Is MTATHOME.com a good training school?
Posted By: Hunter on 2007-04-26
In Reply to:
Hi everyone. I was just wondering if MTATHOME.com is a reliable and good training school for me since I am looking to make a career change to Medical Transcription. Anyone who has been apart of there training program, your comments would be greatly appreciated. I'd just like to get some feedback on this company to see if I should go with them as my training school. Thank you.
-Hunter DuRant
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MTatHome Good School - I was a student!
Hi, I am not sure who the person is that responded about them, everyone has an opinion. I am a student of MTatHome, or I was one and I can tell you that I really enjoyed the course. They are a Christian owned company and they treated me like a real person and not just a distant customer /student. I finished the course over a year ago and now I am working at home doing Medical Transcription for a Doctor in NC and I love it! I told several of my friends about the course and my sister also took it and is also now working at home. It can take a little while to get into a job, however that is with any where now days. It took me about 3 months to get a job after finishing and my sister about the same time maybe a little less time then me but not much. They did help me with finding a job. Like I said though this is just my experience and opinion - everyone has one and I am sure that like any company that they probably can not please everyone. I can say that the only thing that I might say negative about the company is that every once in awhile it might take a little while to get a response through email- however they do have a toll free number and any time I called it I got assistance right away. I also know that they only had a few times that they were slow on answering emails and I believe it was because of a server issue - but like I said that is the only thing I can really say neg. and if I recommend a course MTatHome is one of the ones I do still recommend. I say to the person asking the question to do your own research because everyone has their own opinions as I said above. Even the owner of MTatHome tells you on the website to do research on any course you are looking into including theirs because it is smart business to do so. I hope this helps! Good Luck! Susan Monroe PS. If you have any further questions about Medical Transcription I will be happy to answer your questions if I can, I know how hard it is when first starting out trying to find training and then work. Leave the spaces out when you email, I put them in to avoid the spammers software from picking it up - so just type it all together w/out the spaces. Once again, good luck. :-)
TRAINING SCHOOL--I WANT TO START A
training school to produce quality transcriptionists using something like HPI's CD and cassettes. I have purchased several from different transcriptionists and I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to start a training program. I know the local colleges are going to come after me in every way they can just to prevent me from infringing on their multi-million dollar Transcriptionist training, but they teach them and charge them for soooo very much that transcriptionists do not need, and they stretch their programs out for two years. I already have a transcription service with 6 employees, but want to expand and I have just interviewed about 8 applicants who knew absolutely nothing about the meds we use now, and especially about the AAMT guidelines about not using q.d., q.i.d. q.h.s. etc. One woman had been seeking a position for a year, but everyone in our area wants "experience." She is a very fast learner, intelligent, and I only have to tell her things once.....but after a two-year college, making the Dean's List, I am training her!! I want to start the "training" school cuz as it is now, I am doing it for free, just so I can get an excellent, long-term employee... Has anyone every tried doing this and did the colleges really come after you with lawyers? How can I term it, charge for it, but not require a "teaching license" so I do not get in trouble? I am clueless on this, want to be careful not to step on toes, but am very tired of training students who graduate for free. Feel free to email me if you need to...... PLEASE HELP ME!!!
Fun in Transcription Training School
If I had a hammer....... I'd hammer . . . . .
B--A--R--B! I know I would. Today I have the displeasure of being having to be trained for a new job. Since the Heartless, Inc. I used to work for traded me as an employee for 29 Indians in Bangalore who will now do my job.
Medical transcription itself is second nature to me, but the hoops and hurdles on how to get the job done with their company is what they are trying to teach me.
You know, this information she conveys to us is all covered in the company handbook under, "Redundant Rhetoric." That's under the subsection heading of "Everything You Will Never Need to Know."
I never do well with the whistles and bells of any new job. Our trainer has been systematic in this group conference call presenting the material. She is very windy in her explanations of "do this, don't do that, .... can't you read the signs?"
no, I'm sorry . . . I can't. She lost me about an hour ago.
Instead, I worry. I'm not sure if I have attention-deficit disorder, or irritable HOW disease. Maybe my give-a-flip is broken, but something has gone terribly wrong.
