When Calvin was born, I planned to be a stay-at-home, work-at-home mom and transcribe medical reports to help support my family. I look back on that now and wonder at my bravery and naivety! I had absolutely no idea how to market my self, and no clue how I was ever going to get a client, depending largely on word of mouth! But by the time Calvin was four months old, I had my first regular transcription gig.
Thinking back on those days now I just marvel at how resolutely I went about it. With my trusty umbrella stroller, high heels and snappy brief case, I walked through rain, sleet and snow from the nearby park to the hospital to pick up and deliver my work and my tapes. The women in medical records always made such a fuss over my baby and I really felt like a part of the team. As time went on I added clients. Before the end of the year I literally had three clients in three counties and was spending two whole afternoons a week just driving around with my baby in the car to pick up and deliver work. I must have been out of my mind!!
I remember sometimes having to sit in the waiting room of a busy doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to finish dictation, afraid that the baby would have to nurse before I could get safely back to my van. I also remember parking the van right in front of the doctor’s window so that I could keep a close eye on a slumbering toddler while I waited around to pick up my work.
Oh I was state of the art back then! I did micro, mini and standard sized tapes!
Eventually life settled into a comfortable rhythm with a doctor two minutes from my home, and another one who was willing to have me come out just twice a week. And so it continued for the next 15 years.
I transcribed for those two doctors for so long, I knew what they would say even before they said it. I knew what medications they liked to prescribe and what procedures they performed. I could type effortlessly and quickly. When one of those long-term gigs ended just weeks before I was scheduled to give birth to my 6th child, I was kicked out of my comfort zone. I was being forced into the unknown, with new technology, new terminology, and new people. It was a little scary.
Not all of the changes were bad though. Welcome to the 21st century where voice files can go back and forth with ease digitally. I no longer had to drive anywhere. Files came to me from across town and even from across the country. All that driving time could be converted to transcribing time – which is what I got paid for anyway.
Still I had to get myself up to date with newest ways of transcribing reports, and the most accepted techniques and styles. I had to bone up on my punctuation and grammar and get the latest pharmaceutical word book. And what was really new for me was that I had to prove myself again to my supervisors and new clients. My work was QA’d and scrutinized. It was time for me to see if I was good enough. But more than my pride and professional integrity was on the line – being successful at this would have financial consequences for my family.
The road has been mostly smooth.I had no urology experience three years ago and now I can type male and female urology reports fluently. I have transcribed some fascinating reports for a rehab hospital, and I have been especially blessed to hang on to my local surgical account. But there have been some speed bumps too. One client dropped me after five months without a heads up, or an explanation. That one really hurt.
Last week I had the opportunity to add one more client to the mix. One more client could make the difference for me between making it at the end of the month, and actually having a bit left over to save and pay down debt. Still it’s a little stressful with a new doctor, new speaking patterns, medications and referring physicians that are new to me. I spent most of yesterday evening transcribing the work and most of this afternoon proofing it. I am not sure when they will send in more work to be transcribed, but I want to be ready for it.
So once more I find myself out of my comfort zone, facing the unknown a bit and hoping this new account will feel comfortably familiar in a month or so. I am looking forward to the challenge…I just wish it didn’t have to happen in December!!
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It is interesting how these things go…I was knocked far out of my comfort zone when I made the decision to stay home…and it actually meant an increase in income. But their are lessons from the Lord in all of it, I know!