Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!

I can't think of any title for this post. I couldn't believe I've been quiet for so long. I haven't wrote anything in the past months. Gosh! I miss this.

Like I always said, blogging is one way of expressing myself, what I feel, what I think about this and that. I am so not into social web past months. I have been very busy plus there were trips outside the country.

The first trip was for fun. Trip was all about spending time with friends. Friends back at the university. Everyone else was busy with these and that and getting out of the country was one way to get me and friends really spend hours talking, walking, eating together and etc...

Then I decided to quit on my job. I got this new job and moved out of Davao, went to Manila, now in Sucat, Paranaque doing medical billing. Like I always expected. Getting yourself into something new is never easy. This was my thought when I first got this job offer in February. I know that I am used to things within MTC and now if I will accept the offer, I will definitely have to start from the beginning.

Life goes on. Life is never easy. I'm happy though. Keep smiling.

Working Holidays

I miss this part of me. I miss writing relentlessly not minding my grammar and I just want to blurt it out like I used to. I do not care if you get to understand everything or you don't.

I thought I was lucky to get this deal. Change that, I am happy to get that deal but not to the extent that I am gonna be working for the holidays. Or should I consider that it is part of that deal? So alright, I was just not ready to change my sleeping habits to something like a vampire or creature of the night.

I got myself into this so I would to stay and endure it. Even if I was told put my hands off the project, I can not turn my back on it. I need this done and I will be part of it even if I don't do it 100% because some people placed their trust on my leadership.

Great! Life sucks and who wouldn't know it doesn't. Surprises and surprises...and I am pretty sure there's more to come.

It's not a One Man Show

A team is never going to be a one man show. It is either a group of two or more. I just don't get it when others don't want to be part of the team and yet they have to be because in a way the company is paying them monthly so I guess they don't have choice. They've got to participate.

What happened?

A local tv reporter showed up, asking if he can interview someone who is knowledgeable enough regarding how medical transcription is done. I could have done it but I am not a medical transcriptionist, I know the industry but I have not tried doing it so I should have set it up with a real person doing the job. Let us give justice to what is being reported on tv, words should come out from the person who can give the truth on what and how medical transcription is done. I could have do it, I'm a marketing personnel I can make up stories, that's what all other people think of people in sales but I am not going to increase sales in a way that I am fooling and giving false information to possible prospects.

In any way you look at it, it's a business opportunity to increase awareness and it's free. The company won't have to spend anything on that interview. What sucks the most is that the employees running the company, who somehow promised to help this company rise is not at all cooperating. Alright, they don't like to be on tv, I respect that. Can they just think of what to answer before you eventually say what's on your mind?

Yes, this is a rant. Tomorrow this rant will change. Yes, you can answer me back but like you do, you simply just say what your first answer was not thinking that it could have helped the company progress.

Rainy Road Trip

It is supposed to be Sunday and I am supposed to be sleeping all day and watching TV but I got work to do. We, at MTC Academy, was invited to participate on a Jobs Fair at Digos City. We represented the ICT, Business and Medical Transcriptions and what are the jobs available for this sector. We love Digos because of it's yummy Rice Cake, Puto with Dinuguan and the Sotanghon.

As part of the marketing job that I am to do, I don't have a choice and since the only way to generate awareness and to continue the advocacy, even if it is Sunday I got to go there. I love to travel no matter how boring it is and for whatever is the purpose.

When we got to Digos, the weather seems to hate me and my boss, Wit Holganza, for it rained heavily and really not a good time for people to go to Jobs Fair. What we did, we bought handicrafts and green mangoes and of course, we hop in to the Agri Fair of the city to check on what's being displayed.

Promises are not Made to be Broken

I have been recruiting transcriptionist to do some outsourced work for me since I can not do it all on my own. The agreement was just verbal since they were a graduate of the school I am working with. Doing transcription jobs is part time for me. I don't do medical transcriptions because according Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( HIPAA 1996), recorded medical files are confidential and it requires a thorough editing and proofreading job. For some, they do it as a stay-at-home job but still I would like the quality over quantity. It doesn't matter if it pays a lot more than general or business transcriptions, what matter is I am able to deliver a quality service to the client.

Again, going back to the agreement made last week, I was happy to know that I got eight files and I only need 3-4 transcriptionists that can type fast, has a computer and internet at home and the attitude that once they accepted the agreement they would do their part of the deal. It turned out to be the other way around. I was left doing all the eight files and now I have another 7 files to finish until tomorrow.

I know we did not sign any papers on this. Trust doesn't have to begin with signing a paper, it starts with the word, YES.

