A Medical Transcription Story... or Book

People keep asking me about my job so let me just tell you how it alllllll went down. This is gonna be LONG. If you don't read it I don't care. :) I'm just writing it in case people are interested, like I was a year ago.

Okay so a year ago I didn’t even know what medical transcription WAS. Like I had NO idea doctors talked into a recorder about their patients and someone needed to type these into reports. So how this all started was last September, when Nate lost his part-time job with the family business due to the economy. Yeah he has a great job at HAFB that he loves, but unfortunately when we moved here we budgeted with 2 incomes, so when we lost one, yeah it hurt, a lot. I can’t even tell you how stressed out we were. (and this is before we got pregnant!) We thought about selling/renting our house, Nate taking on some other job, me working at Walmart, I mean there was just no way we could even “get by” so we needed to do SOMETHING. Nate and I have never owned credit cards either, so the money we have is you know, the MONEY WE HAVE! (Did you even have any idea you could make it through life without a credit card, well I’m here to tell you we’ve traveled to foreign countries, rented cars, and bought 2 houses and we’ve never had a credit card, crazy huh? Maybe not so crazy coming from the person who has never owned a cell phone…)

ANYWHO. I worried about it like every night. We prayed a lot over it. Because while it was obvious we needed more $$ cause we really really didn’t want to move (or, you know, starve), the thought of having someone watch the kids while I worked made me depressed. As did the thought of working nights and never seeing Nate. And Nate had been spread so thin when he did have both jobs, I just thought there has to be another way. So I looked on the internet “JOBS FROM HOME” and other ways to make FAST MONEY! Yeah it was kind of a joke the things that are out there, they ended up being A) A SCAM AND A HALF! Or B) Just not reliable or worth it. I thought about selling stuff too but I knew I would A) HATE IT and B) Be horrible at it. Base income off my social skills? Ha ha!

Then I remembered a friend of mine (thanks again Melissa!) had mentioned something about working from home, so I asked her about it. And BOOM, she is a medical transcriptionist, works from home, works when she wants, makes great money, and LOVES it. I was like, oooh, tell me more! So she did, and I could not stop thinking about it. I kept thinking, I like medical stuff. I am a super fast typist. I am great at English. And this is a legitimate career, FROM HOME! something I could always fall back on. I remember laying in bed and then getting on the computer in the middle of the night to research this. I looked up the online school she went to, Career Step, read all about it, felt good about it, and signed up! This was last October.

So the website said you could do the schooling in as little as 4 months, though they give you a year to do it, and you can even pay to extend if you want. I honestly thought I would just work really hard and finish in 4 months and be on my way.

Then reality struck! Okay, the schooling was way interesting and the website was very user friendly and I LOVED learning new stuff. I finished the objective part in a month and a half and was like YES I am almost DONE! Then came transcribing 800 practice (but actual) reports. And somewhere in there I got SOOOO SCARED, like what the heck am I doing. It was harder than I thought, and I was like am I cut out for this? Is this going to be worth it??? WHAT am I doing I'm gonna fail! Not to mention I would hear how companies only wanted transcriptionists with experience, which of course- how do you get experience if no one will hire a new grad??!! I was Debbie downer for a couple weeks about the whole thing.

Then I don’t know what changed, but suddenly I just started to feel so good about it again, probably cause I could see the light at the end of the tunnel! Not to mention we got our tax refund which SAVED our LIVES and so the pressure was off of me to finish so fast cause we were taken care of for the next few months. Plus I started to read the Career Step forums a lot, where past and present students post just a TON of info, and it was nice to see people posting stuff about what I was feeling and everything just made me feel better. AND it was obvious that so many jobs were out there and people were getting them right out of school, and, most importantly, SO many people seemed to love what they did. So I made the big push to the finish and YEAH it was hard! And I was so dang nervous for the final, I was like, well let’s see if I learned anything.

So I took it in May and I passed with honors, 1% away from high honors (yes had to throw that in there) and within days I had 4 job offers. I was overwhelmed with what the heck to do, I mean, I knew I wanted part-time, so that eliminated a lot of companies who want new grads to be full-time. Some companies wanted you to work set hours, and while I could probably do that part-time, I really wanted one where I could just get it done throughout the day when I had time. With 4 kids I didn’t know if I could work SET HOURS, unless I did it way late at night. And I’m selfish, I want to play with Nate at night. Anyway it was hard to know if I should just accept a job, or wait to hear back from another company… I just kept applying to companies. The school gave you a list of companies willing to hire new grads, and so it was just easy to go online and either send in a resume and/or an application, and some want you to test with them first to even see if you are any good (And all the tests I took I passed, so I was happy!) But it was while looking up different MT companies (and there are literally HUNDREDS!!!!!!) that really made me see how reputable of a school Career Step is, I’d say half or more that I applied to had a link to Career Step on their website, so you know they think highly of their graduates, and that definitely gave me an in.

So in all, I applied to a total of 12 companies. Got official job offers from 4 of them.

3 of them gave me no response back.

