Can You Do Medical Transcription at Home While Caring for Aging Parents?
More and more families are having to take in their parents as they age. Paid help is expensive, and it’s a wonderful gift to give your parents to care for them when you’re able. But that makes working outside the home much more challenging. A change in career may be a good idea.Medical transcription is a popular work at home option. It’s a job that is necessary no matter how the economy looks, as everyone has to go to the doctor at times. The population of the United States is aging, and that means there’s lots of work in the medical industry in general.While electronic records are changing some things, the career of a medical transcriptionist continues to have some importance. Even electronic records have to be checked for accuracy, and that’s something medical transcriptionists can learn. But many doctors still use transcriptionists in the traditional way, having them type out their dictations. Most of the work is done online, and hours are quite flexible.This is great when you need to care for an aging parent. You can be with them and still earn a living.You will need to take a good quality medical transcription course if you want to work in this industry. Companies don’t train you from scratch on the job. There are companies that claim to, but they’re really trying to sell you their software and have you work until you realize you aren’t getting anywhere with them.My personal suggestion is Career Step. They’re AHDI Approved, and partnered with some employers, which means these employers will consider graduates with good enough scores, rather than requiring the usual two years of experience.The great part about training online as well as working from home is that you can set your own schedule. That’s a big help when you’re a caregiver. Your daily routine may not be perfectly consistent, but most at home medical transcription positions allow you to write your own schedule, allowing you to come up with something that will work for you. You can write it to work around doctor’s appointments and other activities.The time you spend in training is great for figuring out a schedule that will work for you. Late nights may be your most viable alternative, especially if the family member you’re caring for goes to bed somewhat early. Try a few schedules and figure out what works best for you while you’re still in training so that you’ll be ready to go when you find your first job.
