Continuing education is required to do this job, you must know terms as well as the providers do.
Posted By: nm on 2007-05-08
In Reply to: MT Terminology Question - takeabreak
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- MT Terminology Question - takeabreak
- Continuing education is required to do this job, you must know terms as well as the providers do. - nm
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Continuing Education?
I have been working as an MT for a few months now and received my education through a local technical school that only provided the basics. I work on very easy accounts with no ESLs. I am concerned about not having the proper knowledge and skills should I have to change companies in the future. I have been looking into further education through M-Tec and Career Step. I am noticing a significant price difference in the tuition for both schools. Is one better than the other? Or is graduating from Career Step just as good as M-tec. Another question I have from anybody who has graduated from these schools is how many hours approximately do you need to put in to graduate within the allotted time? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
continuing education
I have a question and need some advice: I took one of those cheesy 5-month courses for little money and was basically blessed to get a job with a local company. I have been working for 6 months now and LOVE my job. Although, I do not feel as though I have enough education to be the best MT I can possibly be. I also feel limited in my work as I was put into one particular field and I am fearful that if I ever should switch companies I would not be able to pass their tests. I am considering going to Career Step or Andrews School. I want to do this while working full time. Are these schools self-paced or do you have to put in a certain amount of time during each week? Any information from graduates of these schools or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Continuing to improve your skills
Continuing to improve your skills will help you convince someone to give you a break.
Your posts are full of spelling and grammatical errors. If an employer needs someone whose work is well-written and has NO spelling or grammatical errors, and they see writing from you that looks like your posts here, do you think they will believe you're capable of doing the kind of work they need you to do?
Your school should have pointed this out.
1look.com is good for english terms but
it is not a medical dictionary
dorland's on-line is the best i've found in the 10 years i've worked at home.
Stedman's medical terms and phrases
Just to let everyone out there know, this book is wonderful. It's very similar to the Medical Phrase Index by PMIC. It's by Stedman's so you know it's reputable and catered just for the MT. I wanted to inform those interested in purchasing it, I found it on amazon.com. It retails for $66 but there are several sellers selling the newest version for $8 (includes shipping). New, not used as well. Sellers are best1bookbuyusa (who I purchased mine through) and dabearbooks and sweethomeliquid2. I hope this information benefits someone. Whenver I find a good deal, I have to pass it on.
Here's the review: http://www.stedmans.com/product.cfm/366/224
Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases
Just wanted to thank you for posting about this book. I ordered mine after seeing your post and just received it today. It does look like it will be quite helpful....and I love the size of the print...not so small that I need a magnifying glass! Of course, the cost is unreal. Thanks again for sharing.
Stedman's Medical Terms & Phrases
This book is such a great resource. It very much like the very pricey Medical Phrase Index by PMIC, but it's catered specifically for MT's as opposed to coders. It's completely cross referenced, the print is a very nice size. and it's thumb indexed alphabetically. The newest version retails for around $66, but I found mine on Amazon.com from one of the sellers and got it brand new for $8 shipped! There are a several more sellers who have it for the price as well and I would recommend this book to all MTs (new or seasoned). It would especially be very helpful to new MTs and/or students.
Just a note, but I've recently updated most of my Stedman's books and have gotten incredible deals from Amazon sellers on these. Even on the CD electronic book versions. Whene ver I find a great deal, I just have to pass it on! 
learning the terms is only HALF of it. You need the listening Skill.
To be quite frank and honest, graduating 5 years ago does not look good. You would be in a much better position if you went to school online ( you might be able to sail thru rather quickly) at say Career Step. Their grads really have no problem getting hired immediately. They transcribe hundreds of tapes before they graduate. Looks good on a resume.
Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases for Sale
2005 Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases: A Complete Guide to Medical Language. HUGE. Over 1785 pages. Hardcover. I purchased this just a few months ago, I just didn't use it as much as I thought I would. No writing, no damage. Bought from Stedman's for $69.99 plus tax and shipping; I paid over $75 in total. I will sell it for $60 including shipping parcel post with delivery confirmation.