I can still hear her now, but . . . . I have not actually understood a word she said except, "Um, and So Um." I hope they aren't, um, going to test me on it, so um, apprehension is my middle name.
I interestingly study the flight pattern of flies.
She said, "That about summarizes it. Do you have any questions, or comments?"
'Summarizes" was a buzzword I was looking for. It signaled the end. Over! Finis! Yeah! Magically, I was awakened from my coma.
A dag-gone medical miracle, no doubt.
Well, it was either her words that woke me, or now that I think of it . . . . . it may have been the pain from the cat claws piercing my back as Buddy cat tried to jump up on the back of my chair. We'd have to study that a little more to know for sure.
I was relieved, but that did not last long.
Apparently, next up on her synopsis of fun-filled classroom activities was, "HUMILIATION," just before the part on "TORTURE."
She called me by name to reiterate what she just taught us.
I am totally bumfuzzled. I've been fritzenfrackered before, and this feels a whole lot like fritzenfracker to me. I hate fritzenfracker. My heart beats like a bunny at about 500 beats a minute.
I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it must be the same feeling skydivers experience the last two seconds before impact, after their parachute has failed to open.
A long pause of silence follows.
My mouth is instantly cottonball dry as I choke trying to speak.
"Mari?" She said. "Mari are you there?"
When all else fails . . . . I know it's best to just be funny.
It may not work but it's a ploy to stall for time so I can crash course myself and maybe come up to speed on what the heck she was talking about. Yes, I learn fast.
"Whew!" I said sounding out of breath. "I just got away! Sheesh! Don't worry, I'm okay though. Ya'll didn't pay the ransom did you?"
She said, "I'm sorry. What was that?"
"You didn't pay the ransom did you? I was hoping you wouldn't pay, because I knew I could get away.
Did I miss anything?"
Now our trainer was now stunned.
She was speechless. She stuttered. The class laughed.
"No, I'm just kidding." I said, "What was it you asked me?"
She said sternly, "I asked if you could review what we just learned here."
Since I didn't have enough time to fully absorb the information . . . . again, I went with funny and fritzenfrazzled.
"I could," I said, "and so, I would, but you know, um, I have to be honest with you here. . .
(I used her favorite words of 'and so and um' to summon some sympathy from her, so you know, maybe she would not send me to the New-Hire Firing Squad. At a minimum I hoped they would give me one last cigarette before they shot me. )
"And so. . . . Um when you started talking about the PDQ, the RSVP, and the ASAP, ADT, you lost me. I tried to pay attention, but mwah, mwah, mwah Charlie Brown's teacher, and I don't get it."
"What!" She said. "Sounded like what?"
"Um, you um, sounded like . . . . Charlie Brown's teacher." I said boldly and daringly.
As I explained it all to her, I imitated the sound to properly apply full effect, ". . . And the next thing I knew, Poof! Mwah, mwah, mwah. Hmmm . . . unconscious."
My fellow classmates laughed hysterically.
I thought, "Yeah, right, laugh, encourage me. I should be carrying a sign around my neck that reads, "Will work for laughs."
This is not funny. I'm through. This isn't the standup comedy club you know for Pete's sake. They aren't paying for funny here. I know, I'm as good as fired.
As the class continued to laugh, surprisingly the instructor apologized in cutest her baby talk. She said, "Oh my! I am soooo sorryeeee. You should have said something! Does anyone else feel that way?"
The rest agreed, "Mwah-Mwah, Mwah, MWAHHH!" They said excitedly in unison.
Realize here, that this woman has a very bubbly, yet violating voice.
Imagine if Barbie could talk. That's our trainer. The high-pitched, I've-been-in-the-sun-too-long voice. After a while, listening to her felt a whole lot like fingernails scrapping the chalkboard.
Apparently her sun-baked idea is that we are going to do it all over again.
Oh no, uh-uh. I can't take anymore. Uncle! Put a Fork in me, I'm done! Hearing her for one more minute is too much. Keep the training pay. I need hazard pay.
I have to do something different, because unknown to her I am a nice person until I've had enough. When I reach the point of total aggravation and frustration . . . . if a butterfly happens by and softly touches me I will grab a hammer to smash that &#$&*!. I know this about myself. I try to control it.
