Pharmacy tech 15 weeks, polysomnography 7 month course at local community college..worth a shot!
Posted By: nm on 2009-03-03
In Reply to: Interesting! How long do you have to go to school for - those?
!!!
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Either one are 9 month courses at the local community college..worth a shot!
!!!
I'm looking into pharmacy tech or polysomnography.
//
Your local community college...
It will cost a **** of a lot less, and your education will be just as good. Many will tell you that you only get help in job placement, externship, be ready to work, etc. via Andrews, etc., but that's just not true because they just don't know any better. Besides, that's a great sales pitch/gimmick, isn't it?
In learning this field, you need a classroom setting and hands' on experience/instruction. You'll see exactly what I mean when you get in the thick of it, or even starting out in learning it, for that matter.
I went to a local community college
I started working for a small local MTSO.
Local community college nm
x
Check out your local community college -SM
I can't speak for all of them, but the one I went to offered externship programs and job placements for their best and brightest students. An acquaintenance of mine also got her MT training at a local college, and they did the same thing. Be careful, however, of the online courses. They cost a lot of money - much, much more than your local college, and you won't get the hands-on training or be able to get your questions answered in a flash with them as you would in an actual college setting. Also, an associate's degree at a college is much more impressive than admitting you received your training via an online course. That, to me, just sounds so "fly by night." 
I vote for local community college.
If you attend a community college, it helps to network. If you do on-line training, you won't have the social part of your training. Also, it helps to try and find an on-site position at first to gain the knowledge although since you are already in a clerical position, you probably know more about anatomy and the hospital/medical setting than you even think. I wish you all the best. Another good thing about a local community college is that sometimes they know of great jobs because the teachers are also employed or know of jobs. You will have a certificate of training in an MT program, but a certified MT is done through the AAMT or whatever it is now, and is not worth the money in my opinion. You wind up after paying a few hundred dollars getting to put CMT after your name, but not when you transcribe a report. For example, even CMTs cannot put XXX/xxx, CMT if you catch my drift. 
I graduated from a local community college. sm
Had my first job before graduation but it was in-house with hourly pay and great benefits. Those are very hard to find anymore. I worked in-house for my first 2 years and then went on maternity leave picking up side work through a company for more income. Realized I was tripling my money going from hourly to production by that time, turned in my notice, and never looked back. Been at home ever since. If at all possible, in the beginning I would recommend to anyone to work inhouse even if it is for a transcription company. The value of having other "ears" is definitely not something to take for granted. I also learned as much as I could while getting that hourly pay as time is money when on production. I have to say I probably would not be near as proficient of an MT today had it not been all those hours learning and having another ear around to help out when stuck.
You bring up a point too though that I haven't really thought about before....With all the transcription being outsourced out of the office, it is only going to get much more difficult for anyone to get those breaks and get the required "experience" as a beginner.
When I said vo-tech, I meant community college just in case you were wondering (nm)
nm
I'm going to a local community college for culinary arts, I'm 52. nm
xxx
Your local community college. Just as good and a heckofalot cheaper!
If you want to work at a local hospital or doctor's office, go to community college. Otherwise
if you want to work from home, for a national company, you need to take the course from either Andrews School or M-TEC. It does you no good to save money by taking the Penn Foster course, because most companies will NOT hire grads from that school, it is a poor course and does NOT prepare you sufficiently for MT work.
How about your local community college and save a heap of money & get just as good of an education?
I did pharmacy tech for a while.
Studied up on math for a couple of days, didn't take a course or anything. Passed the test. It's pretty much a crap job, too. $12 an hour, low person on the totem pole, lots of negative coworkers.
Pharmacy tech in my area (sm)
is pretty well paid. Plus a lot of insurance companies that are hiring pharmacy techs are requiring you to have coding. So this is all a work in process to get the most education I can get before going back into the work force. I am not going to be able to work full-time but I would like to know that I have gotten the best education I can to do what I have planned to do.
I like the "science" of the pharmacy tech profession...at least the part of it that works with the total parenteral nutrition compounding etc.
New career/pharmacy tech? s/m
OK - let's hear it. I think it's time to get away from transcribing, and I'm researching taking a course for pharmacy tech. Anybody do this, know someone who does it? My kids will both be in college within the next 2 years, so crappy shifts and teen supervision will not be an issue anymore. The good and the bad, please!
Thanks to all --
My son has been a pharmacy tech for about 10 years (sm)
and is now back in school to become a radiographer. I believe his course was about a year long, and he had to get about a year's experience in a drugstore before getting hired at a hospital. The hospital pay is much better (he makes about $20/hr in Portland, OR) and is less stressful in his opinion because he prefers being in his little cave mixing IV chemos to waiting on customers. Still, it's a dead-end job in the sense that there is nowhere to go from here; you can't be promoted to pharmacist, for instance. He's still young and has decided he needs to make more money and do something that might offer more opportunities over time.
My understanding is that there will be lots of jobs open to pharmacy techs in the future, so if it sounds like something you'd like to do, go for it! Good luck to you.
I also went to a community college
and never had any problems finding a job. In fact, I got my first job at home before I was even finished with school. I took all my classes online and have worked from home for the past 3 years here with my kids. I say go for it!
I pay $35/month through Vonage for unlimited LD. Local phone co. charges $50/month. NM
x
Given by a community college? What school is
z
I was fortunate with community college
I took courses through my local community college's continuing education program. The instructors were people who worked in the medical field during the day and taught at night. By doing exceptionally well in the classes and being a model student, I was recommended by a couple of the instructors and got a start at the office where one instructor worked before I even finished my transcription class.
Once I got my foot in that first door, I've been working steadily and successfully ever since. I had only a couple of classes under my belt!
