Does anyone know how much actual dictation Gatlin offers? (sm)
Posted By: Question on 2006-04-03
In Reply to: I don't have any information on it, but if you want to - work online, the schools that are recognized the
It appears to be only a very small amount.
Anyone know for sure?
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Hearing actual dictation files versus professionally read ones was a major plus
s
I went to Gatlin
and if I had the money I'd probably go to another school, just because of the value of a name. I was lucky enough to be hired during my last week of school, hadn't even graduated yet. I feel that Gatlin, for the money, prepared me well enough that I was able to take on work, and not be completely lost
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.
Have you done any actual MT work yet?
If all you know of MT work is what you were exposed to in your training, then you have NO experience. To claim that you do have experience would be dishonest. Claiming your school work as experience would fool no one. MTSOs are not unintelligent people. They can see through things like that.
Are you offering mentoring or an actual job for newbies? nm
s
...top 3 programs from this board or attend an actual
b
If your schooling includes actual transcription...
not just book work, you've really had the basics you need. There are lots of different preferences out there. The big issue will be hearing what is said and putting it down accurately. So much has to be learned on the job depending on your specialty and who you work for.
If I were you, I would focus on getting the right tools - basic reference books, an expander, wave pedal, etc. Be sure you have a good resume and cover letter/email, then locate the companies that hire newbies and begin your search! Once you get your foot in the door, you can get off and running.
I always found the tests more difficult than actual work (sm)
I think they try you out on their most difficult to see how you do. It also may be the stress of taking a test too. I tested with anyone who would let me test, and I failed a lot of them, but just keep trying. Persistence does pay off. It sounds like you have a great start and you should probably stay where you are to get the experience. Yes, it will count. Best of luck to you!
Why did you decline two offers??
Job offers...I am happy....! sm
Well, ladies (and gentlemen), I graduated from my school with High Honors at the very end of February. I have been looking for a job for just over two weeks. I have no medical transcription experience, but I do have about 10 years of legal transcription experience.
So far, I have been offered three jobs! It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are wanted! Granted, one of the positions is paying terribly (although they seem very nice, and that's important too). The other is a sporadic assignment (not medically related). The lady in question will call me every couple of months or so with different interviews to transcribe. This will be nice as an added "extra" now and then, and I have already accepted her offer. The third position is paying fair money, and they seem like a dream company--just what I am looking for! I wanted part-time IC work (20 hours a week), all work conducted through the internet, the ability to use my own equipment and software, steady accounts, and decent pay. I will probably go with this company!
I have told the two employers offering steady IC work that I would like a week or so to think about it, and they agreed. I just want to make sure that I think everything through. This way, when I accept a job, I'll know for sure that it's the company I really want to go with, and I will be the best MT I can with no regrets.
I have worked very hard for this. I took many grueling tests, which I passed with very high marks. I have written scores of letters and made dozens and dozens of phone calls. I have plugged away at it religiously, and my dedication has really paid off.
To anyone out there looking for a job: Be professional, keep your chin up, and try your best everyday--and you will succeed!
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.
She makes some very good points and offers
very useful advice. Newbies would do well to pay attention. There are plenty of professional MTs, experienced and freshly minted, who will be able to understand and follow her instructions, so I doubt she'll be spending much time on her own. She has every right to expect applicants to be able to understand and follow instructions.
You create and submit a resume and see who offers
s
I started at 7cpl 2 years ago and had other offers for
7 cpl also from other companies. One company, Spheris, only offered me 5.5 cpl and I turned them down. Again, I graduated 2 years ago when I was seeing more people offered at least 7 cpl. Now, everyone from CS seems happy to work for 5 cpl. Go figure.
Employers = Verifiable companies with job offers, often well-known nationals
What we're looking for is a source for helpful information that results in good decisions. Ask the employers means, ask employers who give their names, the names of their companies, and are job providers. That information has to be verifiable in order to be useful. No offense personally. Information is just not helpful unless it comes from an identifiable source and can be verified as being authentic and reputable.
I agree! I had 5 job offers before I even graduated! Just make sure you test well... nm
nm
I happened upon a company that offers paid internships
The company is in California. If you go to their website and click on the tab entitled "Join our Team," you'll find more info.
I'm not affiliated with the company and know nothing about them, just happened upon it while job searching for myself and though new MTs or graduates might be interested.
dictation
Approximately how many hours of transcription would it take if you have one hour of dictation and can type about 80 wpm. Thanks.
dictation help
What if the MD is dictating, you are a 1/4 of the way through, he is interrupted by a colleague, then comes back starting with the beginning again (prepped & draped, etc)then seems to go in a totally different direction and subject then where he left off? Do you continue to type what he is saying, even though it makes no sense to the first part of the report? Do you make a note of it for the editor? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, VERY NEW MT...
