Can you explain what you're looking for? No idea! nm

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How do Nationals work? Do you clock in? Guarenteed certain amount of work? Have to work so many hours? When is work usually availble for you?

I'm just wondering because I started work for this lady who hired me to work on a new acct she was going to be getting. I still haven't seen any work from that account although she has sent some my way.

Which is better to work for do you think (National or small company)?

thanks for the advice.

I know this is far fetched, but this is the first thing that came to my mind.  What if you are transcribing a report about a friend's or relative's significant other, and you see that they have an STD such as HIV that your friend/relative is not aware of.   

Several years ago,I did what you are thinking of doing.  I have a good job with a high salary and good benefits, but my home needed quite a bit of work, I didn't want to take on debt to get the work done, and I also wanted to beef up my retirement savings as I am single and have only myself for support.  I heard about MT from someone whose relative was an MT and decided it sounded like just what I needed to make some extra money. 

I didn't have a clue about what constitutes good MT training, so I took the MT training courses offered by my local community college.  The medical terminology training was the only part of that program that was worth anything.  None of he practice transcription was real doctor dictation.  It was actors reading scripts.  Apparently, their MT program is similar to programs at other CCs and technical colleges, which may be why so many people who get training that way complain of having difficulty finding a job. 

I was very, very lucky.  My friend's MT relative turned out to be responsible for hiring MTs for the clinic she worked for.  My friend put me in touch with her MT relative, and I was hired with no experience.  I had to work very, very hard to make up for the deficiencies in my training, though I was fortunate to have a background in general transcription and a very good ear for transcription.  If I had not had the good fortune of an introduction, I think it would have been very, very difficult for me to find the first job with the poor training that I received.  I would certainly not have been able to find a job with one of the nationals. 

If I were looking for training today, and knowing what I know now about how hard medical transcription can be with inadequate training, from my personal perspective (you will want to do your own research to determine what is best for you), I would choose Andrews or M-Tec (often mentioned as the two best schools).  There are other good programs, and some community colleges and technical colleges do provide good training, but without knowing what good training is beforehand, it would be very difficult to judge a program's quality. 

With the experience I gained working for the local clinic, I was able to get a job with a small national that does clinic work when the first clinic I worked for transitioned to an electronic medical records system that does not require human transcriptionists.  I submitted at least fifty applications, from which I was offered six opportunities to test, and from those I received four job offers, three of which were untenable (one company turned out to have a bad reputation because of treating MTs badly, one company appeared to be hopelessly disorganized and was therefore not very appealing, and the third appeared to be managed by crazy people).  The offer I accepted has worked out well so far because I am working on the only specialty I have ever done.  I was not even invited to test with companies that do hospital transcription because I do not have either the necessary experience or suitable, recognized training. 

If you want to have the widest range of employment options, you will need good, comprehensive traning that is recognized as good training by employers.  If you think can get your foot in the door with a local clinic, it probably won't matter where you get your training.  If you want to have a chance at the widest range of available jobs, you will need training that employers recognize as good.  Otherwise, it might be difficult even to get an opportunity to test for a job and you might find your options very limited.

Good luck with your plan.  MT has worked out very well for me as a second job.  I hope your experience is good, too.

I hadn't thought of working on preparing and learning an expander.  I don't actually use one right now.  Is there one Expander program that will work in all programs/platforms?   Just wondering.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I think that is a pretty good.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll go ahead  and ask the school and see what help they can provide.

you can work at home right away; maybe 10 years ago, maybe even 5 years ago you could, but not now.   Did you check out MT before you took the class?  So many come here only after completing their schooling and most complain they can't get a job, but they didn't investigate it before starting and they are expecting to be working at home right out of school.  Some have taken programs through correspondance schools that were pretty worthless, again because they didn't investigate the schools or because one has a more affordable program. 

It doesn't matter what your grade is, whether your grade is 97% (which is not the same as GPA) or not.  If you went to one of the better recognized/accepted schools and then have that grade you might have better luck.

