Medical Transcription – Myths and Realities: The Basics

Unless you have some sort of super anti-spam e-mail blocker installed on your computer, you have probably received e-mails with titles such as “Make 150,000 a year as an at home medical transcriptionist – no investment required”. Many of these e-mails are nothing but solicitations to try and get you to buy some sort of e-book, or other item, that will teach you how to become a medical transcriptionist. While remembering that many of these e-mails are nothing more than spam, it is equally important to remember that many of them are legitimate.

To start with, medical transcription is one of the fastest-growing of the medical related career fields. A study conducted about 6 years ago found that transcription, and related fields, would continue tremendous growth for many years to come. This is due in part to the rapid advance in the number of retiring “baby boomers”. As well, virtually all medical career fields are nearly recession proof, as no matter what the economic climate, people are always going to need medical care; thus, doctors and other medical professionals are always going to need medical transcriptionists.

In essence, a trained medical transcriptionist can take the notes (most commonly being voice recordings) of doctors, nurses, etc., and translate them into various forms, including medical reports, charts, etc. Potential medical transcriptionists will need good listening skills, as medical terminology may sound the same, but have different meanings depending upon the context in which it’s used. The final results of a medical transcriptionists work must be 100% accurate, as this work is what’s used to document a patient’s medical history. As well, a transcriptionist’s work may be utilized during certain legal proceedings, so everything must always be perfect. Legal matters can hinge entirely on the accuracy of the transcriptions. And, no matter what the outcome of the proceedings, all transcripts most generally become a matter of public record.

A medical transcriptionist is normally employed in one of the following 4 ways:

In an actual hospital
In a doctor’s office, clinic, or other outpatient medical care facility
In labs, medical schools, third-party transcription services, etc.
As independent or “home-based” medical transcriptionists

Most appealing to potential new transcriptionists is the possibility of working from home. While being home-based has its benefits, it has its challenges as well. The lack of a normal “9 to 5″ work schedule, and structured office environment are two good examples of such challenges. As well, if you decide to become home-based, you will likely need to form your own business legally, set up your tax requirements, etc. All of this is really not anywhere near as difficult as it may sound. But all potential home-based transcriptionists will want to keep these things in mind.

Medical Assistants In High Demand

Looking for a new career in the health care industry? You might want to consider becoming a medical assistant.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of medical assistants is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2012. They say that the increasing use of medical assistants across all rapidly growing health care industries will result in fast employment growth for this occupation. In fact, medical assistants is projected to be the fastest growing occupation over the 200212 period.

The health services industry is expanding because of technological advances in medicine, and a growing and aging population. Due to the expansion and growth in group practices, hospitals, medical centers, clinics, and healthcare facilities, many more support personnel will be needed, especially medical assistants who will be able to handle both administrative and clinical duties.

What do Medical Assistants do?

Medical assistants perform routine administrative and clinical tasks. They provide much needed daily assistance to keep the doctors, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health care offices running efficiently and smoothly. Their duties will vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioners specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually are generalists, who would handle both administrative and clinical duties and report directly to an office manager, physician, or other healthcare practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area, under the supervision of department administrators.

Some of the many administrative duties performed include answering telephones, greeting patients, updating and filing patient medical records, filling out insurance forms, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handling billing and bookkeeping.

The clinical duties performed would vary according to State law and may include taking medical histories and recording patient vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing the patients for their examination, and assisting the doctor during the examination. Medical assistants collect and prepare laboratory specimens or perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They also instruct patients about medications, special diets, prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician, authorize drug refills as directed, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, draw blood, prepare patients for x rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, and change dressings. They may also arrange examining-room instruments and equipment, purchase and maintain supplies and equipment, and keep waiting and examining rooms neat and clean.

Some assistants may specialize in particular healthcare areas and would have additional duties to perform. Medical assistants do not examine, diagnose, or treat patients, as a physician’s assistant would.

