I go back to test...
Posted By: uncertaintimes on 2009-06-24
In Reply to: Nobody really cares about speed/wpm, only that you - sm
later this week. they called me back after the interview!!!!! woohoo!!!!
thank you for the encouraging words! :)
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I may have one that I bought a while back. Will check tonight and get back to you.
nm
You need to go back
I've been doing this for 22+ years, that includes in-house, on a QA level, managing, and being an MT. I have never reached 50K and do not anticipate that I ever will. I have reached that 40K mark on good years like the other post stated, but 50K is unrealistic without years of experience and great pay...which we do not get anymore. You really have to love this job, not like it, and give hours and hours to it. It consumed me for a number of years, then I realized I needed a life. Gratefully, I went back to just being an MT working at home and actually make more money then when I was a manager. If you are simply in this for the money, you will get burned out very fast. This profession can burn you out like no other. Good luck on your choices, but be realistic.
Getting back in
What would a refresher course do for you? The purpose of a course isn't to teach you a bunch of words, instruments, and drugs. It's to teach you how to transcribe--the process, the expectations, what references to use and how to use them, etc.
If you worked for 4 years, you should already know how to transcribe. The fact that you were away from it for 5 months doesn't mean you lost all that knowledge. You should still be able to get going with it.
No training course is going to update you to TODAY, because there are no training materials that close. When you trained before, you might have felt that you learned words and terms that were "current," but they were only as current as the teaching materials.
You should be able to dive right into a job. If you want some review, consider getting some of the SUM program tapes . . . maybe the ESLs. That's a good set and you'll benefit from it. They also have practice tests and other materials at reasonable cost.
If you do that, you can get your speed back up enough to feel comfortable applying for a job. After that, you should be able to work just fine.
Redpen
Andrews School
Going back to school
I have been taking an at home MT course. I have lost all ambition to continue with it due to the things I have read on this site. I don't want to waste anymore of my time and money on something where I will not even be able to find a job when I am finished. It appears there are hardly any jobs out there for "newbies", and the money doesn't seem to be much. So, I have decided to go back to college and go into radiology. It will only take two years and I will make more money than doing MT work. Good Luck to all of you.
Get back what you can, and enroll with...
M-TEC, Inc. The cost is substantially less, and they offer placement assistance. Their current rate of placement is about 97%. Most companies waive the 2-year experience requirement for M-Tec grads.
So what if someone is getting a kick-back
If someone is helping others, and they want the help, why should kick-backs matter? I did not take an online course or any course for that matter, but why should it matter if someone is getting a kick-back? I think that is just a nasty way to be when we should be helping one another. Sounds like a little jealousy to me. JMO.
They responded back to me...
10 hours (600 minutes) of transcription is all they do in "training." Gees - that's absolutely nothing!
Go back to school?
They came to town, advertised in the local newspaper, held a seminar in which they promised lots of work and no worries about technology taking over. I enrolled, worked my pootootie off, paid a lot of money and discovered a newfound respect for medical transcriptionists. I just finished the MT course after about a year almost 1/2 with a GPA of 91, yet I never once thought to investigate what companies were hiring and whom they wanted. I did call the local hospital and an owner of a transcription service who advised me to enroll in school. Now...I find companies want 2+ years of experience and the local hospital is not hiring at this time. I did not attend Andrews or M-TEC; however, I am wondering if I should enroll in one or the other. Any advice for someone fresh out of school looking for a job?
ME too, I wish they would open it back up to us, with
strict rules and if you break them, you are out, that probably is too time-consuming, oh well. Great supportive board there.
I'm the slow kid in the back.....
...and I need to get faster! My transcription is okay but my line counts are low. After transcribing, I re-listen to the entire file to make sure I got everything. My mentor says that's slowing me down too much. Can any of you established MTs share some advice on how to edit more efficiently? I know it's supposed to be something that comes with time, but is there any way to hurry the process along a bit??
Getting back in the field
I have a certificate in medical transcription with four years experience working from home; however, I have not worked in five years since quitting to be a full-time mom. Can anyone recommend a great way to back into the field or a refresher course from a reputable company? I would love to do transcription again but don't want to spend a lot of money to do it since I already completed a course a few years back. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Getting back in the field
Thank you for the advice. I do need to update my reference materials. The school I attended no longer offers the program and unfortunately the company I worked for is no longer around after my supervisor retired, so I am at somewhat of a disadvantage. Has anyone ever heard of FutureMT? They have one of the least expensive programs on the internet. I'm looking at that one and MedTrans Inc. I hate to repeat a lot of what I know, but may not have a choice at this point.
Getting back in the field
I'll look into this. Thank you!
I am going back to college
I went to school back in 06 for this. I know MT is going down. I know I cannot give my kids the kind of life I want to doing MT. I absolutely want to stay in the medical field, so I chose to go back to college for nursing. I am getting a loan for it, and at least I know that when I am done with schools and testing I CAN get a job in the hospital without a problem and be able to pay off my loan. Its just right for me and my family.
