestones that are probably a big part of why you want to get into working at home in medical transcription, you need to think about what you need to earn to get by. There should be a balance you can strike so that you are there for your kids as much as possible while earning a living in this flexible career.

Start your training at home. Contact Career Step for information about their medical transcription training courses.

Can You Be a Medical Transcriptionist with Small Children in the House?

January 8, 2011 / Stephanie / Comments Off

Many people look into medical transcription as a career because they want to work at home and be there for their kids. That was even the reason I got into it, back when I was pregnant with my daughter.

It’s doable, but it’s not easy.

Infants are both easy and challenging. They’re easy because they sleep for so much of the day. They may be easily entertained in a baby swing. You may even be able to get a bit of work done with baby in a sling on your lap… although that’s a bit awkward sometimes.

But they’re challenging because their routines change every few months as they grow. The child who napped regularly and well may suddenly take only very short naps, and be awake at the times you thought you could work. They start getting into things. Crawling. Walking.

Toddlers present similar challenges. They’re getting into everything and may be asking for your attention often. But they may settle into a really good napping routine, and of course are normally sleeping through the night, so you’re less exhausted than you were during the early days. That helps a lot with productivity.

You may also be able to persuade your toddler to "work" with you. Just set up a miniature version of your own workspace. They make inexpensive toy laptops for kids, and you can add on other things as needed. Old, broken keyboards with the cord removed can work as well.

As children reach the preschool and school ages, things can get easier yet. They gain in independence. They may be out of the house for hours at a time if you’re sending them to school. They can be more understanding of your need for work hours.

If you’re homeschooling, as many at home parents do, you have the challenge of working out that schedule with your work one. It’s a personal choice how you manage that, and you will find what works for your family.

And of course, at all ages you can work a night shift after the kids are in bed. There’s no guarantee that you won’t have anyone wake up on you, and it can take from your relaxation time, but if that’s the best time for you to work it’s something you need to deal with.

That you can schedule around your work needs is one of the great benefits of being an at home medical transcriptionist. Most employers want you to set a schedule, but you can change it with a bit of notice, or call in if there’s an emergency.

If you get your own accounts, so long as you’re producing according to the contract terms, your schedule is your own to set. It’s a pretty nice deal if you don’t overestimate yourself.

That you can do all that is one of the best things about going into medical transcription. It’s why I always had people asking me how to get into it. You’ll probably notice a similar effect yourself.

Start your training. Contact Career Step for information about their medical transcription training courses.

Medical Transcription Training and Single Moms

January 8, 2011 / Stephanie / Comments Off

Life is tough as a single mom. You have a lot of responsibilities that make it harder to get into a better career. It’s a good thing that medical transcription is a great career option for single moms.

This isn’t a career you can just jump into. That’s a good thing. It means that the pay can be pretty good. You want a career that takes some effort to get into as that means not just anyone can do it.

The best part for many single moms is that medical transcription can be done at home. This can mean huge savings on daycare costs.

The next best part is the flexible hours. You can be there for your kids. You can pick them up from school when they get sick. You don’t have to explain to a cranky boss about your kids needing you. You just write your schedule around their needs.

And as I said above, the pay is pretty good. How good depends on you and how good of a medical transcriptionist you turn out to be. That’s where high quality training comes in.

Many of the best medical transcription schools have their courses available online. That means that you can study on your own time while still working your day job and taking care of your kids. It will be hard to fit all of that into your schedule, but the stress will be worth it once you gain the flexibility you can have as a medical transcriptionist. Training at home is also a sort of practice for when you land a job working at home and need the ability to schedule yourself without a boss looking over your shoulder.

It’s vital that you research and find a good quality school for your medical transcription training. You want a school that is AHDI Approved. That’s your assurance that the school meets standards that are specifically related to their quality in training medical transcriptionists.

It’s also useful if the school is partnered with at least a few potential employers. This helps to get you past the experience requirement.

Getting past the experience requirement doesn’t mean you can goof around. You still have to have excellent scores to show employers that you really learned what the training course has to offer.

Many schools offer at least some form of payment plan to help you deal with the cost. It’s expensive to take a high quality course, there’s no question about that. A payment plan can make it less of a strain.

But the best part comes after graduation and when you’re working. It’s not just the flexible hours. It’s that you may be able to get a job that offers benefits tha you may very much so need for your family.

Medical transcription isn’t the perfect job for every single mom. It’s hard work and sometimes it just doesn’t suit you. But for moms who have great language skills, have an interest in medicine and are excellent typists it’s possibly not a bad choice. Give it some thought and decide for yourself.

Take a look at Career Step and decide if they’re the school for you.

Medical Transcription Basics

Medical transcription training and schooling tips

Tag: keeping kids busy

Do Work at Home Medical Transcriptionists Need Childcare?

Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers

School Age Children

So… No Childcare Required?

Can You Be a Medical Transcriptionist with Small Children in the House?

Medical Transcription Training and Single Moms

Medical Transcription Resources

Choose Your Medical Transcriptionist Training

Top Medical Transcriptionist Training Articles