The approved schools are probably the best chance for work after graduation, but opportunities can arise wherever you train.
I went through Bellevue Community College
Also the CareerStep program online with once a month meetings if we lived close. Got a Sallie Mae grant. Got hired by MQ right out of school (after testing). Careerstep is one of the best schools and one of the only ones you can get hired straight out of school. I would not really recommend transcription anymore, though. It is not the job it used to be, paywise. Coding is still good pay I hear.
Everett Community College
online has a transcription course and since it is a community college, should be able to get financial aid. Try that. Google it.
I actually borrowed a set from the library at the community college here.
I used them as long as I needed to, then returned them.
Went to community college too..had a job in-house within 2 months, the first and only place I applie
//
community college. those online courses/schools are not very good and
very expensive.
but don't do it just to work at home.
I went local. Great local tech support, they know what I do and were able to set it up just for me
:)
Don't know if this is the same problem, but worth a shot SM
my foot pedal was working fine and then...nothing! Looked fine...I was very confused. Called my boss and he said to check the card that the foot pedal was plugged into (mine is not a USB). I turned off computer (and powered off the power strip just to be safe), took off the side panel, and sure enough the sound card that the pedal was plugged into was partially disconnectly. I firmly (yet gently) reinserted it completely, put side panel back on, turned on power strip then computer, and then waalaa (sp? lol) it worked like a charm.
Don't know if this is your problem or not, but I figured I'd share my experience just in case. Good luck!
Chickadee
Worth a shot, but didn't work for me. sm
My inhouse job was outsourced when I left to work at home after 3 years doing the same account and getting rave reviews and raises for my transcription. I applied to the company handling the same account when I saw it advertised. I was told by the company my account was outsourced to that I did not have enough experience. Huh? 18 years total. 3 years on that same account.
I guess it depends if you're still working for the hospital or not. I know that at least around here, the hospitals basically black ball you if you have the nerve to leave their employ.
Hopefully the hospital you mention isn't quite as petty as mine was. They actually started sending the tapes out the day after I gave my 2 week notice and I had absolutely nothing to do but filing for the last 2 weeks. Apparently the hospital policy dictates that there is a grave danger of breach of confidentiality once the employee gives notice.
Give me a break.
Good luck. Hope it works out for you! 
Geesh..hope this gave you your daily shot of self worth.
`
Yeah I went onto the website and just ordered a Belkin adapter. It's worth a shot at this point.
I'll let you know if it works at all when I get it.
Try Resolve, the regular kind, got out permenant black marker from my carpet - worth a shot! - nm
xx
My SIL finished a course at a local college
She got a job on-site and could be sent home, but she has decided to cross-train for a management position. If she takes it, the salary is $65,000.00 per year. So tell me there isn't money in this business. She just finished her course!!!
do you mean bimonthly=every 2 months, or biweekly= every 2 weeks=twice a month?
What are they asking, that you bill once a month, with a due date? that seems completely reasonable to me. If you are billing once every two weeks, then I think most offices pay once monthly. Most bills are presented due within 30 days.
I went to a local business college which sucked.
My first job was a p.r.n. position with a local hospital filling in for vacations and people off sick. That's where the real education came from.
Batteries lasted me only about 2 weeks. Not worth it to me. nm
See if your local college has an MT program that you can just take certain units of, like terminol
s
I probably read about it on MSN or someone mentioned it to me. Maybe call local college or JUCO
?
most local tech schools offer this course.
x
Well, not really. In college I did a gruelng intership at a local express emergency clinic and got p
gas, lunch, uniform, etc., AND the head doctor ended up sexually harrassing me! I kid you not! So, I don't think anyone without any experience getting paid 3 cents to learn MT in their own home setting is half bad.....It could be worse. They could ask you to do it for free.
PS: My college major was nursing.
I considered polysomnography, too....sm
There's a school nearby that offers it. Then in researching online I found a chatboard much like this one, but for polysomnographers, and the complaints were rampant...long boring hours, understaffed, low pay. Didn't seem like much job satisfaction. Gave me a bad taste, and I dropped the idea soon after.
Your husband tech guys are not the bible. You have go give access for tech sm
support to get onto your computer. Just sit there and watch everything they do. If you still feel uncomfortable do not take the job.
Agree. You could be a Surgical Tech or Respiratory Therapy or a Med. Tech. nm
s
pharmacy URL
www.rxcanada4less.com
from pharmacy, didn't like them..sm
I use the gel mouse rest and also a wrist rest in front of the keyboard. I also make sure to take LOTS of breaks. I also have a paraffin tub but rarely use it.
canadian pharmacy
Hi, I've used feelbest.com (located in Ottawa, Ontario) numerous times and have had nothing but good results -- give them a try!
I would call the pharmacy. sm
My pharmacist has let me know on more than one occasion that my doctor prescribed something that should not be taken with the meds I am already on. Scary! Good luck!
Buy local. The local stores pay taxes to support your city and state. (SM)
Using online and catalogues does nothing to promote the local economy. We complain about outsourcing and about the big companies gobbling up all the work so the jobs at local hospitals are gone, yet we do the same thing when we buy on ebay, catalog, and these web sites that may be located any place in the world as their primary business location.
Canada pharmacy recommendation
I've personally used this pharmacy in Canada by mail and they have been great.
I should also say that DD #1 started out at a grocery store pharmacy
then went on to the hospital after 9 mos or so.
I interviewed to work in a pharmacy ... haven't heard yet, but -- sm
the company will send their pharmacy clerks to classes and pay for pharmacy tech certification, even though it is not required in New York state. Waiting to hear back from them this week.
|
