4 CMT instructors of community college course? I don't think so
Posted By: CMT on 2006-05-17
In Reply to:
4 CMT instructors of community college course? I don't think so. Prove me wrong.
Someone below said 4 CMTs instructed their community college MT course. That is so hard to believe since CMTs can make more transcribing than teaching and community colleges are hurting for money. When they get money, it doesn't go to the MT course. There may be 1 or 2 exceptions. Would you post the name of your school and the web site so we can give them the credit they deserve?
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MT as instructors in College
I attend a College here in BC, Canada and our instructor is a MT in a Surgical office by day and she teaches at night at college! She likes the schedule for her family and really enjoys teaching.
I went to a Community College
/
Not all of them! Community College
can be great if you find one with a well rounded program. I went to a CC and was hired by a national before I even graduated. Don't knock community colleges. There are some that have really great programs. You just have to do your research.
there is a Community college in BC . . .
That partners with the CanScribe program I think, their fees might be different or that way you might qualify for some financial aid $ from the Canadian gov't based on income level, worker retraining, displaced homemaker, etc. It's online so you don' have to be there. Basically what I'm doing on the other side of the border through EvCC. I forget which college it is but it is on the Career Step Canadian info link. Good luck!
community college
You may want to research Career Step through one of the community colleges that offer the program. Some colleges offer financial aid and instructors. It seems to be worth looking into.
Yes, Community college is better
I'm doing the CS program through Everett community college and I would definitly say it is better than doing CS alone. I have instructors I can email/call at anytime if I need help, plus, you get more assistance that way!
Everett Community college.
I attended Everett Community College online. They utilize the Career Step program and also you have teachers and classmates, and deadlines. It was a very good program and I have had no problem getting a job right out of school. Actually, I have three working accounts right now. I was able to get a Stafford Student loan and there are many options on repayment. Please to any seasoned transcriptionist, please do not nit pick at this email, I just woke up.
I went to Randolph Community College and
the instructors do not have their credentials listed on the website. You would have to email each on individually, and I'm not giving out names on a public forum. I'm sorry that you don't believe me, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I know I got an excellent education from 4 CMTs among other instructors in my program.
The Community College I went to offers
a CMT exam after completing the program. It costs $150.00. I'm not sure of all the details though. I'm considering taking it, but haven't made up my mind yet.
I went to a community college and was hired
by a national one month before I graduated. You do not have to go to one of the "Big 3" to find a job in this business. You have to keep applying, keep sending in resumes, and TEST, TEST, TEST. That's what I did. It's not easy, but it can be done if you stick with it.
I went the community college route...
3 terms, September to June, got a certificate in medical transcription. I then went an additional term and picked up a medical office specialist certificate and also took some coding classes and passed the coding test that same year. Within 2 months I had an in-house transcription job (the first and only transcription job I applied for) worked there 3 years, did every type of report and all radiology reports, and have been at home for 2 years now. My current employer (which is a very good national) hired me without even having me take a test of any kind, just did the phone interview, so my community college certificate has not hurt me in the least. Good luck in whatever you decide.
Everett Community College
I am starting the MT program at Everett Community College in January and was wondering if anyone has had experience with this school and if so, what did you think about it? I know their curriculum uses the Career Step program, but just wondered what people thought of it being presented in the way it is at Everett. Thanks!
San Juan Community College
Hello,
I am interested in taking the Career Step program, but trying to decide whether to go through San Juan Comm College. I would like to know if anyone has taken the CS course through the college and if they felt prepared.
Thanks!
Everett Community College
Hi Julie, I am a student in the medical transcription program at Everett Community College. I am in my second semester and have been able to get financial aid (that I don't have to pay back) for my first 2 semesters. They also offer Federal Student Loans that anyone can get. The program is great but definitly not easy! The instructors are also awesome. Let me know if you have any questions!!
http://www.everettcc.edu/programs/bat/medtrans/index.cfm?id=300&linkFrom=Search
Community college course or online? Your opinions? sm:)
Hi. I'm new to the board, and would like your opinions on which you think is a better education: local community college here which offers an MT certification course (3 semesters in length) or online with either CS or M-Tec?