Help with dictation please
Hello,
I'm stumped on a sentence in a discharge summary I am working on. As part of the Laboratory Data section, the doctor says:
Chest x-ray showed no TECUTE PROCESSED. Well, at least it sounds like tecute processed but that obviously doesn't make sense! Any ideas?
Dictation tapes
Where can someone get dictation tapes for practicing? I am already set up at home and would like to keep practicing until I get a job. I would not like to invest alot of money into these tapes.
Dictation tapes
Thanks
Difficult dictation.....
I was hoping that someone could give me some advise for difficult doctors that dictate with a very strong acient!! I need help!! Any advise would be great! 
Thank you!
Try speeding up the dictation just a bit. sm.
Seriously, speeding it up just a little sometimes smooths it out. I got this tip from an MT with over 20 years experience. I wouldn't do it the first time through, but when you're listening again, try it.
Dictation volume
Hi all, I was just wondering if anyone else was having problems with the level of dictation available to transcribe. I work for Eagle's Landing and I'm finding that the dictation is very sporadic. When I first started it wasn't that way but ever since Hurricane Katrina the dictation has been low. Right after Hurricane Katrina there would be days with no dictation because the docs were gone to New Orleans to help out. Now the doctors are back but there is still the same problem. I am actually going to be set up on a second account so that should help me but I'm not sure when they are going to do that for me. I've heard that we are getting several new clients soon so maybe that will help. What I've started doing basically is actually keeping up with the amount of work per hour (low, medium, high volume, comp issues, etc)on an excel spreadsheet for each day of the week, I'm going to continue doing that for each week of the month, so eventually I will have several months I can look over and see if this is a chronic problem or an acute problem. I'm really hoping that this is just a temporary slow period of time. I think my frustration has also been compounded by the fact that I've had computer problems myself, the system at Eagle's Landing goes down sometimes for maintanence, and just being a new MT.
I really do plan to stick it out but I don't believe that the service would be honest with me if this is a problem that is going to be ongoing so I feel I need to keep my own records. Right now I'm living at home with my mom but eventually, in a year or so, I want to be able to move out and support myself so I need to see if this job has some stability. I understand there will be less stability than other jobs because that is how this industry is but I need enough stability to know that I can support myself atleast. As I said before in one of my earlier posts, I only started 3 months ago,(back in July) so I definitely know that the early frustrations just take time and experience to work through so I do plan on sticking it out. I guess my concern with lack of dictation is that it is something I cannot control, my speed is something I can control, I can work really hard and get better at that, but this is something I cannot. The problems with the sporadic dictation I would say have been going on since the middle of August, it does not seem like very long but it seems like forever when I'm trying to build up my speed and when I'm new at this. Anyway, I would appreciate some feedback on this from new MTs and more experienced MTs. Oh, also another thing I've noticed just from reading this message board and others is that a lot of MTs keep up with their line counts on a spread sheet. What I tend to do is watch my production based on the number of minutes I type. Should I be looking more at line count than minutes and also keeping track of that more closely? I have noticed that I do not follow my life count as diligently as others. And finally I want to thank everyone for the input I've already gotten from this board, it has been very helpful to me, and I have definitely taken the advice to heart and used it.
You don't record the dictation (see msg)
with the c-phone you dial in, and plug a foot pedal and headset into the phone itself and transcribe that way rather than hearing through your computer speakers. (I assume voicewriter is similar)
Practice Dictation
I'm looking for free practice dictation in oncology/hematology. I'm coming up with nothing on Google. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I've got a job lined up, but I need more practice before I start. TIA for help!
Practice Dictation
I am starting the practice dictation portion of my training. The first examples were someone from the school that I chose doing the dictation and then I moved on to actual doctor reports.
My question: How common is it for doctors to talk like they have a mouthful of marbles? The first one was awful and there was no way I could decipher what he was saying. I had my husband listen to it and he looked at me like WTH?
The practice is on CD ... does that make any difference? Are the files that are received better in clarity?
This is really disheartening. I feel lost and am beginning to wonder if I can even do this.
I loaded the first 20 practice files and about half are understandable. The rest is a just a garbled mess.
Any input is sincerely appreciated.
Unfamiliar and foreign dictation (sm)
I'm sorry you had that experience! It's frustrating, but it's part and parcel of MT.
Everything "new" you encounter in MT will sound ghastly until you've gotten over the initial shock of it. Whether it's a new dictator, a new specialty, or a new accent, it will sound impossible. The trick to dealing with it lies in controlling your anxiety and frustration long enough that you can become used to it. This sounds easier than it is.