Future career advancements may include advancing to office manager. Some may qualify for a variety of administrative support occupations or may opt to teach medical assisting. With additional education and cerifications, some may advance into other health career occupations, such as nursing and medical technology. Since the preference of many healthcare employers are for trained personnel, job prospects should be best for medical assistants with formal training, experience and particularly for those with accredited certification.

Mathematician Re-engineers Quilting

During her career as a software engineer, Marci Baker solved difficult mathematical problems. When she became a stay-at-home mom, she turned to solving another problem involving precision and speed: “How do you make a traditional quilt in one-tenth the time?”

Along the way she discovered a sewing machine that appeals to both her quilting and her engineering sides.

A lifelong sewing enthusiast, Baker had not had much quilting experience. But looking for a creative outlet, she decided to focus on the craft and soon discovered that using the systematic approach of an engineer she could make the time-consuming process of cutting and sewing go much more quickly.

Baker developed a method based on “strip piecing,” eliminating the need to measure and sew together every small piece of fabric in a quilt top. Instead, strips of fabric are sewn together, cut diagonally, and then pieced together in a pattern. Using Baker’s method, a traditional quilt that would normally take about 50 hours to complete can be pieced together in as little as five hours.

Realizing she’d created a marketable product, Baker designed patterns and quilting tools and began selling them through her company, Alicia’s Attic. With the ability to make quilting dramatically faster and easier, Baker’s products turned out to be ideal for the two largest segments of the quilting market: experienced quilters and those who want to learn.

Two years ago Baker opened a retail space. She uses it as a workshop, to hold quilting classes and as a place to offer her books, patterns and quilting tools. She also sells the Janome line of sewing machines. She began using Janome sewing machines in her classes because she knew they would be easy for new quilters to operate and give experienced quilters excellent results.

Baker does her own quilting on Janome’s Memory Craft 6500 Professional machine, which operates at up to 1,000 stitches per minute and has almost twice the workspace of the traditional home sewing machine. Janome designed it to have the power and stitch quality of an industrial machine, but with the quiet operation of a home machine.

Baker says she’s looking forward to using Janome’s newly released Memory Craft 6600, which has even more advanced features.

Massage Therapy and the Entrepreneur

Some people enter massage school to help others through the power of healing touch. Some attend massage school to work in a particular field such as sports medicine or in a spa environment. Others receive massage training to satisfy a different ambition. They want to:

Own their own business
Be their own boss
Make a lot of money

The massage industry is not immune to capitalistic instincts. Nor should it be.

Many massage schools tout the income potential of a career as a massage therapist. Income projections for a good massage therapist range from 50-75 per hour. That translates to about 65,000-100,000 a year depending on the number of clients served each day. This also requires that you are working independently and managing your own client base.

As attractive as a six-figure salary for providing massage therapy may be, the reality is that the median income for a massage therapist is 35,000. Many massage therapists only work part-time and quite a few are working in spas or health clubs as an employee or sub-contractor. So apparently, the big money in massage therapy goes to those that own their own business and practice full time.

So can you make big bucks as a massage therapist?

It is definitely possible to make a quite decent living as a massage therapist. But dont expect to strike it rich right out of massage school. You will have to build up a fairly substantial client base and that doesnt happen overnight. Many new massage therapists go to work in a spa or health club to gain experience and build a reputation. Others perform massages for a very low fee or even for free just to get some buzz going about their capabilities. It can be a slow go once a therapist is out on their own and quite a few massage therapists call it quits as a full time enterprise early on.

As in any business it is usually the person that works the hardest and provides the best service that becomes successful. It takes patience and perseverance to build a business from scratch. It also takes some decent business skills. A self-employed massage therapist should be prepared to spend time managing financial records, keeping licenses current, filing taxes appropriately and treating their massage therapy practice like the business enterprise it is.

