Military Family Grants for Educational Assistance

Working as a military man is a peripatetic career. While being a military man has its perks—such as being able to see the world and learn real-life experiences outside one’s comfort zone— it could also hinder one from pursuing other interests and most of all, one’s education.

Military spouses also face these challenges just as much as their other halves do—in which case, a portable career is needed and highly recommended. The US military recognizes this fact, thus providing military spouses the right to education and pursue a vibrant career in their own time, and in the comfort of their home. The Military Spouses Career Advancement Accounts or MyCAA program exists because of this.

MyCAA Programs
 

The US Department of Defense put up the MyCAA program for military spouses who want to enroll in a variety of portable career training programs. After all, military spouses are the primary supporters and source of strength and determination of our troops. The program provides up to $4,000 in financial aid to spouses who have met the following eligibility requirements:     

a. Spouses of army, navy, air force and marine service members and reserves who are classified under the E1 to E5, W1 to W2 or O1 to O2 pay grades.

b. Spouses of guards and army reserves who are on active duty

Eligible MYCAA program beneficiaries are required to finish their chosen program within three years of enrolling. They have to note, however, that the funding only applies to associate degrees, certifications and licensure programs.

Using Your Military Education Benefits

Applicants for the MyCAA program have to wait for 15 days at most to learn about the status of their application. To check your eligibility, you can visit this link and submit your profile. If you’ve successfully passed the quick assessment, you can proceed with registering for a MyCAA account.

Career training providers like Meditec.com can help you determine your eligibility and the career training program that suits you. The company’s website website features a form that you need to fill up with your personal details, a dropdown list where you can choose your area of interest as well as the payment options that are convenient to you.

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What the Medical Transcription Working Environment Is Like

The job of a medical transcriptionist is a comfortable job, set in offices found in clinics, doctor's offices, transcription provider headquarters, laboratories, hospitals and the transcriptionist's own humble abode. With the advent of internet technology reconciling the pulls of family life and career, more and more medical transcriptionists are telecommuting from their home offices. These individuals are either fully employed by healthcare management providers and medical institutions or work as subcontractors (work for hire).

What Offices Are Like

Medical transcriptionists work in their own cubicles or work stations in the offices. These workstations are equipped with Windows-based computers (the audio and typing software are usually compatible with Windows operations systems and incompatible with Mac OS) and foot pedals.

Software Requirements

With most offices going paperless nowadays, medical transcriptionists are expected to log their transcriptions in a database or cloud-based computing system. They may also be required to access electronic health records, although this may depend on the type of institution where they work and the rigors of their job.

What are the Health Risks or Trade Off?

As with other office-based occupation, the most common problem of working as a medical transcriptionist is sitting in front of the PC for long periods of time. Workers are likely to experience back or neck strains as well as wrist and hand strains. To prevent these incidences, office ergonomics should be observed. Employers, of course, are responsible for this and should buy ergonomic chairs, tables and PCs to make the work lives of their transcriptionists convenient. They can also do this by consulting an office ergonomics specialist. Self-employed workers can also improve their working conditions by purchasing ergonomic office furniture and computer peripherals.

Click here to read on Things You May Not Know About Medical Transcription

Shift and Work Hours

A typical work week for medical transcriptionists constitute 9 to 5 hours of work daily. They may be required to clock in depending on the attendance policies imposed by their employers on them. Home-based or self-employed medical transcriptionists, on the other hand, may not follow a regular schedule. As for compensation, medical transcriptionists are paid based on a fixed hour rate, per line or volume of output for the day. The turnaround time for most work is whole shift or a maximum of two to three days.



Click here to to read on How Medical Transcriptionists Can Stay Ahead

Working Conditions

The work environment for most medical transcriptionists are quiet, with occasional muzak, muffled chatter and the soft pounding of keys. It is a highly quiet and formal work environment so you can expect to be very productive in it. Unless you work in a busy environment or unless your cubicle is located near the busy areas of hospitals or clinic, then you may have to contend with the noise created by patients and co-workers.

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Three Popular Fields of Computer Training

If you’ve been watching a lot of 30 Rock, you must be familiar with the scene in Season 1, Episode 1 where Liz Lemon gave a hooker a few dollars and told the latter to use the money to “go to computer school.” While it’s interesting to see how being computer illiterate is made fun of in hit TV series, in the real world, many people still lack the right kind of knowledge in using computers and rely on computer training to get their foot right in the door. The case isn’t that complicated, however, for folks who already have an information technology background; some of them may only have to take specialized software and hardware training in PC troubleshooting or networking to bolster their knowledge and career. 

Here are some of the popular training programs taken by both entry-level workers and skilled IT professionals:

1. Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Training

Microsoft office specialist certification training is one of the most in-demand courses that are being offered by Microsoft. Students have the option to learn in an online environment or face-to-face setting, depending on their personal preference. Prior to taking the certification program, students will have to choose their level of certification and where they’d like to take their exam. MOS certification training includes individual training on Microsoft Office Word, Powerpoint, Access, Outlook, Sharepoint, OneNote.

2. CompTIA PC and Network Technician Training

People who have obtained an associate or bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or IT can effectively boost their resumes by getting a CompTIA PC and Network Technician training. This type of training is a perfect complement to a promising IT education and makes a great foundation for a networking/database or PC troubleshooting career track.

