Becoming a Medical Transcriptionist
Posted By: Eva on 2005-12-11
In Reply to:
I am interested in becoming a MT but i'm not sure how to find out information on it. I'm trying to find out which is the best school, best rates and how it all works. Can I start working from home immediately or do I first have to work in an office? Is it hard to find a job? is the pay good? If anyone has any information for me please let me know - I'm getting desperate!
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Are you a medical transcriptionist? Have you experience or training in medical transciption?
You can't just say you want to be "an" MT and just start doing it. It is not easy.
New Medical Transcriptionist
Hi
I am a 2003 graduate of Mountain State College Parkersburg WV, with an Associate Degree Medical Transcription. After graduation I had my fourth child. I have not been able to get a job doing Transcription because I lack the needed experience. I would love to work from my home doing entry-level work. Anyone have any suggestions? I would appreciate some advice.
Thank you
Laura
slcdcp6@yahoo.com
Worth being a medical transcriptionist
Yes, it sure is worth being a medical transcriptionist.
This is an insane question, but does medical transcriptionist
nm
I think that is low for a transcriptionist...
But I see no reason fwhy an MT (just out of school, even) should work for $8 an hour. My sister started working for a lawyer (no experience whatsoever, only worked prior as a secretary at a church) for a starting salary of $13 hr. They hire girls to answer the phone in the office I work for $12 hr. Maybe the reason companies offer $8 is because we as MTs aren't presenting ourselves as professionals and too many of us are willing to work for $8 because we are "desperate" for a job. This is too hard of a profession with highly trained skills to be working for $8 an hour! Heck, Wal-Mart starts out more than that and I live in MS. Just my opinion, don't sell yourself short!
it is for the transcriptionist.
nm
transcriptionist
Hello. My names is Amber.  I am a medical Transcriptionist looking for a transcription job. I graduated in 06 with a certificate in Medical Transcription and can not find a job as one!  Everywhere requires you to have experience!!! How can you get experience if no one will hire you without any? If anyone needs a Medical transcriptionist please reply to this post! Thanks a lot!!!
Amber
wondering transcriptionist sm
I would suggest that you steer yourself more towards the companies that accept "newbies" or transcriptionists who have less than 3 years experience. You must start somewhere to gain some experience and learn to decipher the doctors.. Not all docs are awful, usually just a handful. The more you do the work, and the more terminology you become familiar with, the easier it will be for your mind and ears to HEAR everything the doctors dictate. To begin with you may make less than what you're expecting, but the experience will be priceless in the end.
texas transcriptionist
any one out there in texas?
Texas Transcriptionist
I'm in San Antonio. I'm not working yet, but I hope to soon! I graduated from Everett Community College's online program in April 2006. E-mail me if you'd like to chat!
Dietchie Franks
Transcriptionist researching MT
I have 17 years as a legal Transcriptionist (court reporter) and have taken down several doctors through the years who read straight from their reports. I have a huge dictionary of medical terminology. Now, I know you probably think "who does she think she is", but I have burnt out on ct. reporting and want to transfer my steno machine skills into MT.
I have researched all the schools and, I agree, Andrews and the others given the "golden seal" so to speak by AAMT would probably be the best place to get educated. But I've already had 3 quarters of medical terminology and 17 years of listening to doctors from foreign countries, OB-GYNs, and my specialty is med/mal lawsuits. So I was wondering if taking an at-home course like Stratford has would be sufficient.
Do employers take into consideration my transcription background and medical classes? Are they still going to only take me serious if I go to one of the best schools? What is Stratford's reputation among the MT community?
Thanks, guys, for any info you can give me regarding my situation.
Being a transcriptionist is much different from being a nurse,
even if it's a medical transcriptionist
How much does the average nurse know about surgical procedures? How much time does the average nurse (not surgical nurse0 spend in the OR? Radiology? Neurology? Just because they know medical terms does not mean they are ready to be a Transcriptionist without getting any training.
transcriptionist with 1 year's exp
I think Spheris has a program to do that.