If starting at square one and taking the slow road to success is not appealing you may want to consider jump-starting your massage business by making an investment in a massage franchise. For a mere 39,000 you can become the proud owner of a Massage Envy franchise.
Massage Envy is a hot new franchise that currently boasts 101 units in operation with a total of 274 franchise units awarded. The company offers a recognized brand, training program and ongoing support for franchisees. Each Massage Envy clinic offers a variety of massage modalities and is open 7 days a week. As an owner you would employ multiple massage therapists. Heck, you dont even have to be a massage therapist to own a massage business like this one.

There is no doubt that the demand for massage is growing rapidly and the need for massage therapists will grow right along with it. Those therapists with excellent massage skills, good business sense and a dedication to service can expect to make a comfortable living. Others can take satisfaction in helping others to deal with pain and stress while making some decent part-time income.

Making Money The Old-Fashioned Way Or What

So, what’s the big deal? What’s everyone talking about these days on how to make money of the Internet? If you are a webmaster or a web site developer, the answers to these two questions may get you heading in the right general direction, but there is much more to it than this. It’s one thing to know the “what,” though product selection is important, yet an entirely different issue to look honestly at yourself for the “who.”

Long gone are the days on the Internet where you could pick up a product from a supplier or wholesaler who did not have a presence on the Internet to sell their products. These days, virtually all companies, literally selling any and every type of product imaginable, have some form of web presence, from limited to grand-scale. Even the “mom and pop shops” do regular business on eBay…and are making a LOT of money. This has given rise to the advent of what I term “the easy Internet.” Just about everyone is eeking out some form of subsistence on the Internet by pitching this or selling that. This dilution of opportunities has made making money on the Internet a little more difficult for one just starting out. Making money, and LOTS of it is still very “do-able.” Take heart, press forward because the answer may be in front of your eyes…right now! Not just in front of your eyes, but, more importantly, behind them as well.

I am surprised at the number of people who are seemingly “satisfied” working their 8 hour days for a small percentage of what they are really worth in financial terms. I call this the “matrix mentality.” In this view, we are born for a specific career purpose that is controlled by someone other than ourselves, and we accept this “purpose” and live our lives according to some list of expectations that are placed upon us. We remain, as it were, in the box, contained, pre-destined, dry…and then one day, some of us wake up to who we really are and begin developing some basic financial goals and seeing what our own personal earnings potential might be. Worth, in this case, may be summarized as follows: Worth, financially speaking, is the amount of earnings potential that resides within you given your unique set of interests, skills, and abilities, regardless of what you believe about yourself, whether from internal or external sources, from past to present. There is not a day that goes by that this idea does not challenge me to accomplish even greater things with my online businesses.

A consideration of personal “worth,” aside from sounding insincere and crass, and notwithstanding one’s personality and humanity, confronts the very core values of both the intellect and motivation. Truly, it does! Much has been written about this topic in recent years, so without digressing too much, this writer leaves the heady research and resulting capitulation to the self-proclaimed experts, their ghost writers and assistants. The core values of intellect and motivation guide us through our daily lives. To prove this, ask yourself a few of the following questions and physically journal your answers.

Who am I in my career?
Do I have a career purpose?
What is my career purpose?
Am I discontent with my present earnings?
Am I committed to doing what is necessary to obtain a better career with better earning’s potential?
Am I willing to commit to changing my career path to make better money?
What product or service do I already know about that could be an idea with which to make money?

Through this simple exercise, you may learn volumes about yourself. The answers, for many of you, may not be easy. You may even be tempted to respond to them with a matrix mentality. I encourage you to spend some time with this exercise to determine what is important to you andor to awaken at least a small desire to have better understanding about who you are and what direction you may want to consider on your path to higher earnings.

So, where should you go from this moment? By the fact that you are reading this article, there is at least some desire for you to better yourself and your earnings. If the answer(s) for you were “easy,” you would already have something implemented. Right? Before picking a product, take some time out to determine who you are and how your earnings potential can be influenced by a proper understanding in this area.

