Seconding An Open Letter by a Former Medical Transcriptionist

 

I came across this open letter today to a Health Information Management publication called "For The Record" written by an older MT, lamenting the transition of the medical transcriptionist job field due to offshore outsourcing beginning in 2006 and Voice Recognition around 2007, many companies falling during the last recession - and then finally by AI the last couple of years. 

(For the record, 2005-2010 were also the worst time in my personal life, so double the fun, but I survived - and I learned!)

I could've written this letter myself, it's so accurate - and very difficult to explain to prospective employers and others how bad things became, which is often hard for people to believe, and still try to sound positive, even though it's 100% true. 

I had to screenshot piecemeal style due to its length ...

She covers the pay cuts, the feast-or-famine workload with no benefits or downtime pay - only even since this article was written in 2016, you're now lucky if you make even $15K per year, such that you have to piece 2 or 3 contracts together and still will only make about $25K (or doing temp jobs and/or waiting tables as second and third jobs, which at most, you'll make 30K).

The only things she didn't mention are, as I stated,  the advent of AI making us almost obsolete and even less pay, the predatory/scam nature of some companies and fake job ads, knowing you were desperate.

One of the biggest challenges I personally have faced in the last 5 years was the difficulty in obtaining prior references prior to my current job for the last 6 years, despite leaving on good terms and being a top producer/quality.

As mentioned, many fell during the last recession, are otherwise no longer in business, or have transitioned to other business interests and have all new staff.

And as far as coworkers, we were subcontractors - so we were lucky if we even knew who are coworkers were - we usually just QA, trainers, and management! 

Those few companies still afloat have mostly moved over to legal-only transcription and do not hire without legal experience.

And sometimes, with those who are essentially sweatshops, they don't care enough to respond to reference requests, even from official written requests from prospective employers, despite you  being a top producer and top quality!

This ends up looking shady on you, and you can't prove you were, because they won't even respond because they do not give a shit.

Also not mentioned are the unprofessional emails in all caps that began to appear around 2009, the beginning of the recession, demanding us to hop on outside our shifts or do OT, though you don't get paid extra for OT as contractors, and they're often paying you less than minimum wage, and can do that as contractors!  

Or constantly threatening the account would be lost for errors, also in all caps and exclamation points. They never seemed to get it that we don't need our job threatened to take them seriously, nor that this idle threat only works for so long,.

Or that only about 25% of doctors even read their own reports (thus why VR and AI is booming, though quality sucks), and if they do and complain, I can assure you, it's never because you out in an extra period at the end of a sentence!

But the absolute worst was when a few of the companies began policies of actually docking your pay for even minor errors, so that they MADE money off of you!

Lastly, likely not mentioned because this letter was written in 2016 - were any jobs left in the last 10 years became so scarce that people began people became so cutthroat and bullying, even willing to sabotage others' work -  particularly new people, especially if they were good -. 

Such that even in the few good hospital jobs that resisted VR or AI, those people were so used to feeling desperate/overly competitive, they couldn't help themselves from being overly competitive. 

It wasn't like that for my first 10 years in this field - it became that way as jobs and work grew scarce. 

In other words, most of the jobs left - BUT NOT ALL - have people who lack any discernible integrity or maturity whatsoever.

Good people - meaning not just productivity and quality wise,  but maturity and integrity wise as well - are usually bullied out or never make it into QA or the Clique of Mean Girl Management (and don't want to).

(Again - NOT ALL - I love my boss for the last 6 years, who gives me a glowing reference, but we were replaced by AI completely last fall.)

Aside: For the record, when I did make it into QA, I saw/heard my fellow QA people admittedly bullying newbies for even asking a question, especially if they questioned a score (though they were often correct).  They would literally start group chats specifically making fun of "stupid new people."

One of those times, it was racially motivated.

This, of course, turned my stomach and I didn't participate - and 2 times, I actually stood up for those people whom they bullied on the company forum. 

You can imagine what happened -  I found myself their new target, so lesson learned (finally) - approach the victim, don't take on the bullies!

A couple of times, I was directly bullied myself - not because I stood up for new people or those of a different race, but just because they didn't like me or my politics (which I never spoke about it at work, only written here) - OR - because I was actually good at my job and popular, and they were overly competitive. 

BTW, if any of the aforementioned still read here, as I know you did at one time - I was never, ever "trying to make you look bad," or after your job NOR was I trying to get in management - I felt lucky to still have a job in this field and was just trying to do my best to show gratitude.

Also, my budding friendship with our manager was genuine, not a ploy - and I was performing well - but THAT almost bothered you more, didn't it?

I never told her OR said a bad word about you to her until the day I left. (YOU, on the other hand ran your mouth the entire time - dishonestly.)

You were right in your warning prediction, btw = that if I ever did tell her, she wouldn't believe me - and I have no idea what she thinks because I never contacted anyone again, I just left.

Because I learned by in my 20s that you can't control what people believe and it's selfish to try and put people in the middle..

(And usually, the one loudest mouth/with the most power/been there longer wins despite truth anyway.)

But believe it or not, even though you literally scared the shit out of me that day, I actually really liked you up until that point!

But let me also say this - even though you weren't honest?

As long as you never did it again to anybody else as a result my leaving, then I'm happy 😂.

And also just know this - I refuse to either become bitter or catch your disease and become just like you - and if I have to, in order to survive in that field - then no thanks, you can have it, hope it was worth it, and goodbye!

Back to the letter, I am hoping the person who wrote this letter - and the hundreds of others in this situation - was able to transition to something else, despite her age, particularly since she had an associate HIM degree.

I have transitioned to become a cancer registrar, currently in school at UC - and though I'm doing well!

I have not run up against a single overly competitive bully, and I just recently connected with the Kentucky Cancer Registry, and they were kind enough to meet with me on Teams about career goals and how they could help.

I almost fell out of my chair, it's been so long since I worked with "normal" people - so long that I had begun to think I must deserve being treated like I was in transcription, in the end.

I'm sure not everyone in this field is this kind, but most of them really are - they're a team, not sitting in silos trying to pull others down to lift themselves up, like crabs in a bucket.

I wish I had the confidence to do this years ago!

(I always did well in school, but lost confidence years ago, due to growing accustomed to verbal abuse both professionally and personally, such that I believed that's all I deserved for a very long time.)

Also, there are several associations regionally and nationally, as well as national funding sources for the registries themselves, both covered by federal and state law, that will push back if anyone tries to implement to a total AI takeover, because though AI can honestly be a great tool, it should never replace human review (at least not yet, it's not near ready).

The only catch is - I will be 59 when I graduate. 

I have already had THIS said to me 2 times on prior interviews for other jobs:  "You don't fit the culture."

Since I openly embrace diversity and inclusion, I finally figured out what this means - it's the new codespeak for 'you're older than everybody else."

Maybe -  but I get along with the younger students very well, considering my sense of humor, plus keeping up with pop culture. 

I still have a very sharp mind, evident by by 4.0 GPA and being Dean's List and in Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and I am at the top of my class compared to many of those younger students.

And I'm healthy - and though you can clearly tell I'm in my 50s, I don't look 57.

Also, I don't go out as much or party, so no missed work due to hangovers etc. - in fact, no missed work at all.

However, Cancer Registry has a shortage of Cancer Registrars currently, particularly certified ones, and certifications make that age discrimination argument a bit harder for prospective employers. 

I wish this woman well and others - and those reading, cross your fingers for me! 😃

Stay positive, stay sharp, and never lose hope at whatever age, right?

(Feel free to remind me, on days like today when I forget lol).