You need an eye for detail in this job and that will be helpful, but that is only a tiny portion of what an MT does.   I have been in this business 20 years and I learn new things all the time and I think most MTs with several years of experience will tell you the same thing.   I still have days where I spend up to 30 minutes researching something.  I still have days where I have to leave a blank because I can't document a piece of equipment or I just can't understand what the dictator is saying.   You have to be able to understand accents/dialects, be able to make out what the doctor is saying while they are dictating and eating an apple.   You need to be able to tell the difference between abduction and adduction because they pretty much sound the same most of the time.  You need to know that when a doctor spells a piece of equipment or a drug that you shouldn't take his word for it, investigate it yourself.  Doctors spell things wrong all the time.  You need to know when a doctor mispronounces a word - doctors all the time say "Perm a Cath" but it is PermCath.  All this comes with practice/experience, which you just don't have fresh out of school. 

I know I sound like it is hopeless and it isn't, but your expectations are probably unrealistic too.   Post your resume.  It doesn't cost anything and you never know what will come of it, but I would recommend you come to this board or the company board and ask about any company just to be sure they are legitimate.  

You could also contact local doctors.  Find a doctor in practice alone or maybe just 2 doctors.  Since you are only wanting to work PT and take care of your daughter you probably shouldn't take on anything more than that.  You will also have to look up lots of things to start with, which will slow you down.   

The internship I speak of is not the Jumpstart program but is a similar program.  I took part in a medical transcription course of study at a community college.  In order to obtain my diploma I must complete the internship.  I think it is a wonderful idea and provides experience, not to mention real world learning.  I didn't determine before I started how the clock hours necessary would be calculated.  I thought clock hours meant 8 hours per workday 5 days a week.  Wrong!  Lines typed are divided by 200 lph.  Yea, way longer than 120 actual clock hours!  That's okay but I wasn't given that information at the beginning which I think I should have been.

You learn things the hard way when you new and naive!!

Oh, just relax...Of course I want MT's with experience - and as long as there continues to be MT's with experience that want work at a certain rate, they will be hired in front of a newbie. In the work place it is all about what the market will bear. Nursing shortage? Nurse pay goes up. Until Filipino nurses flood the market. Then nurse pay goes down (just as an example). All I'm saying is as long as there are experienced MT's who are willing to work for 6-7 cpl (and I get plenty of them asking for work all the time at that rate), then a newbie can't be worth the same. It's all about what the market will bear. Therefore, you have to give the employer something to make hiring you more attractive than the next person....which is what? I'm always surprised that a newbie doesn't take an internship or something- whatever it takes- to get that experience. Without the experience, your chances of being hired go waaaaaay down.

My own suspicion is that it's the MT schools who keep telling newbies to go out and try to get jobs at 6 cpl - sometimes I even get resumes asking for 8 or 10! If the MT schools were honest about how difficult it was to break into the field - would people sign up and pay the money? No. But they take the money, train 'em and don't tell them that training isn't enough. Then the boards are full of postings from newbies complaining about how hard it is to break into the field. Well, for crying out loud - I would rather work for free for six months and then be marketable than to get 0 work at 6 cpl for years and years, holding out for that one chance in a thousand that someone would be willing to take me on

And I recognize that.  However, when my employer reviewed my first few batches of reports, he was quite impressed and surprised at the quality given that I was just getting started. 

So, I ask again- what is it that makes AHP an inferior education to other schools like Andrews and M-Tec?  Do they not provide enough anatomy/medical terminology instruction? Are they deficient in practice report experience? 

The only thing I felt under-prepared for was how quickly the doctor's dictate in real life versus what I was used to in practicing.  Other than that, doing real transcribing was actually easier than the practice tapes I was doing because AHP uses a good deal of difficult foreign accents on their practice tapes.  The account that I work on now has no foreign doctors (which is probably unusual), but some of them are ridiculously fast and incoherent. 

I'm really not trying to stir up anything here or argue that anyone is wrong.  I truly am just curious to know why AHP is not a good school.  I have many people ask me about what I do and where I got my training, and when I tell them that I've read online that the quality of an AHP education is questionable, I have no reason to give.  Thanks!