Transcription for Employees Who are Stressed-Out from Too Much Multi-Tasking

SUBJECTIVE: 27-year-old Asian female ambulatory to clinic in no acute distress. Complaining of back pain. She wanted to apply for another job but failed to follow up on all her applications to other companies. She also complains of recurrent problems with constipation, especially over the last two weeks. She has been using Immodium. This tends to give her runny stools for a day and then she has constipation again the next day. This was not helpful. Social: She is a nonsmoker. Family history: His father does have some mild arthritis and also has hypertension and heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: She is a well-nourished, well-developed, Asian female in no acute distress. She appears somewhat sad and tearful. HEENT: Tympanic membranes were clear bilaterally. Throat was clear. Neck was supple. Lungs: Clear to auscultation. Cardiovascular: Regular rate and rhythm without murmur. Abdomen: Soft and diffusely tender to a mild degree.

ASSESSMENT:
1. Stressed out.
2. Not happy.
3. Constipation.
4. Needs a new job.

PLAN:
1. Go out this Saturday.
2. Do whatever you want to do
3. Follow up previous job applications with employers.
4. Try your luck to more companies.

Let's Make Up Some Numbers

The medical transcription industry is currently suffering from lack of skilled medical transcriptionist to do the job. Although the work does not require you have a medical background, most people think that way. Filipinos think that you need to type fast in order to do the job. They also think that since computer lessons were not taught to them when they were in college, the job is only for the young generation.

In the book of 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell, one of the characteristics a person should have is Positive Attitude. If you believe you can, you can.

In the industry I am in, the medical transcription industry, it is not about the guts to learn how to type or if I am required to go back to a training school, it is about earning for a living. In this industry there is no discrimination, no age limit, irregardless of what is your educational background, you can be hired. If you know how to speak and write in English, teachable, committed and a person who wants to earn big in less than 5 years as a home-based medical transcriptionist.

Let us make up some numbers here. We mumble on there is no work available for us, government is not doing their part. Ask yourself, do I need to change? I would love to hear your side. Leave your comments.

Are You A Marketing Assistant that Needs HELP?

I am on my first year with MTC Academy and I never thought I can work this long in a company where details are very important. In my position there are a lot of details.

From the very beginning I started I already admitted I NEED HELP on this. I go through books and articles to keep my mind awake and alive on what to do and how to do it. Especially when I need to build a brand and keeping that brand in the minds of clients and prospects. Then my next job is if it's on the minds of the clients I need to keep the MTC brand on the clients top list. So that's how the story will go and will still go on and on, repeating everything and adjusting everything I have done and embracing a new idea on how it should be done.

Are you a marketing assistant the needs help? One website that I like reading the most is blogs.bnet.com. They got a lot of articles for different topics and I have an idea that these people that who's writing on bnet are mostly marketing people.

Bnet people led me to another website where I got this new idea of Interactive Marketing from IMediaconnection.com. Clients and prospects love it when they get to try it. Done are the days of orienting people, but don't just push that behind, it is the era wherein people would like to try the product hands on. What is your industry? Do you want to share about it? Leave a comment

REPOST from my other blog

As a child, Honey Baula, wanted to be a doctor. At 18 and in her pre-medicine year, everything went from bright to bleak in just one stroke. She lost her sight.

For more than 10 years she stayed at home and lived an uncomplicated life, putting dreams of a career at the back of his head. Forgetting everything she ever think of. But things changed, and now she is looking forward to being in the medical field that she so desired, as a medical transcriptionist.

In September 2006, a newspaper report on computer training for visually impaired persons in Davao City caught the attention of her mother. She submitted herself for an assessment for the computer training. She even explained that when she was in the bus, she can feel freedom.

She heard on T.V. of a medical transcriptionist who is blind since birth and was able to work like a normal MT. One day, while walking inside Gaisano Mall of Davao, Flong (Honey's sighted guide) MTC Academy who participated on a Jobs Fair. Ever since, Honey was in and out of MTC Academy inquiring about recent updates and if she can be enrolled.

Finally, February 5, 2007, she was an official student of MTC Academy. Everything and everyone was inspired with Honey's determination and persistence.

Honey gave series of talks to media, group of teachers who are involved in guiding multiple handicapped students from different schools.

Here's what Honey Baula can say:




(from left to right: Mom Estrella, Honey Baula, Wit Holganza, Blogie Robillo)

A CHANCE TO BELONG

We may not make the right choices, but fate can sometimes be ironic

I once lived in a world full of sunshine where colors were a sight to behold. I took it all for granted; I never basked in the glory of wonders that surrounded me. When I was still young, I had high hopes and life was still worth living. Trials come and go, and when it came into my life, my bright future dimmed, the brightness that showered upon my world turned into complete darkness. I felt alone, helpless, and vulnerable. I was afraid, confused, and depressed. Worry, doubt, fear and despair – all these things were on my shoulders and turned my spirit to dust. Then, like a virus, all that I felt turned into anger, anger that was eating me up inside. But we all have choices to make; sometimes trivial, or choices that can turn our life around, be it for better or worse. Even as the anger kept growing, I chose to make my life better. I could have stayed home, be alone, and be dependent on my parents for all my needs, or I can simply go out and see the world at my perspective.

