Go on any medical transcription forum and you will find a war raging about medical transcription schools. The common opinion among the most vociferous is that there are only two choices one should make and no other school or program is worthy of consideration.

These are some of the more painful tips. Nobody, but nobody, ever believes these, either. (Like everybody thinks they're "working" the whole time they're plopped in that chair.)

Those of you who know me can predict what I'm going to preach about next, can't you? Typing without errors.

Graduating from a medical transcription school sets off the next anxiety - how to get that first job. Linda Andrews, CMT (owner of Andrews School), gives advice.

As technology allows for more and more workers to telecommute, issues and questions are raised about the virtual work environment. For many in the medical transcription industry, these issues are well-known; medical transcription has been a popular work-at-home job for over a decade. For transcriptionists, managing work and family, maintaining visibility in the work force, and dealing with isolation are well-known side effects of telecommuting. Because of its early entry into the telecommuting space, medical transcription has attracted mostly women interested in working at home so they can be with their families. The career has long been - and remains - one of the few legitimate work-at-home opportunities. This has attracted many hopefuls, some with unrealistic expectations. Participation in a social forum that specifically targets the medical transcription industry can provide much-needed information, as well as social interaction.

homophone: one or more words that sound alike but do not share the same meaning or spelling

Metric Equivalents for medical transcription; guide for medical transcriptionists.

Following is a compilation of posts from MT Chat under the topic Exploring Productivity-Redpen's Exercises. This is one of the most-accessed threads at MT Chat. The pertinent portions of the post have been extracted here for easier searching and reading. Note: The user named Redpen at MTChat is an instructor at Andrews School.