CompTIA is one of the best-selling courses of Meditec.com, a premier career training program provider based in the United States. The said certification is one of the most in-demand courses nowadays and big IT companies like Dell, Microsoft and even the Department of National Defense require their employees to have it.

To be able to obtain a certification in this area of computer learning, students would have to pass three exams that cover CompTIA essentials, networking and practical applications. Once they’ve passed, students can receive their certifications right away and be on their way to finding a job in a wide range of industries that include manufacturing, BPO, banking and even the military.  

3. CISCO Certification Training

Cisco joins the ranks of Oracle and other Cisco training types in terms of complexity. Cisco training covers server/network security training that will equip students the knowledge about the fundamental networking concepts as well as information on how to block security threats that could hinder their employers from maximizing day-to-day operations. Students can expect to receive training from practitioners and experts in the field (in a classroom-style or online learning, depending on their preference) and an exam prep. 

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Medical Billing and Coding Salary Expectations: Forecasts for 2013

Medical billing and coding is a fast-rising industry in the United States. As a former cottage industry, medical billing and coding has risen to become one of the most in-demand sectors of the medical field—with the demand far from hitting plateau in the next couple of years. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of medical records and health information technicians—to which medical coders belong—is expected to grow by 21 percent between the year 2010 and 2020. This phenomenon is considered faster than the average for all professions.

The Changing Demand for Medical Biller and Coders

The demand for healthcare professionals—from nurses to transcriptionists—was brought on by an increase in the country’s aging population. Today’s elderly would be requiring more medical treatments and evaluations which could also translate to more insurance claims from private and public entities. Also, with the migration of health records to electronic databases, demand is expected to increase for people who are qualified to work with the health records in these specialized systems. 

One has to note however that the job outlook for healthcare information professionals is better for people who have obtained certifications in the field. If you think about it, the value of certifications is quite indispensable in a global corporate environment. Certifications are proof of the extent of people’s expertise and skills based on established standards.

Salary Information for Medical Coders and Billers

Based on BLS data, the median annual salary for medical billers and coders is $32,350 in 2010. The median annual salary is the rate at which half of the surveyed sample earned higher than the given amount. The other half, needless to say, earned less—with the lowest ten percent of the bracket earning $21,240. The highest earners are those who place on the top ten percent of the income bracket, with over $53,430 earnings in a year.

Finding a Medical Billing and Coding Course Provider

While this rosy forecast seem favorable for aspiring healthcare information professionals, people have to consider that training is pivotal in determining the success of one’s career or in upping one’s chances of getting hired. Thus, healthcare information education is imperative if you’re serious about starting a career in the industry. After all, your training is what’s going to distinguish you from the rest of the candidates for your desired medical billing and coding position—whether in a public or state hospital, a physician’s clinic, or nursing care facility.

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Work at Home Jobs for Healthcare Industry Professionals

Working at home provides people the freedom to work at their own pace and schedule, as well as be able to budget resources wisely. Come to think of it—if you work in an office, you’ll have to wake up early in the morning to prepare and make it to work on time. You’ll also have to set aside an allowance for food and transportation then at work, juggle priorities on your to-do list. On the other hand, you get to manage your own time and make room for more work (and of course, more pay!) at a home office. The only thing or person getting in your way from doing your work efficiently is yourself.

A number of professionals have jumped on the bandwagon following the outsourcing boom. In relation to this, as more global companies and start-up business owners aim to cut down on operational costs, professionals are quick to catch on the work-at-home trend and changing employment landscape. The healthcare industry is no exception from this.

If you’re a seasoned healthcare professional who’s planning on changing career paths, or would simply like to earn money while you stay at home and look out for your kids, here are three exciting career options for you in the home-based medical field:

Medical Transcriptionist

Medical transcriptionists or MT, as they are commonly referred to, are trained healthcare professionals who deal with transcribing a doctor’s voice notes. These notes often cover a patient’s medical history, prescriptions, diagnostic and operative reports. Medical transcription training is essential to aspiring transcriptionists as their everyday work deals heavily with medical jargon. Transcriptionists also utilize specialized audio software and equipment which they’d need training for.

Medical Biller

Medical billers are professionals who process the insurance claims, reimbursements and benefits of patients. Their job also entails them to follow up on the payment of insurance companies for the services administered by a healthcare provider.

While it is not required by law for medical billers to get certified, enrolling in a medical billing course for certifications can help make their lives easier on the job. Besides, with the use of electronic software for documenting health records, it is imperative for medical billers to understand the right codes when looking over a patient’s data. A single mistake can definitely have serious repercussions and can cost the healthcare administrator thousands, if not millions, of dollars.  

Medical Coder

Medical coders are professionals whose primary responsibility is encoding the services delivered by a healthcare provider into the patient’s electronic health record. Thus, it is important for medical coders to enroll in a medical coding course because their job requires them to know the right codes to assign to a patient’s records. These codes may be classified under the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems (ICD) codes, and the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System.

Should you wish to pursue an online healthcare information management profession, visit Meditec for a wide range of medical career training courses on medical billing, medical coding and medical transcription.

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