');

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You're not alone...
I graduated about a month ago and haven't been able to find a job yet either. The biggest hurdle has been trying to find a company willing to hire a "newbie". I've passed tests, then been turned down because I don't have two years of experience.

Let's just hope the economy improves soon and more jobs become available for new graduates.

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If you're just learning...
Why are you giving advice?

You're just beginning training. Where have you had marketing experience?

Also #1 priority in transcription and "landing" a job, be able to spell.

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You're kind!
appreciate the support ... this is harder than i ever imagined it would be (as a seasoned clerical for many, many years). i don't see how any of you make a living at this.
though i was told it was hard before i started, i didn't believe it could be that hard. famous last words!

surprisingly, most of my challenges come from the simpler things like hearing "a" instead of "the" (or where there isn't either).

how on earth did you get through this? my hat's off to all of you seasoned MTs.

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you're doing it correctly *the pt* until they..sm

tell you differently.  I have a surgeon who gave me lip about it, until I gave him specific copies of the HIPAA laws and showed him that not only was I protecting myself but I was also protecting him from any future lawsuit.

The thing is this....many medical records are used as examples in studies..., blind studies, and the like.  In today's world, as long as no patient name is mentioned in the medical record, well that record could be used in a study.  If the patient's name is mentioned in body of report, the people conducting the study(ies) CAN be sued down the road for exposing a patient name......being possibly sued by the patient whose name was exposed.

There usually is a method to most madness.....*lol*

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You're absolutely right!
I think it really depends on the individual.

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you're the one who is unrealistic...
you've got to be kidding. To see the technology changes and all the forces aligned and to think American MT field will survive? What do you do, sitting around watching American Idol all night? You are sadly out of touch with reality, though not my desire to inform you. I was simply sharing experience with newbies. You the one who judged me as negative, pessimistic and toxic. That's like telling the doctor who diagnosed you with cancer that he is negative, pessimistic and toxic. For Pete's sake, Heartland just completely 100% outsourced to India and Spheris has gone as VR as possible, except for the crappy ESL dictators...but no, outsourcing and computer technology aren't a serious threat to the field. Tell that to the folks on the company board, why doncha?

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You're confused? (sm)
I didn't make sense? Someone is posting using the name I always use. But I'm not really sure how to write for the 2nd grade level, which is obviously what would make sense to you.

If I didn't make sense, perhaps you need to learn to read something other than board books.

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Can I ask what state you're in? nm
nm

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They're Junk
Look here in the Classifieds or somewhere like Transcription Gear.

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Oops. How about you're or you are NOT your
Bad!!!!

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If you're already in an MT program, then do get it and
s

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I'm sorry you're having so much trouble
I know it is hard. It took me a while to find work after I graduated. The only thing that saved me is I had a great paying job as a legal secretary so I could afford to wait. Have you tried applying to Spheris. I know I've said this in numerous posts, but have you tried local MTSO or local doctors' offices. I started out with small local MTSO as an IC and now work for a local doctor's office regularly transcribing for 4 doctors and 1 NP. If you want to work for the big Nationals, this may help get experience.

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If I understand what you're asking...
It is mostly editing VR, but there is some straight transcription as well.

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You're too funny....

I do not work for any school, nor did I ever claim to.  I am an MT and have been for a long time.  You can say what you like about this school or that school, but the truth is there are many routes to success in this industry.  Why don't you put up a survey on the Main Board and ask what school, if any, the MTs here graduated from.  I think majority will tell you they did not complete a program through one of the "top 3." 

And here is a little splash to cool you down since you become so hot over outside opinion:  .

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Obviously you're not going to believe anybody unless they say what you want to hear.
So just go ahead an spend your money, and then come back here like all the others and complaint that no one will hire you without 2 years' experience, because NOBODY will waive that experience requirement for graduates of Allied. MANY places will waive that requirement for Andrews and M-Tec grads, and let them take their employment test (which they will most likely pass). The companies know that grads of Allied can't pass the employment tests because they are not trained well enough. So if somebody comes on here and tells you Allied is a great school and they had no trouble getting a job afterwards, go for it. Maybe you'll be one of the RARE lucky ones. Just don't hold your breath.

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