I may have lost one thing, but I gained many. I made more friends than before, I learned how to play the keyboard, and was once the church organist at our local congregation. I also learned how to play the guitar. I learned how to bake cakes and pastries and was able to make a small business out of it. I fought against darkness, darkness ruled over me for a time, but it’s not going to get me the second time around. But no matter how I tried to gain back the world, something is lacking. How many like me are still out there, what are they doing right now, are they enjoying the same opportunities I’m having right now, do they also want to make something out of their lives, are they making the same choices as I am, to just sit around and wait for the world to end or go out and seize the day. (SPED to RBI to MTC)

At first, it was all of personal reason and interest, but as time passes by, a vision began to mold, a vision to reach out for the others like me and be men for others, a vision to be of service to the visually impaired. Today, I have found a niche in the society, a chance to belong in the society, in the community. I may be visually impaired but I am normal. I am human. I am a person.There are lepers. There are differently disabled persons. There are mentally challenged people. But they are all human. We are blind, but we are also human. We are persons of feelings and emotions. We feel pain, anger, and we get hurt too. We are people, and we also belong in the society, but we doubt if society embraces our presence. We may not be able to see or hear it, but we can feel the cold stares of strangers. In the world of technology and advances in other fields of endeavor, discrimination is very much felt. We do not want that. You do not want that either. But nobody is taking actions. We only act when it happens to us, to our love ones, to those near us. Why don’t we all act now. Let’s act now.

By placing Special Education program in your school, you are not only educating the visually impaired, but you are also embracing them as one of us. Through this valuable program, you are breaking the chains of discrimination that unconsciously ails our society. You are giving each and everyone a chance to belong, a chance to let them do the things they couldn’t do before, a chance to meet challenges by themselves, and the greatest chance to live life to the fullest. You are also giving them a chance to say “I did this, I did that, and I did this all by myself”. Thanks to the loving support of my family and the Special Education program (SPED), I was able to meet all these opportunities. Because of this program, they turn my disability into an ability. The success of this program will not and cannot be measured by its monetary value and cost, but by how many visually impaired friends and persons we have embraced in our family and in our society. You are giving them a chance to live life as they want it, a chance to coexist in the society, and a chance to love and to be loved. Give them this chance. Abled or differently abled, I know that there is in every persons’ heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement of stars and star-like things, the challenges of events, the childlike appetite for what is next, and the joy of the game of living.

I want to give a big shout out, with much love and respect to RBI, MTC Academy.

This is the kind of life God wants me to have. This is what he wants me to be, and this is where he wants me to be. And I thank him for that. We are all as young as our faith, as old as our doubt. As young as our self-confidence, as old as our fear. As young as our hope, and as old as our despair. As I continue to move forward, and as you start your journey by giving the visually impaired a chance to belong, let us all walk with God by faith and not by sight.

Again, I am Honey Baula, with pride and without shame, I can tell everybody that I am visually impaired. We could make it, if we try.

Hope in Darkness

Dear Readers,

Good day!

I'm Hunee Royo, employed and doing the position as a Marketing Assistant of MTC Academy Davao. From the start I know I can do my job, and I thought it will be easy. I've strive as much as I could to turn enrollment numbers up but it wasn't the way I wanted it to be.

I've met Honey Baula when I was manning our booth at a Job Fair at Gaisano Mall of Davao. Honey Baula is a visually impaired person. She had accident that's why she got blind. At first, I didn't thought she was blind because I was taught blind people could not blink their eyes. She asked me if she can be a medical transcriptionist despite the fact that she's blind. I could not say any comment. I don't want to hurt her feeling so I pretend and say OK.

Months has passed, and Honey continuously visit our office and ask for updates. Sooner she was put into a test if our software will work for her. She would be in the office early and waited for her time to get into the office.

I thought 2007 was an unhappy year because I almost quited on my job and would want to look for another one. A few days after she enrolled.

From day 1, I got no disability, but I keep mumbling about something that I can do, and that I can do that everyday. Here's Honey Baula, she's doing all she can do to live normal.

I'm trying to address the message to all that can see, if Honey was able to see hope in medical transcription why not others. Is it because we need to be blind to be able to realize that we are lucky?

This proves that in medical transcription, the playing field is even.

Selling the Idea? How?

How do you define IDEA? Is it something that is in our mind, and we thought this could help us. Perhaps if this thing exist then it'll make things easy for us, we can do a lot of work load if this is present right now. How do we make the idea into reality?

