A Valued and Needed Service
I am a 44-year-old woman that has been working for a hospital for over five years, three of those years as a Pathology Transcriber/Secretary. When I started I was a laboratory clerk but was always eager to learn and seek advancement. I used to come in on my own time to learn how to do the Pathology Transcriptions and reports. It was very interesting to me because it seemed like a whole different language, even with my prior medical experience and terminology as a Veterinary Technician. I loved being a Veterinary Technician but unfortunately I developed allergies to animals so severe that I had to have two nasal operations to stop the horrible headaches I would have. It was time for a different career, so I enrolled and attended a Health Occupations certification course at Cerritos College. The course gave a certification in Phlebotomy, Medical Laboratory Assistant, and EKG. I was very nervous to go back to school at my age to compete with younger students. At that time I was raising four children, three of which were in High School and my youngest in Middle School. They were proud of me to have the guts to go to school at my age; they would say “aren’t you too old to go to school?”. Then two days prior to finishing my course and taking my final exam the worse thing that could happen to a parent happened; my 18-year-old son was killed in a street racing accident three days before his 19th birthday. When I showed up to take my final exam my teacher pulled me aside and said “what are you doing here?”. My son’s death was a very public and media event due to the circumstances of the race and the abandonment of the other racer. This street race killing is one of the first instances where a street racer was going to be charged with murder. I told my teacher I did not even get to open my books and study and I was worried I would fail, but I knew I had to finish my course. She said “you can take the exam in about 3-4 months when the new course finishes” but I told her I wanted to try to take the exam but if I failed could I still be able to take the exam later. She agreed, gave me the test, and graded it just as soon as I completed it. She then explained to the class while showing the class the newspaper what courage and motivation I had to even show up after what I was going through and was proud to report that I passed with an A-. That was a great accomplishment for me and after that I proved learning is important and gratifying. In the past six years I have been a Pathology Transcriptionist and Secretary for three years. I find medical transcription jobs to be very rewarding and interesting. Unfortunately this last year I had to undergo a total hip replacement which kept me on medical leave for eleven months and my department which only consisted of one and one-half persons, and I was the one in the one and one-half, my department was forced to cut down to only one person after I left which was divided among two part-time people. Since I was only trained on the job and only in the Pathology Department and being away for my regular job, I feel the need for additional training in all aspects of Medical Transcribing. My motivation to get in this industry is the many opportunities for Medical Transcribers and to prove to myself it is not too late to succeed in spite of my obstacles. One of the advantages I see is that Medical Transcribers can work from home. In fact so many employers are hiring and moving medical transcribers to a home base. One of the main advantages of working from home is that I would be more comfortable and can accommodate myself more easily at home because having a hip replacement can be restrictive and I would not want to burden an employer with my restrictions and discomfort. After viewing the Future MT website I see all that they offer to allow you to succeed. Some of the benefits they offer that are important to me is the ability to work at my own pace, the online support, their guarantee of success in future jobs or possibly to have my own business in the comfort of my own home. Life for me has not been easy, I had to overcome many obstacles but I believe the saying “that which does not kill you makes you stronger,” with all I’ve been through I guess I am made of iron. I do not have unrealistic goals; I know it will take some time, practice, and effort to become educated and proficient as a Medical Transcriber. I hope in the near future with the education I will receive with Future MT I will be able to provide employers a valued and needed service. I believe that with the additional training Future MT will provide will give me the skill needed to achieve my long term goals of starting my own independent business from home as a well trained and educated and successful Medical Transcriber in all aspects of the medical field.
WRITTEN BY: Aileen Lara
