I didn't know there was an associate degree for
Posted By: MT...sm on 2006-10-11
In Reply to: Thanks sm! Do you know.. - Amanda
Guess we do learn something new every day. How long did it take you to get this degree in MT? Did you go to college or tech school? If you have an associates degree in MT, you should be overloaded with job offers, I'd think...
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Associate's Degree in Medical Secretarial Science - sm
2-year program with emphasis on transcription. Terrific - wouldn't have learned it any other way. Taught me to be a good MT - not these quick-fix on-line programs where everyone things they can early a huge salary as soon as they are done.
I use ASS for associate...
I have several docs that always say "consultation with GI, Dr. Pooh Bear and associate" and when I am in a hurry, I get the A and the I turned around.
I sometimes have trouble when I am typing a regular e-mail because of all the "shorthand" I have for working. I just type a w for with, wh for which and I find I do that when I'm not working as well.
You are a Business Associate...sm
and as such, it is appropriate to trust you with this material. It's like the clerk at the bank seeing your account number on your deposit check and seeing your account balance when she deposits your check. You are within the system, processing information appropriately. No HIPAA violation there plus patient identification is there for accurate record keeping. Would you rather have them guessing between S. Smithes or seeing which one lived at which address with with DOB?
Why? Do you associate them with elderly women? sm
The hot names today, Ashley, Brittany,Taylor, etc., will one day be associated with old, overweight women and thus be considered ugly, elderly names. Better to stick with classics like Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah.
It's not the name that matters. It is who you associate with a name that makes it beautiful
:+
U wouldn't associate with Paul McCartney?
He's a major pothead, ya know!
Does this mean you don't have a business associate contract/agreement in place with your doctors
nm
Associate in Applied Medical Science, Bachelor's in Liberal arts with emphasis on Psychology
and looking for a way to get out of MT before voice rec takes over!
Kids are grown and gone and I no longer need to be home all day. The cats don't need as much supervision as the kids did.
I get this to a certain degree also (sm)
It usually happens after quite a while of typing, and usually only when it is a little cold in the house, but I think it happens in warmer weather too. Mine doesn't sound as bad as yours though. It always resolves fairly quickly, does yours? I haven't had to wear gloves (yet). Let me know what you find out, if anything. I have always attributed it to poor circulation because my hands and feet seem to get cold easily, but I suppose it could be something else as well.
Sorry I didn't have any words of wisdom, just wanted to let you know that this happens to others as well and you are not alone!
Do you have a college degree, and in what?
I know there are MTs out there who have Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees. According to other posters, those of us with higher education who choose to do MT are pitiful.
what online degree are you looking at
.
However, a lot of people think getting a degree
is like getting an automatic ticket to an entirely different life with better job opportunities, more money, and career satisfaction. I thought that, too. Things have drastically changed out there, though. More and more people have degrees, so the competition is fierce. They're willing to work for less money, too, just to have A job, any job.
Also, minimum wage went up but middle wages didn't, cost of living went up, and wages have actually gone down in other industries besides MT due to offshoring.
I guess I'm just in an "if I knew then what I know now" mood. LOL None of my siblings went to college, and they're better off than I am. They make way more money than I do and don't have that monthly payment to make.
I love writing, too. Have you done any freelance writing or editing? If you get some clips built up, you might be able to break in based on talent instead of having a degree. With that specific career field in mind, it might be worth it for you to get a degree. I don't know how much competition there is in that field right now.
Bachelor's Degree
I have a BS in Communications 1990 with some graduate work. I worked as an instructor in a college doing medical assiting job placement and then I just kind of fell into transcription when my daughter was born in 1998.
PAs have at the very least a Bachelor's Degree ..
correct??
I think it's a 2 year degree (sm)
I looked into this also, but I think the pay is really low, like $7.50 an hour.
With your degree, there are a lot of things you could do.
This is only my opinion, so follow your yeart. As all the other posters have said, this is not an easy business to get into. Although many have done PT with young children, I could not have done it without help. My baby had special needs, though. When you consider working at home, the key word is "working". This job takes concentration and long hours at the keyboard. With many jobs you work a shift. My hours have been flexible, but you have deadlines, and you cannot always just stop to take care of your baby. My baby needed lots of attention. I was lucky in that my mom and mother-in-law kept her when I could not. I never tried to do transcription unless she was asleep or my husband was home. With a business administration degree, however, I think you would have a lot of options in starting your own business. Many people have done well with ideas they came up with themselves. I now do MT full-time now, but have other part-time home businesses that I am involved with as well.