PayPal (cash only, no CC or debit), checks (hold until cleared), and money orders (preferred). Email me for pictures if you are interested.
Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases -- I have one for sale. See below!
nm
These programs are not required...
These extra programs are not necessary. CS grads can get decent jobs without them. Some prefer to have the extra training. The STT program prepares the students to start work with Spheris at an acute care level.
I cannot compare my education to the other schools and I do agree that the other schools may be better for some. For me, I had a medical background which included transcription. I felt that I would be fine without the one-on-one interaction. If I did have problems with the something, I did pick up the phone and called CS. The staff was very friendly and helped anytime I needed it. I am now a grad and am currently trying to decide between four different job offers one week after graduation.
No, no license required.
Certification is optional.
Most will tell you to attend Andrews or MTech, as you will have a much better education and job opportunities if you attend one of these 2 schools.
Best of luck to you!
check what is required before u
take the exam. For myself, I did not take any exam at all and had been doing med transcription for more than 3 years now. I did, however, took a course as my background was engineering. If you are just new in this career, most companies will require a formal training. The fact that a lot of MTs are competing for jobs, you would be better off with a formal training (just like any other career). I hope this helps.
You might be required to have a certain version of
Word or to have a certain expander, but as far as the software needed to work the company should provide that and if they don't you should not be working for them. Sometimes companies will provide computer/equipment and they will charge a refundable deposit, but for just software you should not have to pay. SoftScript used to make you buy Start/Stop, not sure if they still do. TranScam is a scam, as others stated and if you sent them money, think of it is contributing to their new boat or vacation home, because it is long gone.
Not true, FAQ says 2 yrs required.nm
Newbie Reference -- Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases
Hi Guys ~
I have started another at-home business and am planning to get out of the MT field in the next six months to a year, and so I am getting rid of any of the references I no longer use. The last one I have available is the Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases. I LOVED this reference when I was still in school and brand new, but after using it just a handful of times I am now familiar with my accounts and no longer need it. Perhaps a newbie could use it. This is how it works:
It is the most current edition, which is the 2004. It is approximately 2000 pages,
hardcover, tabbed for easy looking up. Here is how it works, in case
you are not familiar with it:
The book is excellent for things like when the dingaling of a doctor is eating
Cheetos while dictating and says something that sounds like,
"chron-CRUNCH nonsuppurative CRUNCH CRUNCH -ructive CRUNCH
cholang-CRUNCH". Well, you got the "nonsuppurative" part and then a
bunch of half coherent stuff. So you use the one word you got out of
the bunch. When you look up the one word you got, nonsuppurative, you
look down the list of phrases under that word and you come up with
"chronic nonsuppurative destructive cholangitis". AH-HAH!
That's how it worked for me when I was a student and when I was new and was shuttled around from one account to the next as I was needed. I have been placed on my permanent accounts for so long that I know what my docs are going to say before they say it. Therefore, I spent $70 for this book plus the ridiculous shipping that Stedman's charged me, plus tax, so the book cost me over $80 new thinking I would use it all the time... But I have rarely used it. If you have any marble-mouth doctors or any ESLs or if you are new to MT or if you work on multiple and/or
changing accounts ... This would be an incredible resource to
consider. It is in perfect condition.
Email for pictures. Price is $45.00 plus $5.00 for
media mail with delivery confirmation (this book weighs a ton, so actual shipping cost is over $6.00, but I will do for $5) for a total of $50.00.
Thanks!
A patient's name is almost required in the report
to help with filing the report into the chart. Now whether or not it a copy of that record can be sent out with the patient's name is a different story depending on several factors. For example, all identifying information must be removed by a hospital's tumor registrar before submitting the information to the College of Surgeons who monitor cancer trends and treatments.
Many services are steering away from the name of the patient being in the body of the report as a general safeguard, which is a good thing, but this is not mandated by any law.
How can you sit for the CMT exam without the 2 years' experience required?
.
DeVenture MIGHT offer only hours required, but not
s
PS: If you are not running the required operating system, (sm)
contact me. I can crack anything.
Why Word 2003? Are you required to tx with it specifically??-nm
A lot of companies required 1000 to 1200 lines a day. If you are just
starting out you can expect to do about half that unless you have an easy account.
