Both Andrews and M-TEC are excellent. I have never head of one being better than the other.
Posted By: deb on 2008-05-23
In Reply to: Andrews vs. M-TEC - a tad shy
You can't go wrong with either one.
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- Andrews vs. M-TEC - a tad shy
- Both Andrews and M-TEC are excellent. I have never head of one being better than the other. - deb
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Andrews is an excellent choice, sm
but I have no experience with them to give you advice! You may try asking Linda Andrews to put you in touch with some current students (contact info on the Andrews School website) ***Edited by Moderator*** Good luck to your daughter!
Excellent WORKERS, not just excellent skills...sm
those who are conscientious, accurate, dependable will always be able to find a job somewhere, though probably not MT.
Not sure that is where her head is - NM
NM
keep your head up
oooh i failed many many tests lol. But, i'm one of those people that when it comes time to "test" i clam up and suddenly don't know what i'm doing. I put way to much pressure on myself so my advice to you is to keep studying. Learn as much as you can on your spare time and when you test say to yourself "you know what, i'm good enough and i can do this" 
good luck =)
If you'd like i have a website they names transcription companies state by state so you can start going down the line and seeing if they'll let you apply.
You hit the nail on the head with that one.
"Again, this is a MESSAGE BOARD where anyone can say anything they want. It doesn't make it the truth."
You hit that nail on the head!
You have to use your head for the first part! :) The
s
Just a head up - these are also the most expensive schools
Remember Nipper, the RCA dog with its head tilted?
Well, sometimes I feel like poor old Nipper as I try to listen oh-so-carefully to dictations. Can anyone offer some suggestions/opinions as to what headphones are really good for transcription? Currently I am using the headphones from an old portable cd player, and now I'm wondering if there are some headphones that are especially good for transcription. I've checked out a few websites, but there are so many to choose from. Does anyone have a favorite?
excellent :)
thanks so much, everyone. these are terrific answers. and lo: a hospital where i worked needs a per-diem transcriptionist, too! i'm even getting optimistic here--lol 
Besides this excellent advice (sm)
when you finally figure out that one word you've struggled over, pay attention to how it's being pronounced. Makes notes about the little quirks with their accent. Some don't say "V" and say "W" instead. Some say cerv-I-cal. I know one doc who drops endings, he'll say impress instead of impression, fracture instead of fractured, rotate instead of rotation. Some can't pronounce blended sounds like th, sh, etc.
That is excellent! I am sure you will learn a lot from her
:-)
Thank you!! This is an excellent site!...sm
I will probably use this for any term I'm having trouble with or just want more information about. This is excellent! Plus, it's so easy to use as far as looking something up! Thank you for sharing!
You can't go wrong with either one, both are excellent. NM
x
I agree with that either one is excellent.
If you narrowed it down to these two, I recommend spending a lot of time on the websites for both, corresponding with the directors, etc. It is really just a matter of which school has a style that suits you best. Either one is a great choice!
Excellent Suggestion
It's funny that I just read this. I just applied to a company for an editing position and offered to work for them for 2 weeks sans pay to get my foot in the door and so that they could evaluate my performance. I just finished up an externship of 8 weeks with a company based in Utah and loved it although that wasn't nearly enough time to get "experience". I would be very willing to work sans pay for a few weeks (I've already done 8 of them, lol) to be considered for a job. I also have most of the stuff already needed to get right to work. I have the foot pedal, reference books, spellchecker and computer. Any chance I could have to get the experience needed to get me started works for me. I live in a very very small town and all the places here (clinics and offices) all send their work to a company in Indianapolis (3hrs away from me) so of course there is no chance of me getting work with them that would be in house.
Excellent skills are very much in demand
Excellent skills and a teachable attitude are always marketable.
If you have excellent skills and do the work the way the employers want it done, you will have many more options to choose from. If you take a course that doesn't teach all that employers expect you to know, it doesn't matter how hard you work and how much you put into it, you won't get anything out of it. You can't get out of a course what isn't there, no matter how hard you work. I recommend getting the best education you can and working hard. That pays off in the longterm.
CareerStep is also an excellent school. Their
.
Applause! Excellent post!
nm
I agree - it's an excellent school
x
So you got excellent "secretarial" but not transcription education
There's a big difference. If you want to do transcription, you don't want a secretarial or technical course. You want an expert instructor teaching you to transcribe the way employers want it done.
Unfortunately, many people have to go to local schools because they are "accredited" for financial assistance. That's great, but if they don't teach you want you need to know, I don't think it's worth the time and effort you put into it, regardless of how cheap it is.
Career Step training is excellent
I received my training from Career Step which is an online school. If you would like more details, I'm happy to share my experience. Feel free to email me.
Whether you want to work from home or inhouse - you'll be prepared. Make sure whatever school you choose offers job placement assistance. Also, CS is very well respected as they are 1 of the schools recognized by the American Association of Medical Transcriptionists.
