Newbie Interview Questions

Hello,

I am graduating soon and beginning to test and interview. For BTDT Transcriptionists, what kind of questions should a prospective employee/IC ask during an interview?

Thanks!

• Newbie Interview Questions - kittykat

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Hi,

Are there any reputable schools ONLINE for medical transcription?

Also, are there any ONLINE schools that help you to get work after completing the courses so you can gain experience?

On average, how much does the average medical Transcriptionist make yearly?

Thank you very much!

Marie

I have been offered a job which will require a C-phone.  I have dial-up and broadband, I understand it will use dial-up?  and ULD?

Will I have to be online (via phone) the entire time I am working?

or do the files download onto my computer?

and if so, can anybody give me an idea with dial-up how long it takes to get maybe 140 minutes downloaded?

I have used proprietary software to download via dial-up (before I was blessed with broadband) and it took forever for me to get my work downloaded, so I'm a bit concerned about that.

Any C-phone basics you care to share would be so appreciated!  The job sounds great but am trying to figure out how much it will cost me to go to this C-phone set up, time and money both....

My 16-year-old son has his first job interview at K-Mart.  He has basically applied for any position they will give him.  I'm insisting that he he wear a nice pair of Dickies and a polo shirt (which I will have to go buy but this is not a problem as I expect to do this).  However, My DH is insisting that it's ok for him to go in the nice pair of shorts (not Dickies but more along the lines of baggy shorts that the teenagers are wearing these days) and a t-shirt.  Am I in the wrong here?  I've seen the way these kids dress after they get the job (although I'm not sure if they wear t-shirts and shorts).  Am I being old fashioned in assuming that you dress decent for a job interview (although if he was applying for a welding position at the local shipyard I don't know if I'd make him dress up).  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  TIA

I just recently went back to work in the office at a local hospital. We type in both Meditech and Cerner, depending on what you are typing, i.e. Medical Records reports versus Radiology.  We are currently typing blindly in Meditech, meaning we do not have access to our line counts and must depend on management to give us our totals.  In Cerner, we are able to run a line count report and print out a hard copy of our line counts at the end of the day.

We are finding that 800 lines in Cerner equals about 500 lines in Meditech.  We are not paid per line nor do we have an incentive plan, but we have a new HIM Director who would like to institute an incentive plan and the administrator over our department has laid down the law and decreed that all transcriptionists not making minimum in the department will be written up.  Problem is according to Meditech line totals that we have been given, that would be about half the department.

The transcription supervisor has taken our concerns to the new director who told the MT Supervisor to hold off on writing people and has taken home all the line counts from the last month and she is going over them with a fine tooth comb this weekend.

I am not a very trusting soul by nature, so I am doing a little research on my own.  I've been in this business for about 15 years.  I started out in a hospital and have worked for a few services at home and am now back in the hospital setting.  So I know a few things about line count and I consider myself to be pretty well informed on trends and technology in the industry.   I would like to walk into our next department meeting armed with as much knowledge as possible.  So I have come up with some questions that I would like some fellow MTs to answer, give opinions, and maybe even direct me to websites or individuals who could give me a better understanding of Meditech and Cerner.  Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible for an MT to have access to her line count in Meditech or is strictly a management function?  Any MTs that work in Meditech on this board, do you currently have access to your line counts and if so, how do you check them?  Is it an option on the main menu after you log into Meditech?


2. How is a line defined in Meditech?  (i.e. 65 cpl, with spaces, without spaces)


3. How is a line defined in Cerner?


4. What abbreviation Expanders work with both Meditech and Cerner?


5. Examples of incentive plans (if anyone would like to share that with me that would be great, if not I completely understand).


6. Measuring productivity by minutes of dictation versus typed lines.




1. What would be the minimum minutes required for an 8-hour day?


2. How would one structure an incentive program based on minutes?

I was thinking of presenting the idea that we keep track of productivity using minutes instead of lines since there is such a discrepancy in Meditech.  I also worry that if an incentive plan is put into place and we are still typing blind into Meditech, what's to keep management from shaving off a few lines here and there?

Feel free to email me or post here any responses.  Either is fine.  I really appreciate any input, comments, or just plain old supportive posts would be nice too! 

I also have an interview today with Transcend and wondering what to expect. Hopefully, I'll be leaving Medquist soon, too.

Hi all ... I'm going to a local hospital tomorrow for an interview.  The job is in the laboratory.  It's a f/t position where half the day you do pathology transcription and the other half secretarial work.  It's mon-fri, 9-5. 