Make Money Typing Ads At Home

Many people have never heard of affiliate marketing or simply may not know what it means. It is also referred to as getting paid to type ads. Firstly, I will say affiliate marketing is one of the best opportunities to make money on the internet and just about anyone who makes A LOT of money online will tell you so. But first, let’s talk about what affiliate marketing really means.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is simply when individuals like you and me promote other people’s products and earn a commission for every sale made as a result of your promotion. The promoters are better known as affiliates and the owner’s of the products are usually referred to as vendors or sellers. Affiliates are provided with a unique link containing their own tracking code which links to the vendor’s website. When people click or visit this link and make a purchase at the website, a portion of the sale will go to the affiliate. The amount depends on what the vendor has previously stated. This amount is usually stated as a percentage but may sometimes be a pound amount. Affiliates may generally promote their link as they like, either online or offline. Affiliate marketing is a win-win situation for both vendor and affiliate. Vendors do not have to worry about advertising costs as affiliates can do all the promotion for them. Affiliates can either promote companies for free or pay for advertisements at various outlets.

The majority of online sellers now have some kind of affiliate program setup for their website. More and more companies and individuals are seeing the huge benefits of having thousands of people promoting their product. This is good news for you, as this provides more opportunities for you to make money. You can find an affiliate program for just about whatever your interests are. Some of the most money making affiliate programs are in the gambling, financial, web hosting and work at home industries. Information products also usually pay very high commissions. Many web hosts pay their affiliates from 60-100 per sign up. That can easily give you an idea of the money making potential. More average payouts, however, are in the range of 25-40 per sale. There are networks which also provide a large listing of various affiliate programs. Some of the more popular ones are Commission Junction, Be Free, Linkshare and Clickank. If you’re looking to make a good income from home, we definitely recommend taking a look at affiliate marketing.

Many people may be intimated by the idea of typing ads and promoting companies. Actually, it’s quite easy! Thousands of people around the world are affiliate marketers as more and more people are seeing the income potential. The best part is, anyone can do it and your income is only limited by how much you put in.

Lower the Volume for Emphasis

I’m something of a political junkie, someone who enjoys watching politicians speak. And, among their speeches I find leadership convention speeches among the most interesting. As the commentators and pundits so relentlessly tell us, leadership races can be won or lost on the content and delivery of those speeches.

Let’s talk about delivery, and one technique that good speakers use. Of course it’s used not only by politicians, but by anyone who wants to deliver a persuasive message in a speech or presentation.

Lower the volume! Many speakers do just the opposite, of course. They increase the volume to try to make a point.

But, the people who study speaking tell us to lower the volume. Consider what happens when you do that.

First, you force members of the audience to listen more closely. If you speak at one level, then drop the volume quickly, we in the audience focus more intently than we did a moment before. We have to; otherwise we wouldn’t hear what you say.

Second, when you lower the volume, the audience also takes in more of your facial expressions and body language. To compensate for the lost volume, we in the audience look for other cues that will tell us what you’re saying.

Third, when you lower your voice, you’ll likely slow down as well. That, too, triggers audience awareness that something has changed and we need to be more alert than we were.

Try it for yourself, even in simple one-on-one conversations: Lower your volume and see what kind of effect it has on the other person. I expect you’ll be more likely to get and keep attention.

Licensed Vocational Nursing Programs

Launch into a Personal and Financial Rewarding Career

If you are considering building a career in the medical field as a LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) or LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), you are definitely on the right track! A career as a LVN or LPN offers a lot of advantages and satisfactions on multiple levels: apart from being a noble and morally rewarding career, it also brings major financial benefits, ensuring a financially stable future. The American Nurses Association informs that the average annual salary for licensed vocational nurses revolves around 35,000. Similarly, administrators earn an average 45,000. Clinical Nurse Specialists earn around 40,000, nurse practitioners earn an average 70,000, while Nurse Anesthetists earn up to 110, 000 a year! Undoubtedly, a career as a nurse can be very lucrative, allowing and facilitating various possibilities of promotion in other adjacent medical specialties.