"Excuse me . . . . Barb," I asked interrupting her, "May I be excused? I gotta run and get a flyswatter."
"Mwah, mwah, MWAh?" The instructor asked.
"NO ma'am it CANNOT WAIT!" I said frantically. "This IS an emergency!"
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Did you go to school, or are they training you from scratch?
The only scenario I can see is if you didn't go to school. These days, seems like nobody trains from scratch, but if they did, they'd probably pay a rate like that.
B.S. in HIM, no MT school, OTJ training for that skill, but the HIM classes for the knowledge. nm
x
Check with the school that you paid money to for MT training.
If they can't help you get a job afterwards, then you've been robbed.
POLL: Home School vs. Charter School vs. Public School vs. Priv ate School...
Pros and cons of each too. I have two little ones that will be starting school soon and I would like opinions on all. Thanks in advance! :)
It IS good training, however, I don't see sm
my dogs as low ranking in my family. They are right up there with my kids and husband and if they misbehave, oh well, every dog has a bad day. If I wanted a low ranking pack member, I would adopt one of the wild coyotes we have running around here.
The water bottle is a very good training tool
for cats (squart guns too). Get a good scratching post and rub it with catnip. I use double-sided tape that I get from the Foster&Smith website and the cats leave my furniture alone. (I have 4 cats). The log is a nice idea too...messy but nice in addition to scratching posts and such.
Not all combs/brushes are created equal and I have found that the curry-comb type work best. They are sometimes called a shedding comb. It is in the shape of a loop with a handle. I put a towel on the floor and go to town! In the spring I can get a cat-sized ball of fur off of them using this comb. Regular combing will really help keep your house cleaner. You still need to use a roller or duct tape placed around your hand to remove it from your furniture on a regular basis. Good luck.
Some bluster- of course docs aren't training to be MTs, mostly Spheris trying to look good BUT
they are definitely trying to grow the business and knock out more of the American share of the market.
NO, this sounds like good training. Dogs are low rank pack members of any family,
:+
I saw this happen in MQ office while training. Supervisor was supposed to be training but
account was behind so she did transcription while she collected salary for "training" me. Of course I asked others for guidance rather than bother the furiously typing supervisor. I don't know if she cherry picked but she definitely double dipped into the MQ payroll.
looking 4 a good school
Seriously interested in the MT field. Can you advise me of a good school? Please excuse me if this posted twice - I'm new to this.
No matter how good/bad the school it will
x
You can go to school, but will you find a job after all is said and done. Good Luck. nm
nm
If you pick a good school, not always true..sm
The 2-year minimum experience is often waived if you graduated from the right school. I would not choose any school in this day other than the AAMT-approved schools. Many local community college courses are adequate, but you need to ask up front if they help w/ job placement. The big bonus from choosing an AAMT-approved school is name recognition - this is VERY important, because if a company recognizes the school you graduated from and knows it produces quality graduates, you will be hired based on the school's reputation, and that's why many companies will waive experience requirements for those schools.
MTSOs know which schools turn out graduates that are ready to hit the ground running and which ones don't, so they will often pass up a graduate from the lesser schools, especially if they also have grads from the AAMT-approved schools applying at the same time. Since majority of MT jobs are now paid on production, education is becoming much more vital than it was 10-15 yrs ago when many MTs were trained on the job and paid hourly.
Good for you! I'm back at school learning (sm)
a new career after 16+ years in this business!! I love MT but it's time for something with a steady paycheck and longevity. Good luck to you and to the rest of us in your shoes!! :)
I want to know if Penn Foster is a good school?
YEAH!!>>>>IM GETTING A FOOT PEDAL!!!!!  
U.S. Career Institute is not a good school for anything.
They are a total rip off. All they want is money, they don't teach what you need to know, and they don't care if you get a job afterwards or not.
Our school has good scores but my kids have never been stressed
Probably depends on the teachers and the corporate culture at your school.
there is a world of difference between MT training and NP training
honestly, I am in nursing school and have lots of health care experience as a paramedic and medical assistant. I think you can relax and leave your family's health either in your mother's hands or their physician's...
I did that with 2 kids with time mgmt and a high school girl who babysat 3 days a week after school
nm
The cost of running a private school or any school is expensive....