20 reports and they consider you an employable transcriptionist?!?!?!?!
.
Did you see the job listed for a manuscript transcriptionist?
On the Job Seeker's Board. It would be dictation from a doctor writing about her life, so not full of many terms, but it would be about 2 hours a day, so if I were looking for my first job, I'd be applying for that.
Any companies willing to hire transcriptionist
nm
Medical Transcription/Medical Coding
Hi,
I am a MT and can't find a job or pass employment test. So, I have to take one of the AAMT approved schools this time around and was thinking about Medical Coding but, not sure of this. Does anyone know if Medical Coding is harder than Medical Transcription to pass or is the stress more intense? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a bunch!
Barb
Medical Coder or Medical Transcription
I am so confused!! I took a Medical Transcription course and could not find a job and it was not one of the BIG 3. I am about ready to go with M-Tec Medical Transcription School. But, I have been reading post about Medical Coders and now I do not know which to choose. I do not want to make another mistake and choose the wrong school or the wrong career. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
BMT
Another Medical Must
Does anyone know anything about this company?
I would appreciate any information on them.
Thanks !
Another Medical Must
Thanks. I did post it on the company board, but no replies yet.
Medical transcription is a lot more than just
typing. It depends on your knowledge of the material, how clear the dictation is, your knowledge of the material, how bad the doctor's accent is, your knowledge of the material, the quality of the recording, and, oh yes, your knowledge of the material. It also depends a lot on your knowledge of the material.
getting a Medical Transcription Job
I have taken a Medical Transcription course through PCDI but every job that I have applied for has wanted experience. How do you get experience if no one will hire you? Has anyone else had this problem? Please help...I'm so frustrated with the whole thing!!!
a medical transcription job
I finished a medical transcription class in June of 2005 and worked for a surgeon for 3 months. I was driving far for little hours. Can anyone tell me of a company that hires transcriptionists with very little experience
well, if you want to do medical transcription, then you want to get a job.
to get a job as a newbie is not as easy as you think. Some of the schools partner with companies who will take their newbies, with some additional specific training. So it increases your chances of getting a job - that is, if you want to work for the companies that partner with the school. Otherwise, you may want to go to the community college if they have a certificate program because at least you will have college credit towards your degree for your next job, when MT tanks.
Medical Secretary
Medical Secretary making $8.00/hr???? Where are you? Here in the DC Metro Area we are making $12-13/hr on average to start.
Do you have a medical dictionary?
x
AC Medical Records?
HI! Has anyone heard of AC Medical Records in Oregon? I was offered a position with them and was wondering if anyone had any info. Thanks in advance!
Amanda
Medical Transcription is
looked upon as a stay-at-home-Mom's dream job. A way to really make a great living while Junior is looking over your shoulder. The advertisements do state that this works very well for family life. Career Step has on the opening page "eliminate daycare". So, do you think that MT's are being mislead? If I had a toddler, I would jump at the chance to learn a way to make money at home all the while raising Junior. JMO.
not unless you have some medical training
nm
Medical Dictionary
Question for experienced MTs...can I find a good Medical Dictionary that can be downloaded into Microsoft Word or similar program...if not, can you please advise me on what you work with?
Medical Dictionary
Thanks everyone!
Medical Transcription
Hi,
I know what you mean. The same thing happen to me and now the only thing you can do is enroll in another school. I am enrolling in M-Tec at the end of the month. I have researched and researched. This is one I choose.
Best of luck to you!
Barb
Medical Spellcheck
Can someone tell me the best medical spellchecker to buy? I need a new one and I do not like the old one I used
Medical terminology
I have to agree that this is one of the most fun courses in the MT program!
That said, do you have a good bookstore nearby? If so, maybe you can go in and take a peek in the "RMT Study Guide". That will give you a great idea of the extent of terminology you will be learning.
