Glad to hear such good news!

As in any profession, you will come across people that feel they are greater than thou.  You've made the right choice.  Now, take that education and go with it!  What I have found is that it is not so much being corrected by QA, it is the manner in which it is done.  I always felt I'll take all of the advice I can get, but only use what I need, and let the worthless advice come in one ear and out of the other!  TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS!  When it is all said and done, you are helping people even if it is behind the scenes.  Proper documentation to a caregiver means the world and do not ever forget that! 

You sound like you have a system that works for you. I tried getting more hours in at night after the kids went to bed and found that I was too tired, would get bad eyestrain and was just not that effective when I did not get enough sleep. 

I actually make more money at home as an MT than I would in an office.  Like I said below, mine are in dc. If it were just my 3yo daughter, I would be able to do it with her around.

Even though I have a 2 and 3yo in daycare, the benefit of working from home with a flexible schedule (have to get 35 or so hours in per wk, but whenever as long as its steady) is that I can pause my workday at 3pm when my 7 yo gets out of school - I pick him up, then I pick them up. I am also able to send my 3yo to preschool 3 mornings per wk and take the time to drop her off and pick her up.  I have also been able to work on sick days.  I estimate that since December, I would have had to take 8.5 sick days to care for my children if I worked in an office.

After being a SAHM for a long time, I am enjoying having some time where I am working and the kids are in school. 

To each his own - I have fielded opinions from both sides on this one. 

I didn't even realize I was on the Newbie board.  I've posted this before and people always thank me, some argue with me, but it's my stand and I'm sticking with it!! 

Newbies especially get suckered in by this line the companies feed and it's not right.  Sounds good and emotions take over and then the spider has you right in its web.  How can a woman hold her baby and think "If I'll just take less pay I can stay home with him/her and watch them grow up" and then say No to that!  All I'm saying is go for BOTH -- stay home with your baby or for whatever reason you want to work from home but DEMAND for yourself and as a group with all of us the best wage you can get as well!  Go for the cake AND the ice cream.  You DESERVE both!  Just be professional about your work responsibilities to prove to your boss that you DO take your job seriously and CAN do both and are worth the pay which isn't likely to get any better when this tactic works so well. 

Many seem to forget this is a PROFESSION.  We're not at home making home-made preserves to be sold at the county fair or something.  Sometimes we come off sounding like that, though.  I'm sure the doctors and lawyers on the golf courses talk about the benefits from working from home too but they don't share that with their patients whom they still charge the same.  We keep shooting our cause down all by ourselves.  If MTSOs were not allowed to read this site, it would be a different matter.  But, like I said, we're being watched. 

If you want to move this to the Main Board go ahead.  I don't know how to.  I've only replied to threads. 

Good luck to you and all newbies!!! 

It appears that everyone can agree on M-Tec or Andrews School--by the way is that Linda Andrews and not Andrews/Holbrook?

I want to get started with training soon and I'm having difficulty deciding.  I've taken both their tests and they both seem like good choices.  Decisions, decisions...

I'm new too and typing clinic notes only for an ortho clinic.  I have about 2 wks under my belt and what I found to be very helpful was that the QA person would point out to me some of the common phrases used by the different docs. He even made a list of terms the podiatry doc uses often.  There are a few new MTs on this account - perhaps that is why he made the list. Not everyone will have this resource, but you can slowly create one yourself.  I keep a notebook next to me and write down the phrases that I have gotten stuck on. 

I have found that going back and listening to the unclear parts after finishing the report helps, and sometimes I hold the ones with blanks in them until I am done the batch for that particular dictator. I then go back and by that time, my ears and brain have adjusted to that person's style and I can hear things I did not hear.  I am lucky that out of the 6 or 7 dictators, only one is ESL and I have gotten used to the regional accent of the other one that was hard at first to figure out. 

Good luck. I don't know what is expected of newbies, and I would bet that it differs from place to place.  It can be overwhelming at first getting up to speed.  My first few days were simply awful. I am sure if you work hard and get good QA feedback, you will find that you get used to the account and your blanks will go down quite a bit. 

The lack of new MTs to fill the shoes of those who leave will cause companies to continue to look for oversea's MT's. This will probably continue to make the wages drop for those still trying to thrive on a MTs pay. As for me, My degree was obtained through the University system, why would I pay 4,000 more for one online. It makes no sense. Good luck to you all ...I hope things work out well for you ..as they evetually will for me.

I actually researched this profession for a few months before actually taking the plunge into extra school.  I have an extensive medical background.  But I started by calling different hospitals, transcription companies, etc, around the state that I live in.  They all told me the same thing, experience, experience, experience.  So I asked them what would make me hire-able without experience.  A few of them gave me names of medical transcription schools that they would waive the requirement for.  I followed up and am now extremely happy with my choice. Being a lurker here, I know that many people who are extremely bright and smart cannot get hired because of lack of a certain certificate from only certain schools, which I think is crazy to limit the hiring process based on that only.  BUT what matters at the end of the day is who signs your paycheck.  So instead of standing on my soapbox and shouting all that is wrong, I bit the bullet and enrolled.  I am only a few weeks away from graduation and every graduate from my school has been able to find a quality job in a matter of days or a couple of weeks. 

can offer an MT certificate. You have to take the test through AAMT.

Also, what offices and hospitals want? A person who can sit down and do their work without a lot of discussion or BS. Just get the work out, make it correct. I was in a hiring position for several years at the largest hospital in my state. I didn't care about certification. I cared about test performance.

Of course a CMT behind your name means A LOT. That test is very difficult and, for the most part, if you have passed that test, no more discussion is necessary.