Why do you think public schools are so run down and can't find good teachers? Because the government and people to not put forth the effort or $$$$ to improve the educational system.
The School of Hard Knocks is the best MT school
n
I just went through training and they
told me that MQ itself does not pay for spaces. I was trained on DQS and again it was told to me during training when I asked about that and the answer was, "No, DQS does not count spaces as MQ does not pay spaces."
?? I'm all confused now.
Training (sm)
To tell you the truth, and I'm not dissing the trainers, but I really would be sure they are passing on correct information by asking your transcription supervisor.
When I was trained, they told us to disable some of the features of the platform, like the capitalization after the period and the thing that corrects your text if you type 2 capped letters. These are probably some of the best features of the program and I, nor any MT who wants to produce as much as possible, would dream of disabling them.
So... I really wouldn't put a whole lot of stock into somme of the info they give out. To be sure, get a second opinion. :)
You will need a LOT more training
than you have to be a successful transcriptionist, or even a mediocre transcriptionist. Simply from reading your post, it is apparent that English is probably not your first language. You will need to improve your English-language skills considerably before you will be employable. On the basis of your post alone, I would not hire you. I would not even bother to test you since you have so little training and your English is so poor. You need to take a GOOD transcription course, not something offered by one of the matchbook-cover schoools and certainly much more than you already have taken. Self confidence is all very well and good, but simply believing you can do something is not an acceptable substitute for good training. You do not yet have the skills you need. It is, of course, unlikely that you are going to believe any of this, so to satisfy your own curiosity, just start submitting applications to transcription companies. One or two might let you take their test. Your results should be an indicatino of just how far you have yet to go to be properly trained. Good luck to you.
MT training is not enough
it is just a foot in the door. The real training comes in by doing various dictations from various clinics/hospitals. Every doctor talks differently or uses different terminology.
MT training is not enough
it is just a foot in the door. The real training comes in by doing various dictations from various clinics/hospitals. Every doctor talks differently or uses different terminology.
OTJ training
I had on the job training. I trained for about a year. I am very lucky that I have a family member who is in the business who was willing to train me. She actually talked me into it. I have now been working for seven years as an MT for her and another company.
My DH is in training for this job.
:+
Training
Just another word of advice from somebody who has been there many, many years ago. Please remember that you send mixed messages when you switch back and forth from underwear to diapers. This confuses them. I did what this other poster did -- make it a game, praise, praise, and more praise. In the end, he will get the idea. It does take perserverance on your part. Set that timer and then have a race to the potty. The winner gets to use the potty -- and we all know mommy never wins this race. Good luck -- he will be fine.
Training at MT
So how do you know when you've received proper training? I have finished a program with a local college but when you compare the training hours versus other colleges its way lower? How can I be assured that I am trained enough to be able to do a MT job? Any suggestions????
Training VR
That sounds wonderful. However, this sounds like something that the doctor would set up on his own. I am looking mainly for something I install on my end, train, edit, etc. from here. I have a small account with three people, and maybe a couple more coming. They would not want to be bothered with doing anything different on their end. I wanted it for my end to speed things up for as they expand so I can keep up.
But are you in training?
I notice the first poster spelled clarity as "clearity".... A very easy third grade spelling word. Are you coming to the job with experience of any kind or do they know ahead of time that they are training from scratch? Are the editors paid well?
Because training an inexperienced person takes a lot of time and sometimes it's not successful.
BOS training
About the BOS AAMT guidelines. I am relatively a newbie with 11 months experience. When I started with my first job and I had been trained like you said to strictly follow AAMT guidelines. But when I got a job oh was I in for an awakening. They wanted things done the way they had always been done and didnt go strictly by AAMT. The acute care account I do now is the same way. I have been penalized for doing things according to AAMT. But every company and client has their way they want things done and you have to learn to follow them. Little things like AAMT second edition says only use disk now do not use disc anymore. Well I got penalized for that. They want disc used when referring to the spinal cord no matter what AAMT says because that is the way they have always done it. That is just one example. But yes knowing AAMT guidelines is good but it doesn't always give a newbie the advantage.