With an M-Tec education,
you will have no trouble getting a job and KEEPING the job once you get it. With AHP, you will struggle to find anyone willing even to let you test for a job, and it is unlikely that you will be able to pass even an employment test let along succeed at any MT job. Get your money back from AHP and spend it on M-Tec. Choosing a school just because it is cheap is a poor decision. Choose a school that provides a QUALITY education that will get you a job. M-Tec will do that. A cheap "education" is a waste of your money. You will quickly make up any difference in the cost between AHP and M-Tec by being able to get a job right away. All the months and months and months you will search for a job with an AHP education is money you would have been making with an M-Tec education. Go for cheap and you will pay for it for a long time.
MT education
I've had four people approach me in the past few months wanting to get into MT to work at home. One went so far as to take an employment test and couldn't understand why she didn't pass. When I told them it was really necessary to get some schooling, i.e. Andrews, etc., not one of them pursued it. There are a lot of people out there that think this job is a piece of cake.
You really need some education in
and punctuation. General English rules. The terminology is one thing, but you also have to know how to accurately transcribe the document. You also should have HIPPA training, pharmacology and other things. This is just my opinion. You may be able to get hired somewhere with what experience you have, but I think you would be very frustrated. Especially if you have never actually listened and tried to transcribe dictated reports. Doctors can be very hard to understand and a good school will have live dictation for you to practice with to get some experience before getting out there and trying to do it for real.
Education
Does anyone have any information whether good or bad on Gatlin Education Programs. I am thinking of registering for their online MT courses and want to make sure it is a good decision. I appreciate any information.
Thanks
Education
I am a recent graduate of a 2 year college. I received my Associate Degree in Medical Transcription (Health Science) and did an externship within my schooling. I am so fearful of not finding a career now that I am out here sending resumes. I keep seeing the "need 2+ experience" listed for qualifications. I just spent over $30,000 and a huge amount of time in being sure that I was getting the top grades. The idea of going back to school really breaks me. I am so eager, passionate, and willing to work hard.
While I understand that as a newbie I will not be paid as high of a rate as the seasoned MTs, I would not work for this low of a wage. My education and knowledge stands for something. I know in dollar amount, it is costing me way more than 3 cents a line.
If anyone has any suggestions, other than go back to school, I am more than willing to listen. It is not that I oppose more education, because that is actually the quite opposite. Medicine will continue to evolve and we will all need to stay current through education.
Do you have any education MT-wise? . . .
It you have some MT schooling, you have a better chance. However, if you simply think you can work as an MT because you type well, that's a different story. There is so much more to medical transcription than just typing (transcribing). You need to know medical terminology, formating and more.
I started my education
at a community college and finished at PCDI, and the materials were identical, so I can't say either way is better, but the best help I got was once I started working, and the training on the job. I think PCDI teaches the basics, and if I were you, I'd shoot for an in-house position to start with to have some help. All of PCDI's tapes were incomparable to what you really get. If I had a doctor speaking like that, I'd be making millions :) Good luck!
Good education
I did have a good education! Did you? Andrews M-tech whatever..there are other schools out there that can provide good, solid training and I believe I received that! I wish you would stop judging, you have no idea what I can do! Check out the board a little more, there are some happy people out there .
The difference in education might
Have you compared how many hours of transcription training you had in college/school with Andrews and M-TEC? Were your instructors CMTs with many years of experience? Did your curriculum include anatomy, diseases, pharmacology? I assume it included medical terminology. Maybe if people were to compare the curriculums (or if you prefer, curricula) they would understand why M-Tec and Andrews have such a good reputation. When you graduate from those top two schools, you are very well prepared to work, and that is what many companies have come to realize.
Right now is a difficult time to find employment because many companies are running low on work due to the holidays. Have you inquired about internships locally? Doesn't your college/school offer any help with finding a job?
Was your goal always to be an MT? If so, why obtain an associate degree? If you have come to realize that you want to be an MT, then maybe you would be better off investing into Andrews or M-TEC.