GOOD LUCK! 
Looking for a newbie in South Fla. with excellent communication skills
For cardiology account.
Andrews vs. M-Tec...
Is M-Tec every bit as good as Andrews as far as:
1. Preparing a person to enter the MT field
and
2. Almost guaranteeing a job for a student upon graduation. (Realizing, of course, that this depends on the individual.) But all else equal, does graduating from M-Tec virtually guarantee that many companies will waive the normal 2-year experience requirement and allow a new graduate to test?
Thanks
Not at Andrews
As an Andrews grad, 95% was the minimum required of each assignment of each section before you were permitted to advance to the next section. And, 95% was no guarantee that you wouldn't still be assigned extra work! We were strongly encouraged and motivated to achieve 98% and above as we were told from the beginning of the course that this is the norm in the working world. They(the instructors) were upfront from the beginning that it would take lots of work (read: blood, sweat, and tears)to pass the course at the level expected. The plus side of Andrews is that they don't turn you loose until they are confident you can attain that high goal of accuracy. An 86% would have been absolutely unacceptable.
Both Andrews and M-Tec
are top-notch MT schools. Either one would be an excellent choice not only for MT skills but also for any required improvement in spelling and grammar skills that might be necessary.
Also . . . about Andrews
Have you spoken with Linda Andrews yet? Looking on their website, I see that the payment plan has an option with a lesser down-payment of $1000 with a monthly payment of $117, instead of the $98 it would be with the larger down-payment. There is no interest on that, I see, which would be a considerable benefit to you.
Also of importance is that this covers everything. Their students traditionally do not need to provide anything else for school--not one book, not one bit of software, nothing. And, when they go to work, they already have the references that most employers require.
The first question above asked about whether one school allowed you to retake sections until you got them right. This focuses on "failure mode." The thinking is that "this is so hard, nobody can succeed." It sets up the expectation that it is NORMAL for students to fail at transcription.
Students should not fail at transcription. The concept of having some students do well, others ok, and some fail is a concept dragged over from traditional education. Private MT schools are not public junior colleges. They do not need to follow that model.
Frankly, if I were thinking of putting down a fat down-payment on a course and the school thought that it was acceptable to have any students fail, I'd be a little worried. And I certainly wouldn't expect that I'd be the exception who did well, because a school which has students failing, or not doing well enough to be employable, seems to stack the deck against you.
It would seem better to me to simply select a school in which the students do not fail, instead achieving a high level of skill across the board.
Select a school where you KNOW your money won't be wasted, where the risk is almost nil. Select a school where students do not flounder around unassisted, failing and re-failing. Select a school where they achieve and are routinely offered new, extra material to improve their already high levels of achievement.
Medical transcription training does not need to be difficult, nor does it need to culminate in unemployability.
The best are M-TEC and Andrews
M-TEC has an abbreviated course for previous medical professionals. I don't know if Andrews does.
Andrews
I'm mentoring an MT right now who went to Andrews and she seems very knowledgeable.
Andrews
I graduated from Andrews in December of 2004. I was hired immediately after graduation and have been with the same company since. I work for a smaller MTSO, and she has been very happy with how well Andrews prepared me.
M-Tec or Andrews (sm)
M-Tec and Andrews are the only two schools that are approved by the AAMT right now. I am sure there are other good schools too, but these two have been around for awhile and are proven to produce job-ready MTs upon graduation.
www.mtecinc.com
www.andrewsschool.com
www.aamt.org
M-Tec vs. Andrews
I think I am going to end up going with either M-Tec or Andrews. Please help me decide! All opinions, comments, pros and cons of each are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
M-TEC, Inc. or Andrews are the very best...
Companies waive the 2-year experience requirement for their grads. Pick one of the very best. Your future success as an MT depends on it.
So, you went through Andrews AND M-TEC after CS?
I'm really curious.
You sound just simply disgruntled over CS and have no real experience comparing the other schools to CS.
Andrews is the very best, IMO.
Look at Andrews or M-Tec
Andrews or M-Tec are simply the best programs out there.
Andrews or M-TEC are best. nm
nm
I think Andrews is the best, but everyone has their
M-TEC or Andrews
Truly, if you want to be prepared to work at home immediately upon graduation, M-Tec or Andrews is the only way to go. These 2 schools are worth every penny you will spend. Their education is top notch. I am a graduate of M-TEC but know several Andrews graduates. Please...don't skimp on your education. Speak with the directors at both M-TEC and Andrews before making a decision.
If you took M-TEC or Andrews there are
companies that will hire you without the experience, otherwise you'll have a very tough time getting an at-home job. I suggest you look for an in-house position locally and get your experience.
M-TEC or Andrews
It shouldn't even be a question anymore...
Ignore the rah-rah Career Step down there (unless you don't care whether you get a job or not).