If it's a specialty you haven't done before, you need to get some training materials and work on them. That will give you the fundamentals you need, so that you can make some headway.
Learning to understand different accents is much like learning different languages. What sounds thick as mud to you at first will become clear as you learn the pronunciations typical of those speakers.
If you're encountering work that is "new" to you because it's an unfamiliar specialty AND a new and unfamiliar dictator with a different accent, you have a double or triple problem.
If you can't do a variety of clinical specialties and accents, you will have trouble until you build up your skills. You might consider doing the SUM program materials. They have a variety of specialties and include different accents.
Another thing you can do with the accents is to get samples of that dictator's reports from the service. They say the same things all the time, as you know. By comparing what you hear with the samples, you can figure out what they're saying and how they say it.
C-Phone/Dial-in Dictation?
Can someone explain to me how a C-phone works. Currently, I am working for a company that uses the WinScribe dictation platform via the internet. Prior to this, I had only transcribed via microcassette tapes. I look forward to an answer as I am clueless about this. Phyllis
10,000+ dictation minutes in 6 months.
I went to Career Step so that is all I can compare it to. According to the eSmartMed site, Career Step has 1320 dictated minutes to transcribe (not sure if that is accurate as it has been so long since I went through the program, but it is probably close). It took me 7 months to get through Career Step doing those 1320 minutes, so I don't see how it is possible for a student to do 10,000+ in 6 months. If I had had to 10,000+, it would have taken me years to complete the course, not months.
Format/Dictation Issues
Hey there, everybody! I'm currently training to be an MT through an online school and I'm having some trouble in specific areas.
First, Everything I'm studying and learning keeps telling me to type verbatim what I hear so I do that and then receive points off of my submitted assignments for not "editing for grammar." However, when I do decide to edit for grammar, I get points off for not typing what I hear verbatim. Are there any tips I can get on doing this? When do I know to edit for grammar?
Second, formats! I have a ton of reference books but I'm still having a little trouble knowing which formats to use. My current assignment I'm working on is a discharge summary but it doesn't really match the examples I have. How do I know which one to use so I meet the standards of my school and pass the assignments?
Third, I'm having some trouble with dictation quality. What would be suggested for the really fuzzy dictations that sometimes mumble words?
Thanks :)
To clarify, the dictation is likely recorded at a hospital...
and all the C-phone or Lanier does is access that system. Any hospital that uses a Dictaphone system can be accessed by a c-phone. Seems to me there are some electronic units on the market that can be either Lanier-compatible or C-phone compatible though you would have to ask around about that. Yes, their only purpose is to access dictation that is stored somewhere else...though you could use the C-phone as a regular phone, if you wanted :>) So there are two types of data format nowadays, .wav files (or .dss files) which the file can be transferred via internet and dictaphone/Lanier format which the file has to go through a phone line. And perhaps a few microcasettes are still kicking around. Any other old-timers have anything to add?
I have been paid by the dictation minute, I prefer it ...
for the reasons you mentioned. On a couple of occasions, the recording "continued" for about 15 to 20 minutes after the dictation was done, and because I had to continue to listen, I got PAID for those minutes!
A specialty usually refers to the type of dictation
For example, cardiology, neurology, GI, hem/onc..... I have seen where some MTs just transcribe ER or just OPs, so I guess that application you filled out is strictly acute care and are looking for actually your preference amongst those particular choices.
Method of sending/receiving dictation: DEP
What does DEP stand for?
Thanks
But that 1 hour of dictation could take you 3-8 hrs to do depending on clarity, the setup, etc. nm
s
Mostly inpatient hospital dictation - H&P, DS, Consults, Ops, some include ER
and progress notes. Acute care is usually inpatient dictation from hospitals.
Hope this helps.
Like someone else said, if you're trained only on "Ben Stein" dictation
you are in for a rude awakening when you get in the real MT world. Yes, you do have to be able to do a reasonably good job transcribing crap. What world do you live in, where all the dictators are slow, clear, precise, dictating in quiet places with no background noise, no accents, etc?
expect a 1 to 4 ratio of dictation minutes to transcription time
do you really expect low level QA when someone's life may hang in the balance? I could go on but.....
you have to call the hospital/clinic line to connect with the dictation machine on their end
so you get a dial tone, that means it is working. Next you dial the number of the dictation system, and it says something like "welcome to bla-bla hospital. Please enter your user ID followed by the pound sign." Then you enter your ID and it starts giving you work in your queue or asks for job type or whatever.
That simple, easy, clear dictation practice is what the crappy schools use.
Then the person graduates, thinks they know what they're doing, and are totally shocked when they start trying to do REAL MT work. One of many reasons these cheap, crappy, found-out-about-it-on-a-matchbook-cover schools AREN'T recommended.
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