In addition to being financially rewarding, a career as a Vocational Nurse is also very durable and secure on professional level, as there is a very high demand for nurses in medical institutions, clinics or schools, not only in the United States, but also everywhere else throughout the world! Statistics indicate that there is a pronounced shortage of well-trained vocational nurses in present, rendering qualified practitioners in the branch highly requested among healthcare institutions and various other establishments.

Nevertheless, the shortage of vocational nurses is expected to double or even triple in the following years. This is very good news for those aspiring to become Licensed Vocational Nurses in order to build a solid and durable career. In spite of the fact that unemployment and job insecurity are ever-growing problems in our insecure world, nursing job opportunities seem to be growing continuously, rendering a career in the field a very smart move for anyone who wishes to achieve financial stability.

In order to make sure that you experience no difficulties in passing your NCLEX-PN licensing examination, and rapidly become a member of the qualified staff in the best healthcare institutions, it is very important to attend to a high quality LVN program. By attending a high quality program you will be able to become completely prepared for the challenging NCLEX-PN examination. LVN programs are usually structured over the period of three to four semesters, however some fast track programs in less than a year of training have recently appeared and students are having great success.

An appropriate LVN program offers students the opportunity to develop a series of specific technical skills, corroborated with a set of interpersonal abilities. By the end of the LVN program, students will have developed good practical skills and abilities regarding nursing care, administering medical treatments, identifying, reporting and registering patients symptoms, as well as fulfilling various therapeutic and recuperative methods. State Nursing Board Accredited LVN programs account for every aspect of being a qualified and skilled vocational nurse, guaranteeing graduates the opportunity to work in the best healthcare establishments in the world. After completing an LVN program, graduate students are a single step away from a much desired and rewarding career in the medical field. Attend to a high quality LVN program and you will experience fewer difficulties in passing your licensing exam!

Legal Nurse Consultant

Nurses with an interest for both emergency room trauma and courtroom drama may want to pursue a nursing degree in legal nurse consulting. Legal nurse consultants use their healthcare know-how in conjunction with an interest in the legal system to have a rewarding career in this combined profession.

Legal nurse consultants are commonly called by defense attorneys and prosecutors for their forensic or pharmacological familiarity to help determine difficult criminal or civil cases. More commonly, legal nurse consultants consult with attorneys and others in the legal field on medical malpractice, personal injury, workers’ compensation and other healthcare-related cases. These legal specialists are responsible for interviewing clients, reviews medical records, researches and summarizes medical literature, helps evaluate liabilities and damages, assists with depositions, prepares exhibits, and identifies and retains expert witnesses.

Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who have previously worked in emergency rooms, or in other disciplines, who then take on focused training at legal nurse consulting schools. These schools offer on-campus or online nursing degree coursework in legal ethics, personal injury cases, forensic science, and legal writing to name a few. There are also dedicated classes in legal issues about medical malpractice, auto accident injury, lower back pain, and product liability.

Certified legal nurse consultants are regularly contracted to work with private attorneys and corporate lawyers. However, many find work outside the courtroom. Some take positions with hospitals, insurance companies, and government agencies. Many are hired to help provide quality assurance at pharmaceutical firms and chemical companies. About half of all legal nurse consultants work on staff at law firms, insurance companies and other institutions, and their salaries are just about the same as those of hospital nursing administrators, who earn about 80,000, according to a 2004 Nursing Management salary survey. The other half of legal nurse consultants work independently and earn 100 to 150 an hour or more,

Jobs in the profession are expected to grow throughout the next 10 years as more and more companies introduce medications and devices that are federally approved, or reviewed in the courtroom or by government agencies. While formal training in legal nurse consulting is not required to practice, training and educational programs are available at universities, community colleges, and other private and public institutions.
Melissa Steele,

Legal Assistants And Paralegals – The Future Is Bright

One of most common ways to become a legal assistant or paralegal is through a community college program that leads to an associate’s degree. Another common route; primarily for those who already have a college degree, is through a program that leads to a certification in paralegal studies.