Agree to a degree
I do agree to a degree but I do know that I have my clients basically because I do not balk at doing tapes and am agreeable to do them and accept them. Once they used me then they saw my quality but if I were to tell them it was digital or nothing, they would go somewhere that would come and pick up the tapes, that is medium that they wish to use. And if I pressed the point, I would be without 60K a year.
Eh, I am going ahead with the BS degree.
I can always take electives for x-ray tech. This program has a lot of identical courses, so it would not be hard to switch to another discipline like x-ray. X-ray pays less, but either of these careers is more than what we get as MTs these days... and in 18 months from now, hospitals and clinics will still need on site techs like this, unlike transcription which can unfortunately go poof gone any day now. It's going to be hard, but I am going for it...gotta get out of this business I am sad to say of Mting.
Might be something like a right-angled something-degree scope..nm
s
What are you planning to do with the psych degree?
x
How many jobs are out there (without a college degree) that actually pay this well? NM
A year???? Is that possible? What sort of degree is it? - nm
x
There are plenty more jobs if you have a degree
I live in Atlanta. If you go to craigslist.org right now and look under the admin. jobs section...there are dozens of jobs that pay 50,000 or more if you have a degree...in anything.
There are many jobs in many different fields that pay well. In many many cases, they just want the person to have a degree, it doesn't matter in what. The ad just says...must have a bachelor's degree.
I'm currently an MT and will graduate in May with a degree in Psychology. I intend to apply for some of those 50,000+ administrative jobs and feel very confident that I will get one.
There's still going to be some prerequisite degree you'll need before you do this. nm
s
I have a friend who did that, and the 2-year degree I don't think
has the salary range I am looking into. A master's degree may be a bit much, but I really have not seriously considered it. Maybe that is another thing I can speak with the counselor about. Thanks. :)
The cat story...that would be a good thing to not have to deal with, lol.
It will definitely be a challenge doing all this with the kids, but on the plus side, I am still young. I do have that advantage. So, are you doing the 2-year program or going to be a PT? Good luck on your application. :)
So true! Nowadays a B.S. Degree is just that --
hee
I believe you are my QA headache -- English degree -- uh la la nm
n
I'm aware of where this degree could lead - sm
I worked in the HIM dept of a hospital at the beginning of my 10 years in this field, so I know what position this degree could put me in. I also know that just the fact of having a degree is more than just being an MT and it will give me advantages than I currently have.
I do feel like this is almost a lost cause and that the MT industry is reaching the point of no return (or has already). I currently work for a fairly small transcription company and I am very thankful for the work that I have, even though I don't get paid what I would like, but I do have plenty of work and it is getting me by. I chose to go back to school because I don't want everything to turn upside down and I have nothing to fall back on. I wish all the best for the MT industry and if things do turn around I would never leave it, but I don't think that will be the case.
how often do you see ANY degree designations on credits? nm
x
Associates degree is not in different field.
Sorry if I wasn't clear in last post. There is only 1 hospital in my area, so there are not many jobs in the medical field where I live period. I went to school for 2 years and got an associates in Medical Administrative Specialist, which included 4 semesters of transcription courses (2 years worth). So, I have 5 years experience and an associates degree, but have been offered the same pay (7.5 cpl or lower usually) as those with 2 years experience and no degree. How does that seem well compensated?
2-year degree not valued . . .
That was what I was getting at. In a lot of other fields, a bachelor's degree will get you paid more than someone with an associates in the same. My thoughts (when entering school - and what the school told me) was that I would get paid more by having an associates instead of just a certificate. That is where my frustrating comes in. I wish I would have paid for a 4 month course instead of wasting money on a degree that hasn't gotten me anything more than a certificate would have. That was where I was going. I do not think I am well compensated only in that I wish I were getting paid more for having more education.
Do you have a bachelor's degree? I've thought about
but the lack of a bachelor's degree is really the main weeding-out tool/stumbling block for me, darn it. I didn't realize it was such a major requirement for this type of job too ... as far as http://www.fdch.com goes, anyway. I thought maybe not having experience in court reporting/CAT machine transcription would be the breaker, actually.
Interesting, but.... (sigh)
Currently working on bachelors degree in Psychology
:)
BA in psychology. Interesting how many of us have a psych degree.
nm
In the US, a business degree generally means an MBA...