The 2 best are M-Tec and Andrews. This
same question has been asked many times, so spend some time looking through past posts. Also read the posts about how difficult it is to get a job if you don't take one of the better courses, how low the pay is, etc.
Andrews vs. M-TEC
Hi! I'm not proud of my newbie question, but here goes. :)
I've been reading forums and researching medical transcription for about a year now. I understand Andrews and M-Tec are regarded as the best schools. I worry my reasons are partially superficial, but I feel drawn to M-TEC in particular.
I recently took their skills assessment and scored 100%. I've been seconds from enrolling a couple of times. My only concern is a general vibe that Andrews is #1. Is there a known reason for this vibe? Will my job prospects as an M-TEC grad closely mirror those of a comparable Andrews grad? Superficialities aside, my primary concern is marketability post-graduation.
Thanks in advance!
M-TEC or Andrews
Why don't you call both schools and see for yourself which one you like better?
Not Andrews or M-Tec
Thank you for the encouragement in not giving up.
The person that said she got a job so quickly said she attended Everett Community College.
My husband has suggested I write a letter to AHP, but I think anything I have to say will fall on deaf ears, and that will only make me more upset. The only thing I can say in their defense is that it seems to me that even Andrews and M-Tec make it sound like a getting a job is a piece of cake after you complete school. According to what I've seen on mtstars, it's not that easy. Granted, it's easier if you have gone to one of those schools but still not as easy as they ALL make it sound. While I attended AHP, I felt like I was learning a lot and getting a decent education, but then again, I don't have anything to compare it to. I do know that my education is not getting me anywhere now.
Andrews School
provides about the best MT training available. Even their training, however, is NOT equivalent to two years' experience. That is simply not a reasonable assumption. However, should you do the smart thing and select Andrews for your MT training and complete it successfully, you will come out FAR ahead of someone who chose one of the cheaper or less reputable MT schools. The reason companies waive the two-year experience requirement for Andrews graduates is not because they actually have two years of experience, it is because they know that they are getting a well-trainined newby who will require a minimum of handholding and someone who has been trained to deal with the realities of being an MT. You should have no qualms whatsoever about choosing Andrews. M-Tec is an equally good school that would offer you the same chance of early success. Many Career Step students have also found their transition to work to be relatively painless.
Yes, you can't go wrong with either M-TEC or Andrews.
x
Is Andrews a notch above? (SM)
It appears that if one wants to pursue an MT education, that it's either Andrews or M-Tec. I know there isn't a whole lot separating these 2 schools--the money difference is irrelevant to me--but something in the back of my mind tells me that Andrews offers just a little more. I have absolutely no concrete reason to think this, it just kind of seems that if you want the VERY best, it's Andrews; if you want REALLY GOOD, but not quite Andrews, then you go with M-Tec. Is this a faulty perception? Don't Andrews students actually transcribe more total hours than do M-Tec students?
If a person got their education at M-Tec, would they have the exact same advantage that Andrews graduates have as far as being positioned to get an opportunity to test for an at-home MT position?
Thanks.
Still Deciding: M-Tec v. Andrews
Thanks to everyone who replied below. I learned a lot. I'm seriously concerned about M-Tec & the 86% to graduate thing. I'm also worried because I feel like I may have uncovered a bit of deception on M-Tec's part. Their financial overview section states that they offer an interest-free payment plan option. However, when I calculate the cost of the payment plan described in the payment plan section, it costs $150 more to use the payment plan. Isn't that pretty much the same thing as interest?
You might be thinking well why doesn't this person just choose Andrews, but I also have concerns about Andrews. For one thing, their website hasn't changed in years, and it is not very user friendly. For another thing, they have a private board. In my previous MT training experience, when the students started complaining about how badly the program was going, our board was made private, so I am a little leery of any sort of secrecy. Another thing is I'm worried about fitting in with the Andrews culture. It is hard to explain, but there are things like the Irish pub that I realize are just to blow off steam and have fun, but I am a very serious person, and I'm not sure I could fit in. Especially since I already had a bad experience with MT training, I just want to get the work done with no extra nonsense.
If anyone has more insight or information, please help!
Andrews School
I am a current student at Andrews and I can tell you that there is a reason why this school is highly recommended, it is a great course. The boards are private because the students want it that way. There are not any students complaining about the program, because there is nothing to complain about. It is an exceptional program. The Andrews culture is very diverse. It is a positive, supportive, and extremely kind group of people. The program is well structured. The instructors are very professional. You are only required to participate in the instructional forums. If you do not wish to participate in the social forums you are not required to. If you are looking for a program with no extra nonsense this is it. I urge you to contact Linda Andrews, she is very easy to talk to and will answer your questions completely and honestly. I love attending the Andrews school and I am confident it is the best MT education available.
Check out Andrews and M-TEC if you want the best-nm
nm
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