I discovered the world of Medical Transcription quite by accident. Someone else mentioned that she thought I would like to do what her friend did – medical transcription from home. I have always been interested in anything medical, so I did some research and enrolled in Central Arizona College’s medical transcription 2 year certificate course. I loved my classes, although they were challenging since I had no previous medical experience. My instructors were phenomenal! After graduation I was able to obtain a job working from home for a transcription company. It was then that I discovered the real working world was vastly different from the school world! During my adjustment to reality, I discovered that AHDI had a mentoring program, pairing experienced medical transcriptionists with beginning transcriptionists. I applied for that program and received a great mentor who met with me over the telephone once a week, and from her I received invaluable information, answers, and tons of encouragement. Also through my mentor and the AHDI online communication publications that I received, I discovered Webinars, regional symposiums, area conventions, and national conventions. AHDI and AHDI-West then became my source of career information.

I attended the VOTS symposium held in Phoenix, Arizona last fall where I actually met my mentor face-to-face for the first time. I also met many wonderful people in this business. I attended lectures on a variety of topics and learned so much.

I then heard about the Phoenix Rising Convention being held in May. I attended and was totally enthralled and “blown away” by the whole event; by the lectures I attended, by the informational seminars given, by the wonderful fellow medical transcription professionals that I met, by the vendors present, by the positive attitudes of others, and the encouragement I was surrounded by. My roommate was a wealth of information, sharing with me all kinds of information about the transcription business. My mentor introduced me to many wonderful people involved in helping to run AHDI and AHDI-West. I was able to help with this convention in ways that helped me to meet others and establish some relationships. Needless to say, I came away from that convention feeling that I was indeed an important part of the healthcare industry, important to the physicians and medical specialists, and especially important to the patient. I am not just some isolated person out there typing endlessly for hours. I am part of an important medical profession that is coming into the healthcare limelight, and our voices will be united and will be heard!

I also came away from that convention with some personal goals: To keep learning from others, to keep improving my skills, and to aid the public in becoming aware of healthcare as something that they own! I have put together a presentation teaching the public on what your medical record is, why you need to know what is in it, you have a right to your records, what to take with you on national and international trips, how to carry documentation of your blood type and medications, and other valuable medical information necessary in emergencies. I have a speaking engagement set in early fall for the local Soroptimist group and am looking for other groups to speak to. My new slogan: “It’s all about education, personal and public!”

FYI: Susan’s mentor is Kat King and her roommate, believe it or not, was Terry Naleway!! Susan is an amazing artist and is completing the Med-Line School RMT Study Group. We wish her great success when she sits for that exam.