That's a pretty good education, unless, of course, "business degree" means something different in India.
My own cousin, an op room RN with a Masters degree tried
and failed at MT. She asked me for advice before starting, but didn't take me seriously when I told her that there was more to it than she thought. But she tried and tested, and just couldn't get hired. Her mother, who is my mother's sister-in-law, was talking to my mom one day, and she said, "Geez, if your daughter can do it, surely mine can! She's a nurse!"
Well, hers couldn't.
Nice, Aunt, huh?
What do you need a Master's Degree in to be a science writer?
?
33, Medical Secretary Degree, graduated in 1999
nm
too stupid to post on a board that i have a college degree and am going to be an MD?
OK you got me. I am a doctor and I come to this board to see how I can better serve the MT world. I stopped seeing so many patients and I have stopped continuing my education to post on this board. You got me guys. I'm a real life doctor and I post on the MT Stars board. You got a problem with that? Talk to my business manager after you obtain clearance with drug testing and background check. hahaha.
Now go away I'm Busy MD'ing.
My DH paid every dime of his bachelor's degree working....
36 hours a week and going to school. How did he do it? He didn't get involved in serious relationships because knee he would get sidetracked and wouldn't have the time to devote to school. It also helped that he lived in California where state college tuition is reasonable. For his master's degree, he borrowed the money from his father (only about 4,000) and paid every cent back right away (this was after we were married and had 2 kids).
Ten years here. I would get a bachelor's degree. This job is looked at like cashiers at the sto
Service owners aren't paying enough, hospitals are continually outsourcing all their work, so at one point or another, you will be working for a middle man for little wages and no benefits. This industry has gone from a respectable profession to monkeys at computers in their jammies with babies on their laps.
What's the code to insert a degree symbol in MS-Word...
I know it's alt+ a set of numbers. Thanks!
Take your medical degree into the office and voice your concerns.
How do you know the patient isn't getting the proper care? No two patients are alike, just because your child has the same condition doesn't mean anything. This parent probably has googled her child's condition and is working along with the doctor. As an MT, you should not talk about any patient even with the other people in the office. It is confidential information and very unprofessional.
if people are anything like our higher education with a degree person, i'm staying in.
really and truly, i have a very intelligent and supportive network of friends and family and i am not a recluse. i just don't mingle well with people who don't think before they talk as in the higher education chick. that's downright scary when you think about it.
No - fourth year resident, still in medical school - no MD degree yet. nm
x
I honestly have to agree; even after a nursing degree, with tons of biology, ....sm
anatomy, epidemiology, physiology, chemistry, etc., it all comes down to intricate knowlege of the human body, in all specialties and subspecialities, along with excellent grammar/punctuation, BOS, great listening/interpretive skills, computer/peripheral skills....there is really so much to this career that I really get more than annoyed when referred to a "medical typist." We need constantly changing, growing, intimate knowledge of the human body, pharmacology, psychiatry, surgical specialties, special procedures, and how many of us, as the doctor is stumbling over his dictation or cutting himself off have to KNOW what the doc SHOULD BE dictating at a certain point during a quadruple bypass or salpingo-oophorectomy? I think you may do very well with oral surgery/dentistry, and even some maxillofacial surgery/plastic surgery, but in-depth understanding and knowledge, along with all the tech troubleshooting, listening skills, constant vigilance in editing, etc., comes with a comprehensive and up-to-date program, continuing education, and lots of hard work and mentoring. The AAMT modules, in addition to my own courses, helped me out tremendously in Surgery, General Med, and Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging. Good Luck!
Mine are on a beanbag wrist rest. Need wrists at 90-degree angle
s
Well of course we know that now. Back then we didn't because he didn't allow unfettered access.
c
right we children didn't tattle to the administrator did we. BTW, didn't you think we were &#
because some half-witted idiot said everyone was jealous because some other anonymous poster said they were going to be a doctor. Didn't they call it doctor envy. Oh yeah, that was all about you wasn't it busy-body MT. You with your degree and premed but yet you still post here and acuse others of jealously. I dunno but you and dano seem so close, I can't put my finger on it but I would say you could be computer clones. Jealous indeed. Children indeed. I think you are blowing your covers) dano and busy body MT. This whole "jealously" thing makes me think that you may be one and the same poster.
I didn't go into labor until 2.5 weeks later, so it didn't work. Sorry!...nm
x
sorry I didn't have time to thank you, but I didn't forget!!
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