I am self disciplined, but still may stay more focused if I have deadlines, and classes to go to. I'm not sure...
Have any of you found more value in one choice or another? Thanks in advance for your time/input! :) Anne
Check into your local community college.
You will get an excellent MT education and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. What people say about the "Big 3" schools is a lot of hype. JMO
Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, OR SM
I completed their 2-year program, and it was excellent. The person in charge of the program is a CMT and she had another CMT working with her.
Chickadee
training.....go to your local community college sm
and check out their training program.
Career Step thru Everett Community College
I ams starting this program Spring quarter (April). I am able to use Veteran's Dependents' Educational Benefits for this so it is paid for 100% (my Dad is a disabled Vietnam Vet). If you qualify for Veteran's aid (spouses and kids do in some cases too), worker retraining (were you laid off? has your field been outsourced overseas like manufacturing?) displaced homemaker (did you get divorced or widowed and need viable job skills?), or just low enough income that you would be eligible thru FAFSA (federal student financial aid) then you can get aid for this program. If you have to pay out of pocket tho, choose Career Step directly.
There are a couple other programs out there run thru Comm. Colleges, one in AZ, one in WI.
Community College Career Step Training
The fact is that most students who take Career Step training via Everett Community College or San Juan Community College do so, because they cannot afford to pay for Career Step out of their own pockets. No matter where they obtain the training, it is still quality training. Even if they don't get their first job via the Spheris or any other fast track, they will still be able to find a job if they work hard.
I did a community college certificate and immediately started working as an IC
I always recommend the community college route because it is VERY inexpensive compared to the MT schools. You can always do an MT school after your community college work if you think you really need it.
I am NOT a certified medical Transcriptionist (CMT) because that can only be obtained through AAMT. I DO have a certificate of completion of the MT course through my community college though. I have found it to be more than adequate for me to work as an IC MT, and my teacher has been very willing to help me with problems and questions that I can't figure out myself through these wonderful MT boards!
Good luck!
A woman told me this week her community college "certified" her as an MT.
I think the problem is the people who are teaching those courses don't know the difference. It isn't really a lie. They just don't know better. Of course they also shouldn't be teaching a subject they know little or nothing about, but that's for another thread, another time.
Could be poor MT material to start with - my absolute best MT came from community college and
I've had some Andrews, M-Tecs that couldn't even pass the first grammar screening.
Take a medical terminology class - one class - at a community college (sm)
You don't have to sign up for the whole program, just take a medical terminology class and learn it inside and out. Get some medical terminology CDs and listen to them in your car. Find places with in-house transcriptionists to let you test and start out working in-house so that you will have help. It is very hard the first couple of months but gets much easier after that. I was a secretary, took anatomy and physiology and some other pre-nursing classes. Decided not to be a nurse, took a medical terminology class and that was it. Studied a lot, listened to tapes, went and tested, worked in house a few months. Have been doing this 12 years now.
How do you know that these instructors
can't afford to live on what they make at the CC? How do you know that they don't work part time for a transcription company? And I would be very leary of attending a school that offered a course and didn't have the books to go along with the courses. Every single course I took in my program had the books available for purchase in the campus book store. I responded about the name of my school at the top of this page.
and instructors of many CCs aren't even MTs
Most community colleges can't afford good instructors who really know how to transcribe. They also can't afford the kind of books and materials because administrators don't think they can get jobs anyway.
Oops, meant instructOrs.
/
CS Has to have instructors or AAMT could not approve them
It's part of the approval process. It's a requirement. They have to have instructors who are qualified.
No instructors, and home-made materials = CS.