As far as training, you get what you pay for.
training
Just to let you know - they will take you off of training before the two weeks is up if you don't need it anymore. Mine only lasted three days but I had overlapped training with my last two weeks at MQ, so when they told me I was off training early I told them I had to finish up my last two weeks at MQ and I could only give them 200 lines a day for the rest of the two-week period since I had made arrangements around the two-week training assumption. They were fine with that.
More training
I have been doing transcription for 9 years now and am not making the lines or money I need to. Anyway, there is a local school I was thinking about going to that trains in coding/billing and they have placement assistance afterwards. I have heard it is next to impossible to get hired without already having experience in billing/coding. They do have federal loans/grants to help you pay for the training, but the costs is 7,600; seems awful high to me, but if they can get me a job paying better than transcription, might be worth it? Then again, I was thinking about just trying to get a job in medical records at a local hospital going in as a medical records tech. I know I must sound crazy, just trying to figure out how I can bring more money into my house. Thank you for any advice you can give me. 
on-the-job training
Trust me, if you have no medical work background that involves terminology you would be totally lost doing MT. It's really like a second language. The only on-the-job training I've ever heard about was someone who worked in a medical office or a hospital records department for a long time and was taught MT while they were there. I know of no companies or hospitals, small or large, that would hire you with no experience AND no training/schooling to go straight to work doing MT. There are some that will give you a chance once your schooling is done if you test well.
Right on. Using VR = training it, and training it =
training
Does anyone have any suggestions on getting training in other fields? I see a lot of jobs posted for radiology or even acute care/hospital work. I did hospital notes when I was in school many years ago, but since then have done all clinic work-multi-speciality like psych, OBGYN, family practice, pediatrics, chiropractic, physical therapy, allergy, internal medicine, ortho. My favorites are chiropractic, psych, OBGYN and physical therapy, but these seem to be hard to come by. Work is becoming slim and I'm looking at other options.
I would love to learn surgery, ER, or even just be able to get more work with hospital notes or radiology.
Any feedback is appreciated.....thanks! 
The training process
>>>you end up fixing things like changing "were" to "are", "a" to "an", that kind of thing.
Like I said, it's all in the training process, which includes ar-ti-cu-lating correctly. You have to feel the words form in your mouth. If you don't, you're going to have errors like these. Also, did you use add phrases to the vocabulary? You sometimes have to do that. What about the microphone? If you used one of those right out of the box, that could be the problem. And your sound card? Did the program analyze thousands of documents? --- You can't just install the program and off you go. Like many an expansion program, you have to put time and effort into it ... but the gains are worth it (at least, they were for me).
>>>Easier in my opinion to type from scratch,
It depends upon the individual. If you're a relatively fast typist (100+) who can remember ten of thousands of abbreviations, or you're a whiz bang with ST or IT (which still ultimately requires memorization) you're certainly not going to benefit from the program aside from alleviating any pains and discomfort you might have as the result of RSI. But to those of us who who aren't whiz kids or are experiencing physical discomfort from years of clicking the keyboard, VR is blessing.
>>>not to mention that you are usually making half what a normal line rate is to do VR.
I can dictate and proof an average of 350 lph. Multiply that by 7 hours in a day.
I know about the weight training
but thanks for the ice water tip. That's one I haven't heard, but makes sense!
to uhh not fair, DQS training pay
 I'd for sure take that one up with corporate or "ask Frank". It was stated when DQS first came out that ALL training was paid @10.00 per hour, period! Should be across the board, since it's company wide . I'd have to wonder where the training pay your offices did not give you, actually went to, because they sure the heck got reimbursed from corporate. I was in a training session for 2 hours with THE head honcho in training and she clearly stated, across the board, pay is the same, period.
OJT training (especially for ortho)
I think cardiology may get a little more complicated (or not) depending where you work. I think orthopedics is probably easy enough for you to pick up on the job considering your experience. I would try for OJT. Good luck!
No legal training, but...
I did have secretarial and word processing experience. I think my average wpm back then may have been about 80-90 wpm. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to type/transcribe and is good with the English language, grammar, and spelling!