Many legal assistants and paralegals have associate degrees in paralegal studies or a bachelor’s degree paired with a certificate in paralegal studies. Currently, a small number of schools offer bachelors’ or masters’ degrees in paralegal studies. A few employers train paralegals on the job, hiring college graduates with no legal experience or promoting experienced legal secretaries. Others have gained experience in a technical field useful to law firms, like tax preparation for tax and estate planning, criminal justice, nursing or health administration for personal injury practice.

With 250+ paralegal programs approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and an estimated 1,000 colleges and universities, law schools and proprietary schools offering formal paralegal training programs – the field is highly represented. Although many programs don’t require ABA approval, graduating from an ABA-approved program can enhance one’s employment opportunities – it’s a credibility thing for some employers.

Program admission requirements vary greatly – from a few college credits or courses to a bachelor’s degree for others, to high school graduates, those with legal experience, passing a standardized test, to simply having a favorable personal interview.

Many legal assistant and paralegal programs include 2-year associate degree programs, 4-year bachelor degree programs and certificate programs that can take as little as a few months to complete. Most certificate programs provide intensive and specialized paralegal training for individuals who already hold college degrees. On the other hand, associate and bachelor degree programs usually combine paralegal training with courses in other academic subjects.

Obviously, the quality of paralegal training programs can vary with the higher quality programs usually including job placement services.

Courses range from introducing students to the legal applications of computers, including how to perform legal research on the Internet to more and more paralegal training programs offering internships to assist students in gaining practical experience by working for several months in the real world. Internships could be with a private law firm, the office of a public defender or attorney general, a bank, a corporate legal department, a legal aid organization or a government agency. Clearly, the experience gained is an asset when one is seeking a job after graduation and for many can lead to a job with the company they interned with.

Most employers don’t require certification but earning a voluntary certificate from a professional society does have its advantages when it comes to finding a job. The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) has established standards for certification that requires various combinations of education and experience. Paralegals who meet their standards are eligible to take a 2-day examination, offered three times a year at one of several regional testing centers. Those who pass can then use the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) designation. NALA also offers an advanced paralegal certification for those who want to specialize in specific areas of the law.

The Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam offers professional recognition to legal assistants and paralegals that have earned a bachelor’s degree and have at least 2 years of experience. Once they pass this test they can use the Registered Paralegal (RP) designation.

Legal assistants and paralegals must have the ability to document and present their findings and opinions to their supervising attorneys. They also need to understand legal terminology, have good research and investigative skills and be able to do legal research using a computer and the internet. They also need to stay abreast of new developments in the laws that affect their area of expertise. The most common way many legal assistants and paralegals expand their knowledge is by participating in continuing legal education seminars.

Because legal assistants and paralegals deal with the public on an ongoing basis they need to be “shining examples” of ethical standards for the legal profession. The National Association of Legal Assistants, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations and a few States have established ethical guidelines for them to follow.

Employment Outlook
Legal assistants and paralegals held about 224,000 jobs in 2004 with about 70% being employed by private law firms; most of the remainder worked for corporate legal departments and various levels of government. Within the Federal Government, the U.S. Department of Justice is the largest employer, followed by the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. A small number of paralegals own their own businesses and work as freelance legal assistants, contracting their services to attorneys or corporate legal departments.

As a whole, employment in this field is projected to grow much faster than average. The current trend of employers trying to reduce costs by hiring paralegals to perform duties formerly carried out by lawyers is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. As a result, employment opportunities are projected to grow much faster than average for the next 10 years or so.

As in all fields, compensation varies greatly due to the high number of variables but in general, salaries depend on education, training, experience, the type and size of employer and the geographic location of the job. As a whole, legal assistants and paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions. In addition to salary, many also receive bonuses. In mid 2004, the average salary for all legal assistants or paralegal was a tad over 39,000 per year.

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