Have you passed any tests/all tests? Many companies have a direct link on their websites for the testing. I would assume if you aced a test they would be willing to talk to you. How many resumes have you sent out? I believe it will be harder for you to get your foot in the door somewhere, but if you really want this, you will find a way.
Good luck!
You got a job, but still have less of an education than if at M-TEC or Andrews.
I know because I also graduated from CS. I have seen the materials that M-Tec and Andrews use for teaching, a lot different (and better) than the homemade books written by Andrea Anaya from CS. No "automatic grader/comparter" either
Wrong, you CAN get a job with education.
You CAN get a job with just an MT education, if the education prepared you well enough. I know slews of MTs who did this. Certification in MT isn't necessary, either.
You CAN get a job with just coding education, but certifications help. I did it. I know someone who just a few months ago got a really nice inpatient coding job with no experience at all. She completed school, got 2 certifications, and was hired after testing successfully with a hospital.
In fact, I work with about 15 coders who got their jobs straight out of school with no experience.
If you are well-prepared and are able to present yourself appropriately, you CAN get a job straight out of school.
MT Education and Training
I am in the process of attending Allied Business Schools and have found that their programs are challenging, but yet easy enough that somebody who has no clue about medicine can do them.
http://www.alliedschools.com
BTW---I earn nothing from this, just giving what I have experienced.
Anne
No, not really. Experience in the field - but not just more education.
x
I think PIE stands for Partner in Education SM
Medquist used to have a program with several MT training programs listed as their Partners in Education (PIE). They would hire people who graduated from the MT programs on their list without requiring work experience (they still had to pass the test). I'm not sure if they still have this program or not.
They're not recommended for MT education. Go elsewhere. nm
n
Your situation may allow you to test without further education
Contact the employers and see if they will let you test. It can't hurt to try. You have some good experience. I doubt that you need a complete course.
Ten thousand dollars? On an MT education?
What in the world? What company?
What type of education did you get? What did you study?
??
Education comes in other ways than only top 3 schools
I started my medical career as a paramedic and segued into MT (without any further formal training) so I could work while being on call. Though perhaps you might think I'm bumbling, perhaps you might not think so after I intubated and defibrillated your husband during his heart attack?
Good education works. sm
The reason why most newbies can't get a job is because their education is lacking. The top 3 AAMT approved schools have a proven track record in producing employable graduates. Those are the facts and they'll never change. However, it's unfair for you to spread the false message that you're spreading of how education doesn't count. It does count and there's enough unemployed newbies on this website alone to prove it.
Gatlin Education Services
Has anyone taken the MT course from Gatlin Education Services? I don't see much about it on this board and was just curious about everyone's opinion.
It has to do with the education you received and what your skills are.
If you paid for a crappy course and didn't learn half of what you need to know, why should a company let you prove what little you did learn? They know which schools provide GOOD training and which do not. You also need grammar help, it's "should have" not "should of," if you don't know simple English grammar why should anyone trust your medical terminology skills?
Also, coding education/certification will not get SM
you a transcription job at all.
You can't beat Andrews or MTEC for an education. NM
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.
If you have a good MT education, work from home. Besides
There's not much help going on at hospitals and clinics these days. At least the national services have someone assigned to help you if you need help from home. I wish they had done that when I was just starting out years ago.
If you have already done the right thing and you have a good MT education, go for the work-at-home job. Good luck with your new career!
If you didn't get a good education, neither on site nor at-home jobs are going to make a difference. Just go get a good education and make things easier on yourself and your potenetial employers.
Get a solid education and doors will open
Many companies waive the 2-year experience requirement for testing if you attend M-Tec or Andrews. Their schools consistently produce grads who are ready to hit the ground running. I hire those grads every chance I get. I have found those with "local community college" education sorely lacking in even the basics to be a success.
Good education DOES work. And there are more ways to get it than Three.
Either one will prepare you equally well (& give you the best education of any MT school).
Call each school and speak with Linda (Andrews) and Susan or Kathy (M-TEC), and then go with your gut as to which one you feel most comfortable. You can't go wrong with either of them.
I don't know about the footpedal issue, but M-Tec does teach expanders.
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