Start another career at 50? You’ve GOT to be kidding!!!
Here is another testimonial and wonderful story that really caught our attention. We are honored to be so well thought of and wanted to share with you. Here is Ruth’s story….
ME??? Start another career at 50? You’ve GOT to be kidding!!!
But I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I have always been fascinated by the medical field but never wanted to be a nurse or a doctor. I had settled into another field that was fun, helped pay the bills and was satisfying. Then I became a grandma! And suddenly, I didn’t want to leave my home every morning just in case I would have an opportunity to visit with my children and grandchildren. None of them live close so when they did come home, I wanted to be able to be around. Kind of a crazy reason to change careers, but I figured that if I found something to do from home, it would certainly get me closer to being able to be around when they did come home – kind of allow me more flexibility. So I started to research the big world of Medical Transcription – or now, Medical Language Specialists!
My online research led me to quite a few places but none really seemed to offer wide opportunities in quite the same way as TRSi, now known as AHDPGTM. I decided one evening, after talking with my husband, to give their online screening assessment a try. It seemed relatively easy – nothing too difficult to manage. I received a contact phone call back from TRSi in quite short order and they answered a lot of questions that were weighing on me. I was mainly drawn by the completeness of their curriculum – they cover every major area of the medical field giving an advantage in your marketability to be able to transcribe a variety of report types. I would learn later that the curriculum would prepare me well to handle a variety of report types and allow me an advantage when looking for work. In no time at all, I had a packet in the mail and had made my decision to begin the on-line training.
Then the work really began! Because I still was working full time, I was working in the evenings to do my classwork and would often feel just a bit overwhelmed. But then, my instructor would encourage me and give me the incentive to keep going. After 15 long months (I did get a 3-month extension due to some extended family situations) I was done! I had done better than I thought I would do and was looking forward to sending out a resume and getting started. But, even though my training was excellent, it didn’t automatically get me a job. I sent out a few resumes but because places were ‘downsizing’ I found myself at a dead end. I still had my full-time job and kept at it and wondered what I would do with my training.
About a year after I had completed my training, I was contacted by AHDPGTM and asked if I was interested in their Externship program. I was given an opportunity to take the test to see if I qualified, and once I got over the ‘jitters’ of taking more tests (at 50+, tests aren’t so easy anymore!), I was able to relax and work through the test, meeting the criteria to join the externship program.
The externship program was an incredible experience. It helped that I had great mentors working with me, but it was so different to actually be transcribing an actual report instead of a ‘pseudo-report’. I had my days when I wondered if I would ever get through a report where the doctor talked like he was being chased by a mad bull, or one that sounded like Count Dracula (on Halloween night no less, all alone in my house that creaks and groans!). I would despair at ever getting the spelling right on a medicine or spending time pouring through my dictionary to try and find a term that the doctor was dictating. But in the end, with the help and encouragement of my supervisor, I was able to complete the 90 days of the externship program.
I took the step of applying to become full-time in March 2011 and was accepted as part of the AHDPGTM family. I am privileged to work for a great company who has given me the opportunity to ‘start over’ at 50+ years of age. I love being able to walk to my office at home to work, and yes, I even have been able to enjoy my grandchildren when they come to visit – much better than having to walk out the front door every morning.
I have learned so very much and have so very much more to learn but AHDPGTM has given me the chance to develop a second career, one that I know I can enjoy for a long time if I continue to apply myself and continue to learn.
Ruth J., MLS, Roseburg, Oregon