I'm also a CS grad, and if I had it to do over again, I would definitely choose Andrews or M-TEC. No more "training track" for Spheris from CS. Focus no longer hires newbies from CS. People are finally waking up.
CS vs. CS-Using Community Colleges
If a community college uses the Career Step program, is that as good as the CS program itself?  I'm asking because more financial aid is available through the college, but if the program isn't as good as using CS directly I will go the direct route. Thank you.
most of my MTs come from Community Colleges
This insistence on Andrews or M-Tec makes me very uneasy. I've been responsible for hiring and training thousands of MTs and even I don't know these two schools that well and I rarely see graduates from there. I know they have good student support. I do see lots of graduates from Career Step. BTW, the Career Step grads are not well prepared for employment- not at all. Not like you'd think from reading current posts. Most of my past hires from Career Step failed to stick with it. Only a small percentage could hold up- bad typing skills- but good on terminology.
Most of our employees (MTs) are either graduates of community colleges or staffing schools that we contract with. If Andrews and M-Tec were as dominant as you read here, I'd expect the only good MTs to have come from those schools and I don't. I didn't go there. I've done fine. I've never had a problem being hired in my early days as an MT. I went to a community college and they used HPI publications.
I think this insistence on a "big three" is very misleading. As a person who hires and trains, I know you don't need to attend one of these 3 schools to get a job. Attitude has far more to do with it than book training anyway. We'd much rather have a graduate with a poorer education who has a great attitude than the reverse. The education can be improved quickly while the attitude is impossible to change.
I will just take your word for it that these 2 schools have great classes, but why all this drum beating when there are untold numbers of excellent community college programs and also staffing schools. How about Mentoring Internships too? There are lots of resources that my MTs have used to become well educated.
However, there are "schools" that are nothing but internet marketing machines. It is obvious who they are. They are the ones who sell diplomas for almost anything. New students should definitely beware of those. Medical Transcription is too difficult to learn from a mail order house. You can't sit in isolation at home and learn medical transcription very easily and that is the big trap, IMO. This is not like getting your real estate license and only needing to pass 1 test to get a job.
That's my view from my corner of the world.
It's better to do it through a college, you will have more help
instead of totally floundering around by yourself, never sure if you are doing it correctly or not.
If the college CS course costs more than Andrews or M-TEC, I'd go with one of those instead. But CS through college is definitely better than just CS alone.
Brighton College
I am considering taking courses through Brighton College or MTEC. Any advice?
I went to a local college here.. and now...
I started off with $19/h plus incentive. Now, I make $22/h plus incentive at a local hospital. Yes it can be done.
college credits
I would recommend that you check with the college you might plan to attend in the future to see if your credits would actually transfer. I had the experience of taking a course at the college but found that all my MT courses at the community college were listed under continuing education or something. My "credits" were not transferrable to another program or school. In other words, not all credits are accepted by all schools. Check into that before you go to far.
How about seeing what's available thru your local college? Might be able to take
s
comm. college
I'm new to this forum and am trying to find a good program. I've been accepted at a community college but tey aren't very efficient in returning phone calls or emails. It's like after they answer you one time they don't want to be bothered by you anymore. They refuse to answer certain questions , ie, if they train in any specialty fields. I've looked into M Tec and the Bright Start program They both sound good but the AHDI and an MT company I spoke with have never heard of them. Advise?
comm. college
Hi Toni,
Thanks for the advise. That's what worries me about this college. The instructors are the ones who deal with phone calls and emails. Classes haven't started yet and I'm really struggling with to go on with them or apply to one the online programs everyone keeps talking about. I've asked one specific question 2-3 times and it gets ignored everytime. I've tried to call that one with the Bright Start program you mentioned but still yet haven't gotten anyone to answer the phone. Do you know anything about them besides just looking at their website?
comm college
Toni,
I called Med Works several times during the day and only got voice mail. However, one of the ocunselors did call me back tonight. I had never heard of a staffing school until I read your post. For starting out of just what is required you're right, it is cheaper. I'm thinking of signing up with them. They just got bought out by someone else so I hope that's not a bad sign. They have a program going on with a particular company, like what you do I guess. (hiring students solely for them.) If they don't pay good or are hard to work for I'll be stuck for however long. But at least it's a guaranteed job to get experience. Right? Thanks for all the advise you give to us newbies.
comm college
Maybe I didn't clarify it well enough but I wasn't talking about M Tec.