One said I passed their test, but they wanted someone with experience.

One said they did hire new grads but they had no openings.

One told me I just needed to fill out a form and send it back (but they wanted full-time.)

One told me I did well on their test and they want to interview me (still have yet to interview with them though!)

And one told me I passed their initial screening test and to wait for them to email me with advanced testing. No email thus far.

Not bad eh?

I ended up taking a job with the very first company I applied for, one that was NOT on Career Step’s HUGE list of companies. It’s a smaller, local company, right here in Utah. I heard about it from a friend (thanks Lindsey!) and they just seemed so nice and so flexible that I decided to take it.

I started in July, worked for a bit, then had my baby, and although I was allowed 6 weeks off I was too anxious to get going again. I didn't want to forget the things I already learned, plus there's a huge learning curve with MT work, it takes awhile to build up your speed and make the money you want to (like I heard you really make bank after around 2 years of experience). So I started 2 1/2 weeks after having Kaitlyn. And I REALLY like it! Like REALLY! The bad news was that the training pay was next to nothing, mostly cause of how slow I was... okay i'm still slow, but getting better!

But NOW after 3 weeks of working after having Kaitlyn I got a big raise and it makes ALL the difference! Like I am so satisfied with my pay right now, and I know it can only go up from here. I will only get faster, and I have yet to start ER work, which will bring in more money. And I honestly honestly REALLY like transcription work! It is different every day. I know it's important to get done. And it is very interesting. AND I can do it in my pajamas while holding my baby. I love that I can get it done throughout the day when I can. Flexibility is so important to me... when my kids are all in school I know I am going to be like, how on earth did I do it with 4 tiny kids at home... well, sometimes I ask myself that now, which is why I've started to get up early in the mornings before they wake up so I can get the bulk of work done then. I'm still figuring all this out! And I know I just started and am just learning, but I am just so excited to have a job to supplement our income.

And Nate will be getting a raise in September, which will definitely get us out of the hole budget-wise.

I honestly did not think we could make it this far after we lost that income, but somehow we have made it. Thanks again, tax refund. But I do feel very blessed, because we have tried to stay up on our tithing even though this is the first time in my life I have like, gulped and closed my eyes as I hand the money over... but I know that we have been blessed cause of that. Things just fell into place.

Not that I am thinking YAY our money problems are OVER! I know when it comes to finances you just can't plan on stuff working out how you imagine, cause something else always seems to come up (like CAR TROUBLE!!!) But I know this will be a huge blessing to our family.

And that is my HUGE LONG Medical Transcription story. :)

What's happenin in the hood.

Nate's sister Kristin and her husband Tim just moved to Arizona where Tim is going to graduate school. We will miss you guys a bunch!!! The grandkids especially will miss the favorite aunt and uncle!!!! Hope you guys don't fry out there!







We decided to go to the county fair on Saturday. I had actually never been! It was fun!







Look how brave we all are!! Jenna put her hands right out, but Carter was pretty nervous.





Nate's pretty proud of this picture:

Freaky!

Today I actually went grocery shopping... with all 4 kids. I had one of those supersize carts (thanks Liz!), with the 2 seats in front for Jenna and Carter to sit in, Logan was in the front basket, and Kaitlyn was in the main part, with groceries piled all around her. It was kinda funny. And sure enough I got the question from the cashier,

"Are all of those yours?!" And then "They look pretty young...!"

I had to laugh. YEP! All mine!! Aren't i lucky??





I also get the "Wow you sure have your hands full!" comment a lot but you know what, I am lucky. :) I wouldn't change one single thing.

Except for maybe more sleep?

Car Hate Mail

Dear Chevy,

Hey there. It's me. Your driver.

Let's catch up! I'm just wondering how you've been. Wondering if maybe, JUST MAYBE...

YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!!

Seriously, do you LIKE spending so much time at different auto shops????

Do you have something against OUR garage???

Okay okay. Maybe you are just a little bit offended that we are trying to sell you.

I know what you are thinking. What did you ever do to us? After all, you've run GREAT for the last 2 ½ years,

It is true, I have said NOTHING but GOOD things about you the last 2 ½ years. Sure you are older, but you have treated me well.

Even though your exterior paint flies off on really windy days.

But... you do know that we have FOUR kids now. We HAVE to sell SOMEONE and yeah it is YOU, so buck up and be a woman instead of cowering in the corner and BREAKING DOWN like a little BABY.

Yes let's review the trouble you've caused over the last couple weeks.

IT ALL BEGAN with an oil change at Jiffy Lube, you know, gettin you spiffed up to be part of someone else's family.

Not 30 minutes later you DIED! I mean, ya just up and DIED!

We jump started you and you died a couple more times.

I gave you the benefit of the doubt. Surely it was not a big deal.

We headed back to Jiffy Lube to see if JUST MAYBE they bumped something under the hood??? Cause Nate and I know next to nothing about cars???

They checked it out and said, "NO it's the battery, it is dying."

Oh that's all, whew. We bought you a brand new battery! Then while they were at it they tested the AC and filled you up with Freeon cause apparently you needed it. All for the low price of $230!!