This is in New York (the suburbs) actually, about 1/2 hour north of NYC.  I have 13  years of medical records transcription experience, and prior to that for 5+ years worked as a secretary to a medical director.

How much of a salary should I expect ?   Thanks! 

JoJo

I went for a job interview at NYC's largest hospital yesterday.  The job was for an Admin Assist position, with a lot of transcription skills as well.  For the transcription part of the exam, "all the equipment is in use right now" they told me, and they decided to give me a LIVE test:

They got one of the anesthesiologists on staff to find a chart and pull up a chair next to me.  Face to face he dictated a report to me, as I typed it.  It was weirdddddd!  But I did very good on it actually ... it was an easy (for me) report. 

I don't want the job though ... they practically told me on the interview the job pays from 9-5, but the hours are WHATEVER IS NEEDED - and that they needed 'flexibility'.  You know what that means - the job better become my entire life.  And I'm not willing to do that. 

Thanks guys!  And have a happy holiday !

I have an interview Monday for an in office transcription position in Indiana.  I was wondering if anyone could comment on what a good per hour wage would be?

I have been in transcription for 6 years now and have been working at home the entire time.  I now need to make more $$ and would like to have an idea when I get in there.

thanks!

I am interview for an in-house position.  I had the interview and a week later I was called for the peer review.  Never been on a peer interview and don't know what to expect...any ideas?  I plan to just be myself just like in the interview.

Tough line requirements (1500 line/day) but I'm optimistic.  I hope to gain tips with short cuts to qualify for incentive programs, etc. if I am chosen for the job.

I'm hoping someone will be able to advise me about some good questions to ask of the HR person of a hospital in my hometown; it's really hard for me to be objective about this decision because I want so much to leave the city where I'm living right now.  I go back and forth trying to decide if I should even try this. First of all, this job was advertised as "per diem" -- forgive my ignorance, but would that be the same as a contract position?  I had trouble once before making a living doing at-home MTing as an IC and paying my own health and life insurance, as I'm 100% supporting myself.  It was certainly a shock after employee status--but I was so burned out at that inhouse job--transcription force cut in half, pay reduced, phasing out dictation in favor of computer templates! I took a chance even though I had an unrealistic belief in my own abilities, I'm afraid, and tried IC for a national company.  I'm not working at all right now and am currently living on my savings. 

I feel like something, anything would be better than nothing.  Some foot/ankle problems also, related to standing at the last clerical job I tried, so a lot of even part-time jobs are out of the question at the present.

I do have some family at home and this hospital has a very good reputation as a good place to work, good (happy) employees...but, of course, don't want to move and still risk getting in an impossible position again!  Please let me know of some good questions to ask during the "assessment" and interview Friday AM (tomorrow)!  Sorry; realize this is rambling--many thanks--

www.vh1.com  I get the newsletter sent to my mailbox so you might have to search, but it was sent to me today.  It's terrific.  Love her!

he was going bald.  Her version of Walk the Line was actually taken from Live's version.   I loved it.  Live has always been one of my favorite bands.  Chris rocks, too!

Oh I so hope and pray that it is as good as I need it to be! 

Hi! I am testing for a job and I understand the dictation as I did medical transcription for 2 years but this is a telephone interview with a person (insurance type deal) I believe. I have no idea how to format. Can anyone out there point me in the direction of samples for this sort of thing? Do I just keep switching paragraphs for each person talking in the conversation? Rules and regulations for this please.

Thank you!

Lisa

i glanced at the main responses to your post, not all of them.  But i disagree to an extent with what you've been told.  I have 30 yr experience, for however much weight you want to ascribe to that.

You've heard that practice makes perfect.  That is not really true.  Practicing things CORRECTLY "makes perfect".  You can do something over and over and over, but if it's done wrong, you are not improving your game.

Depending on how much the paycheck is an issue, you may wish to find another job before quitting this one.  But the longer you do things wrong, the more disservice you are doing to yourself.  It's also hard to break established habits.

This is all said assuming you are sure you are being steered in the wrong direction, ie, these directions go against good MT training and/or against the BOS in important ways. 

I have no doubt that some companies hire poor or inexperienced QA personnel, contrary to another posters comment. 

My suggestion is to look for another job.  It may take a little time and be a little frustrating, but what you gain by starting off with good QA and building a good foundation, cannot be found in the situation you describe.  Part of the good foundation is on-the-job experience.

Believe in yourself, make sure your premise is correct, and then do what is right for the long-term.   e/m me if you wish.