Protectionism may kill my job

Hollywood Investigator (website) ^ | January 18, 2005 | Pamela B. Maltzman

[pbmaltzman]

PROTECTIONISM MAY KILL MY JOB by Pamela Maltzman, guest contributor. [January 18, 2005]

[HollywoodInvestigator.com] I've been a practicing medical transcriptionist (MT) for over 15 years. I've been self-employed and have mostly worked for the same medical transcription service for nearly eight years. I got trained on the job at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, a major teaching hospital in Southern California. They had an experimental MT teaching program for one year only. I'd gotten bits of experience at other businesses (one of which was truly shoddy), but I managed to test for, compete, and win a position as a trainee. Most MTs I've known over the years were also trained on the job.

The American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT), started a couple of decades ago by Claudia Tessier, has offered a certification test (Certified Medical Transcriptionist, or CMT) for some time now as a voluntary program. They've been trying to persuade MTs that this credential is either necessary or a good thing, and that employers should offer more money for having obtained it. I've not bothered to get any credentialing because it has not seemed necessary. Most MTs I know are not credentialed. (excerpted)

[pbmaltzman]

I guess I am one of a very few pro-freemarket medical transcriptionists out there; however, I figure that of the approximately 92,500 medical transcriptionists who are not AAMT members, there are at least a few others who do not relish the AAMT taking over this occupation. I have been writing letters to the editor, among other things. This rant, surprisingly (to me, anyway) was picked up by EnterStageRight.com as an off-site article.