In the case of a service company, how would you know their service is great if you don't try them out. How would you sell the idea then? They don't see your product, how to make them believe that is good for you. You make make money out of it. You can bring down your expenses with this. You can double your money in this one.

Everyday is marketing day. A simple decision on what to wear is a marketing work. How to tell your mom that you are gonna be late because you have an assignment and you would be spending a lot of time inside the library is another marketing work.

Almost everyone I knew does not like my job. I sell an idea that those who would want to change career, take up medical transcription course and after two years you go home base and earn more.

Honestly, it is difficult. I love what I do and this is a dream job although I don't have any background on what I'm trying to sell. Since I love it, I got to learn it on my own. Selling this idea starts from loving your job, self study, dedication and persistence, and continously talk to one person and another. See it's simple.

Technopreneurship for Medical Transcription

Wednesday, June 20th, Ateneo de Davao University. Memorandum of Agreement signed by MICT 6, Davao City Chamber of Commerce, Inc., and Mindanao Business Club at the 7th floor boardroom of AdDU. It was my first time to attend such meeting of Technokapihan. They were talking about an elective subject in schools like Ateneo, UM, SPC and others, and that subject is Technopreneurship. It seems to me all these schools are universities and colleges and there is no tech-voc school included in it.

In MTC Academy Davao, we always do an Entrepreneurship Seminar for those who wanted to put up a business in medical transcription. Good thing Mrs. Wit Holganza, President of Transcription Alliance of Davao, Inc., raised the question if its possible to have a Technopreneurship subject also with the tech-voc school. It could be a great deal for those who are starting home based medical transcription, and it'll widen the awareness of what is medical transcription. Students from different universities can make softwares for medical transcription. Isn't it great? Wow! People of different sector in Davao are working hand in hand to make a mark for Davao.

Mr. Blogie Robillo was there, a representative of PESO (Philippine Emerging Startups Open) was there also. These people dedicated themselves to technology on how to bring up the enthusiam to make business because they believe everyone has an idea and that idea should be made real for others to benefit also.

I never knew it would come this way for Davao. One advocacy that I told myself is to at least make the Davao graduates stay in Davao instead of going some place else.

I Say Walk The Talk

I've read an article on the I.T. Talks by Blogie Robillo, and it make me wanna shout out and make this post.

Is Davao really prepared for this sudden influx of BPO? Do we have necessary manpower, particularly in the case of medical transcription? Transkripsyo, Inc., is a medical transcription company and we all know this kind of profession is doing medical documents which needs a couple of months of training, even for a medical background professional or allied medical professional. If it's gonna be call center industry then we don't have a problem with manpower. If it's going to be medical transcription then we need to have a lot of graduates of basic medical transcription course.

It is not surprising that Manila is now looking at Davao as an option. If you would also take a glance at the current population, all schools are offering allied medical courses, one example is the nursing course. It will not be impossible that all school will soon integrate basic medical transcription subjects into their curriculum. Not only that, computer related courses, it can also be integrated to their curriculum.

MTC Academy's main branch is already doing the school integration program, wherein the basic medical transcription course with the current curriculum of the school will be integrated so that a student will graduate with a certificate competency from the basic medical transcription course and a diploma from the 4 or 5 year course she or he took up.

As part of MTC, you would be asking why are we doing it? Yeah...yeah...money making is part of it but we need to WALK THE TALK. Transcription companies currently have a contract abroad to do medical transcriptions for them, if we can't be producing quality graduates of the basic medical transcription course then we can't produce transcriptions for clients and we'll lose our contracts.

In Blogie's article, the way I understand it, everyone needs to participate. Why I'm making the MTC Academy School Integration Program an example because for an industry or a company to bring up its name to the nation and to the world, it needs to start from the core. Like what Blogie is doing, never giving up on the idea, even though there are issues to be resolved. Davao has a lot to offer, and if it's just gonna be Blogie's job to tell the world that then no one will ever notice Davao. If we are all there and participate, then that idea would not be just an idea but am empire where Davao can be proud of.

(I hope I make sense)

Medical Transcription "CAREER AND JOB FAIR"

Transcription Alliance of Davao, Inc. (TADI) has formed a "Career and Job Fair" for Medical Transcriptionist (MT) who are either experienced MT or new graduate MTs.

TADI was organized last January of 2007, headed by the President of MTC Academy Davao, Ms. Wit Holganza, is an organization focused on developing the industry of transcription and thus making Davao BPO destination of investors.

The Career and Job Fair will happen at MTC Academy Davao at E. Quirino Ave. (fronting Tower Inn), Davao City. It will be on June 16, 2007, with the participation of local medical transcription companies.

Call 222-6822 and look for Michelle or Hunee for more details.