Yes and ANYONE can do it, right? No training needed! nm
nm
potty training
most children achieve this at their own pace, but I have a few ideas that helped with my son. I made a game of it. I floated squares of toilet paper in the toilet and had he do "target practice" and if he hit the target then he would get an M&M. He thought it was cool and it worked. Another thing I tried, a kitchen egg timer. I set it for 1-1/2 hour and whether he had to go or not, we went. This got him used to going and helped him to remember. One very important thing to remember, do not punish him or make the child feel bad about not going in his underwear this will make him feel worse and make it harder. Instead, over praise him when he does it right. Also, my son really wanted the cool underwent (this was 20 years ago) like Heman and ninja turtles instead of the white cotton kind. So I told him he had to earn them by showing me that he was trying and eventually he got the kind of underwear he wanted. Just some thoughts. Just do not make this a big deal, because in reality it is not. He could live to be 80 years old, so just let him take his time. He will get it. Just make it fun and as stress free as possible and you will see resutls.
Potty Training
Hi there! I went through the same thing with my son a few monthes ago. He is the same age and the situation you described was identical to my son's. Okay here is what worked form me. I basically decided no more diapers or pull ups. My son would beg for them when we went to the store...I was firm in saying no. Then I started insisting that he wears underwear at all times. When he soiled them we changed them. Finally I think he realized that I was not going to give in and after about the second day of constantly being pulled away from whatever he was playing with to change his underwear he started to soil them less and use the toilet more. Honestly, I would sometimes wait if his favorite show was coming on or something to change him then...that way he was inconvenienced also. I would tell him during his protest that when he goes in the toilet that we won't have to change his underwear during Blues Clues. It progressively got better and was remedied within about 2 weeks. However, I was probably more busy washing undies than I have ever been...but it was worth it. I hope so much this will help. Good luck!
potty training
new to this board, just had to weigh in on the potty training issues. Lots of great advice here in terms of being patient, supportive, encouraging....want to add my personal experience as mom of 5, including a set of boy/girl twins. My oldest DS, 18, did not train till almost 4. This despite being in COTTON diapers, not pullups. Hey, stuff happens. My oldest DD, 16, trained herself at 2, kept herself clean/dry during the day for more than 3 months. Did such a good job that she got a UTI, and lost control, so frightened by this experience that she went back into diapers for another 9 months! Finally "clicked" at 3+. The twins, well, now you can see the differences between boys and girls, but SHE encouraged him (I have a great pic of the 2 of them sitting on the toilet, one behind the other, like they were riding a horse!) They were consistently clean/dry at 3. Toilet training is a process, I talk about body parts, body functions, things like up, down, clean, dry, wipe, flush....vocabulary and lots of demonstration (what's privacy?). My youngest DD, 4 the end of November, just trained in February. Yes, 4+. YIKES!!! the problem? My teenagers! they were way too interested in "helping" me parent her, and were way too heavy handed. Gave her something to rebel against. So she took control and decided NOT to do her business in the toilet! She was also more than a bit phobic about the whole bathroom business, must be a very big deal if EVERYONE in the house is so so so very interested in what was going on inside her diaper. My attitude was leave it alone, it will happen (so nice to have perspective that experience brings). We had to tone things waaaayyyyyy doooooownnn in order to get her to "chill" about this whole thing. At 3-1/2, I "encouraged" her a bit more...I put her diapers/pull-ups near the bathroom door, along with a big supply of underwear, lots of pretty underwear. Also a trash can. I told her, you change when you are wet, I am out of a job! She had to choose each time, diaper or panties. She consistently chose diapers, and changed, and put the wet diaper in the trash. I still had to change dirty diapers, but figured that even with trained kids, mom is still responsible to make sure that "clean-up" is done satisfactorily. At 3-3/4, I started having DD sit on the toilet in a diaper when she had to do #2, then I handled the clean-up. One day, at 4+, it just "clicked" and she did #2 WITHOUT the diaper.....and the rest is history. Toilet training is a process, she had to learn how to control #1 and #2, in the house, use a toilet OUTside the house (don't you just love using the bathroom at the supermarket, at the mall, here, there, everywhere?) and then night-time training. BUT because this one was so OLD, all these pieces fell into place within 2 weeks!!! Clean/dry both day and night! Lots of patience, matter of fact praise (hey, no one claps/sings, gives stickers, candies, etc when Mom uses the potty!). This too shall pass. In my experience, it seems that the bigger the deal is made out of this, the longer the process takes.
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