Yay we fixed you!!

Nope. Nope we didn't. That became very apparent as the nice man who BOUGHT YOU for 5 minutes was driving away and you died on him. Thanks for THAT one. Gave him his money back and you were once again, in our care. (He was a nice guy!! You would have liked your new home!!!)

Auto Zone told us it was the alternator. Yay I love spending $165 on alternators!!!

Hallelujah we fixed you!!!!

Nope. Sure didn't. That became apparent as we were trying to leave the auto shop. (can we have our old alternator and money back please? No?)

Another auto mechanic told us he highly suspected it was the crankshaft sensor.

Whatever that is, let's fix it! For $157!!!

DID WE DO IT? WERE YOU FIXED! Oh, the SUSPENSE!!

NO, I TELL YOU, YOU WERE NOT FIXED.

No offense but we're ready to bring you to the DUMP!! We are MAD!!! That is why I am using so much BOLD!

Chevy, my dear, I am trying to be understanding. You've had a long life, what 15 years? But couldn't you have just held on a little longer so we could get some good money out of you? COULDN'T YOU????

I hope you're happy. I hope you're happy sitting there at the shop AGAIN. I hope you're happy knowing we have spent so much money NOT fixing you. And it's not over yet.

Thanks a bunch.

LIFE as we know it

Check out these big brown eyes.




I melt everytime I look at this little face. Logan is 17 months old today and his age right now has gotta be one of my favorites. I love his little toddler body running around the house, and the "rustle" noise his diaper makes as he is running. I love hearing him try to talk (he speaks around 10 words of English... the rest is jibber-jabber-Logan-talk). I love how cuddley he is. He's not a momma's boy, he'll cuddle with just about anyone. I don't so much love THIS:

And I don't enjoy that he has learned how to use toys to clobber random people on the head... but I do enjoy watching him give Kaitlyn kisses right on the mouth.


Kaitlyn so far has been a pretty darn good baby. She doesn't cry much... as long as she is being held. :) And the million-dollar question that everybody always asks: How does she sleep at night??!!! The answer iiiisss: Mmmm not so good. But she IS only 3 weeks old. I mean, I can be patient. I'm trying, anyway. Yes the newborn stage has its drawbacks. But there's lots of I love about it. Like her little funny faces she makes in her sleep, and the little squeaky baby dinosaur noises she makes (you know, like Little Foot.) She is focusing on my face more and more and I LOVE it, I'm like, "Why, hello there baby girl!" and she gets all still and stares intently at me with her little brow furrowed like, "Where am I again?" and I'll say "I am your mommy! You are soooo cute! And I love you to pieces!!!" And she will look at me like she is about to grin, and I think, look at us bonding... and right about then she flares her nostrils and poops. :) Seriously things are great here with such a tiny person curled in my lap. I love that she sleeps with her little tongue partially out, like this.


And I LOVE when newborns sleep with their arms up like this.


Jenna loves Kaitlyn so much. She wants to hold her all the time. It's cute.



So yesterday, I had to take a picture of what Jenna and Carter were doing... still not sure what...



I don't know if you can see, but it involved a bunch of masking tape and cooking utensils. Interesting...

And this is one of Carter's FAVORITE things to do. He lines up all the rugs he can find.


He's been saying such funny things lately. He told me the other day that daddy was making SNAKES for dinner!!! (He meant steaks.)

He also tells me all the time, "I like you mom. But I don't like Darth Vader."

One night as we were getting ready to read scriptures he told us that he wanted us to read out of "The book of Jedi."

Another night as we were going to read scriptures he told me he wanted me to tell him the story of "Jesus and the train."

I sadly had to tell him there were no Jesus-train stories.

Which reminds me of something Jenna said the other day, too. We were driving home in the car and it was pouring rain. A few minutes later, it stopped. Jenna tells me from the backseat, "Mom, maybe Jesus said, 'Peace, be still.'"

How cute is that?

And guess what we did today??? Bought a MINIVAN!!!!

Yes, for the past year we have managed to squeeze 3 carseats in a car somehow...

but 4 definitely wasn't gonna fly. So yes even though we had 9 months to get this done we waited until AFTER the baby came to finally become that minivan family.

I think I'm gonna love it!!!

Bear Lake!

So I'd write more but I'm holding a baby and typing one-handed gets old... but here she is my little sweetie pie.

Raarrrr!





I love that baby.

And then last week was a big reunion with my dad's side of the fam at Bear Lake. My parents took Jenna and Carter for the week with them, and then Nate and I took Logan and Kaitlyn up for one day. Bear Lake is awesome!! Shallow beach, warm, soft sand... we had a blast.

And here is my favorite pic from the trip:


Can you see that GIANT mosquito bite???! Poor Carter looked like some species from Star Trek!!!! Nate and I laughed every time we looked at him.



Bear Lake!











Jenna had fun with her cousin... 2nd cousin?? Aiden. Aren't they cute?



Okay i'll do more catch up later!