I am going back to college
I went to school back in 06 for this. I know MT is going down. I know I cannot give my kids the kind of life I want to doing MT. I absolutely want to stay in the medical field, so I chose to go back to college for nursing. I am getting a loan for it, and at least I know that when I am done with schools and testing I CAN get a job in the hospital without a problem and be able to pay off my loan. Its just right for me and my family.
college grad + training
Does being a college grad plus a grad of MT training school improve one's chances of being hired with no experience?
Selkirk College Canada
Advanced Medical Transcription program
What CMT exam? What college are you attending? (sm)
What CMT exam would this be? What organization sponsors it?
Yes, there are a number of groups offering "certification" exams, but there is only ONE recognized exam, and that is the CMT exam offered by the AAMT.
Somebody pops up monthly, it seems, offering some half-baked "exam" or other. Nobody recognizes them.
You can take them if you want, but they are a waste of your time and money. Most of them are only a means to get you to shell out money for the test, for the alleged "certification," and for continuing education units in the years after. And it's all a complete WASTE.
This is almost as big a scam in MT as crummy schools.
Please do your homework and find out exactly what this is before you spend money on it.
If it is not the AAMT exam, it is not recognized by anyone. And if it is the AAMT exam, you can't take it anyway because you don't have 2 years of experience.
Don't think that taking a different exam is going to help you get a job, because it won't. If you pass it and claim to be certified, employers will assume that you are misrepresenting your credentials and they won't hire you.
I went to my local Commuinty College
took all my courses online. Much less expensive than those "other schools" and the program I was in was more intensive than the others. I was hired by a national before I even graduated.
Best bet is local college for MT training
Please do not waste your money on those "fast track" schools that promise you training in 6 months to a year. I did one, and then had to go to the local college to get my real training along with a 2-year mentoring program typing OPs. Money used to be good (I was making $90,000 to $100,000) but now I cannot even make enough money to cover expenses (call-in system, phone lines, office rent, reference books, AAMT membership, DSL, voice file equipment, C-phone equipment, transcribers for local clients, stationary, constant software upgrades and reference book upgrades, business license, etc. Get the picture? Oh yeah, the most expensive of all--the medical expenses from 16 surgeries from all my work injuries as a Transcriptionist with 4 more surgeries to go and all the doctors, prescriptions at $1400 a month with insurance, insurance premiums, electric, etc. The list goes on. I truly wish I could get out.
Selkirk College grads
I would like to know how many Selkirk College grads of the AMT program actually find work working online upon completion of their studies.
I simply cannot find a job. Am I the only Selkirk grad that cannot find work? Unfortunately, I have to work online, as there are no jobs in my community. It is very disappointing to spend a lot of money and still be unemployed!
Question re teachers at this college
I have a friend considering MT. Does the Everett College MT course provide teachers and feedback, or is it more self-study like the straight Career Step course on line.
Thanks.
The college should help with job placement, but most companies
will not accept wireless or dial-up. You can dump Vista and put XP on your computer so that isn't an issue. You may need to look at trying to get a job locally in an office.
If you take an MT program at an outside college or business school, you might just be able to take
s
Local college is best way to go plus a great mentor!
Wow, $6,000? I spent a fortune on a lousy school too before I went to the local college. I worked for the lady on the advisory board who trained me with a fine-tooth comb. It was the hard but best way to go. Besides, I got to dissect cadavers! Good luck!
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