Good luck (but you'll do great)!
medical terminology
The medical terminology needed to be an MT is much more in-depth than most people realize. It's not something you can jump right into and start making decent money. There is also the fact that even if you know a lot of med terms, you have to be able to understand the doctors, who often have difficult accents or just don't speak well. Some people have been lucky enough, with a little knowledge of med terms and typing/spelling/grammar skills, to find a company that will take them on and train them (I did this, 13 years ago - I never went to MT school - I had a bachelor's degree in nutrition). I know there are others who had similar experiences. But this was years ago and these days (from what I'm reading on the board)I think the MT training programs are the best way to go. You'd be much better prepared. I know MT sounds like a wonderful work at home opportunity, and it can be, but it really does take time to build up the skills to make money at this. Good luck.
Medical Transcription Job
Does anyone know who hires new medical transcriptionist? I've been searching for 4 months know and cant find anything.
Medical Transcription Job
I have been looking for a medical transcription job for 6 months know and have had no luck, it seems they all want someone with experience, if anyone could please give me some advice.
Medical Transcription Job
Could anyone let me know who hires new medical transcriptionist?
Best medical references
The school I am enrolled in sent me a Stedmans Medical Dictionary. I don't have any drug reference books or anything else. What do you recommend for drug reference books and dictionaries? Also, I am wanting to try to supplement my education as much as possible before I graduate. Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? I guess experience is probably the best thing?? TIA
Medical Transcription..sm
If it is really as you, Older MT, say, then I must say that
Medical Transcription
is just the most ridiculous, frustrating, unrewarding, exploiting, underpaid, disrespecful, unorganized, illogical, etc......
occupation there is.
This isn't even a profession!
medical records clerk
Are MTs over qualified for a medical records clerk?
MLS- Medical Language Specialists
Saw this posted on one of the message boards are they talking about accents? if not, what does it mean?
Ana
RE:MLS- Medical Language Specialists
Medical Language Specialists; another term for transcriptionist.
medical reference books
does anyone use Tabers?
On-Line Medical Dictionary
Dorland's has a wonderful on-line dictionary for those who cannot afford their own. I use it all the time, even tho I have my own; it's just easier to click to a website!
Here is the link. Either click or copy and paste in your web browser:
http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_a-b_00zPzhtm
Enjoying medical transcription
I have been a medical Transcriptionist for 19 years, and thoroughly enjoy it!
I would be glad to talk with anyone about medical transcription.
Medical Coding or Transcription
I will be applying for online training soon and have noticed that the price of tuition for medical coding and medical transcription are not too far apart. I always thought that there was more opportunity and a higher income for medical transcription. Can anyone with experience in coding tell me how the average salary is for coding? Thank you in advance for any answers on this.
medical phrase book
What is the best medical phrase index, Stedman's, Vera Pyle, or Lorenzini.
which is best medical term book
Thanks much for the input.
Med Secretary vs Medical Transcription
Your classes may have been excellent. I don't know anything about them. Most courses that teach all sorts of things and a couple of semesters of transcription don't teach what employers need you to know. It's certainly going to be helpfl in a medical secretarial course, but in a transcription job? Maybe, maybe not. You'll know when you've tested with employers, especialy the national employers that need people who can work independently from home.
So the differences would include, what kind of transcription dictaton did you transcribe? Were they quality training reports such as SUM or AAMT? How many of them did you do? If not SUM or AAMT, they probably were read or dictated by DJs or professonal actors, which is not the same as real dictation. That makes huge difference. Did you do hundreds of reports? Were they carefully checked by expert instructors who returned your work with helpful comments and recommendations along with the corrections? If students switched reports with other class members and graded each others' work, that would be another sign that it's geared more for secretarial rather than transcription. That's not bad. It just is intended for a different purpose. Well, let me rephrase that. It may have originally been intended to be a real medical transcription course, but most of those are folding across the country because their graduates are not able to find and keep good MT jobs. They can usually get jobs in small doctors' offices, but are not prepared to work where they are transcribing reports for hundreds of doctors from varying specialties.
the future of medical transcription
I don't know what to think! I see postings saying that this field is on its way out, and I see postings from people who are actively pursuing this field. I was really hoping to get into transcription, but I just don't know what to do at this point. Anyone have an opinion?
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