If I were you, I'd want my money back from whatever MT course you took.
If you've had any decent MT training at all, this shouldn't have been any problem for you.
Go back to the school that trained you
and demand that they finish the job. They did not make you job-ready. Your English-language skills are too weak to make you employable in any position other than a dead-end, minimum-wage job. Bluntly speaking, if you do not improve your English communications skills, you will face disappointment in your job search.
Got that right, mom! Can't just put the little ones on the back burner while you try and earn a
s
I'm like you, type, then go back and relisten. I used to just
read but kept falling asleep. I just turn the speed up several notches and relisten and it isn't so bad. I actually am sometimes able to get a blank with the speed up that I couldn't when I played it several times at regular speed.
Disagree. MT is dying. Get out and don't loook back.
x
I send my wav. files back and Encrypt them
x
Funny how you keep coming back and posting this - sm
Makes me think YOU are the "owner" of Proficient Transcription. Hmmmmmm...
What I want to know is why the VLC owner lives in Canada and is not allowed back in the U.S.?
nm
Sorry you didn't check it out before signing up. Can you get your money back?
It definitely is not a very good school, and you definitely will have a difficult time finding a job after finishing that course, because the people doing the hiring know that that course is not extensive enough to teach you what you need to know.
Read back thru the Word Help and Style boards, too, to see answers to ?? others have. You'll lear
s
Quick Look Drug Book great for this as it has conditions/diagnoses in back with meds
s
Just test, test, test anywhere you can...
Trust me, I know it's discouraging. Don't give up though. I am still going to school but I got lucky enough to find some MTSOs to do overflow work for. Granted I am lucky if I get to work three days a week but it is giving me a little experience and keeping my skills fresh. I am now working for a national that ran an ad wanting 3 yrs experience. I took a chance and now I am working with only a couple of months under my belt.
Good luck.
Test everywhere!
If you look at the posts here, everyone says to test everywhere, and it's true! Anyplace that will let you test, test! Some are harder than others, but don't give up. I graduated from my school last November and didn't find a job until March of this year, and I actually found it through a friend of a friend and I consider myself lucky. The important thing is to NOT GIVE UP. I know you studied hard so now work at your job search just as diligently. It is frustrating, but it can be done. Do a search on the internet for medical transcription agencies and test with each one that lets you. Try Spheris, Medivoxx, and Cobb Medical Transcription for starters. Good luck!
Sure you can test 100's.
you set up a worklist off of email responses, send out the grammar screening, when it comes back, run it through a macro to cross check and give scores, then you have an objective measurement of who has potential. Found it weeds out much more successfully than "I completed a medical transcription course and scored a 94%" drivel.
Test everywhere....
By testing with different companies you will soon learn where your strength and weakness are. Regardless if they require experience, if allowed, take the test. It will not hurt and it will help to build your confidence. Most of all, keep trying. Good luck!
Test, Test, Test
Test with absolutely every company you can. I tested with at least 50 companies before I found a good company. Did you get feedback regarding why you failed from these mentoring companies?
Something will happen, you can't give up. I wanted to give up several times, and I am so glad I didn't! Just keep trying - test with every company that allows you. You'll gain that experience while you're trying to find someone who will give you a shot. Good luck to you.
Test
Can anyone tell me how many test they took to get a job because i have taken like 5 so far and be very confident researched everything and they still turn me down. I am getting very depressed because in school I did excellent on all of my reports and they graded hard. I am starting to think that I will never get a job. What is it? Please can any one explain and help me. I am very sad
test
I took a test for MQ last week. When do you think they will get back to me?
98 on Test
Hi,
Is that true you have to make 98 on test to get a job?
Thanks for your imput.
test
test
written test help
I am testing for a new job. Anyone have any info on where to find practice quizes or something. Any help would be great!
They test them and if they do well, they get hired like anyone else.
nm
It's likely that most companies won't test you without
I'm a small MTSO and won't even consider testing someone if they haven't been trained, preferably at one of the better schools (M-TEC, Andrews, etc.)
Help with taking test
Hi there....I'm hoping somebody can help me. I have to take a test using Windows Media Player (no foot pedal yet), and I can't figure out how to type in Word and still be able to use the keyboard keys. Any tips would be much appreciated.
Some companies won't even let you test unless
.
You'd have to test for companies. How would you do?
What would happen when the truth came out? There is no faking it when it comes to doing hospital work. Did you see the ads for general/religious transcription? If your English skills are top-notch, jump on those. One of the companies says they also have or will be getting some MT work, I believe.
Good luck.
so are you saying your test scores are too low?
you may want to consider buying a book and brushing up on grammar, etc. With all due respect, I noticed you misspelled "receive" in your post (it's I before E except after C or when sounded as A as in Neighbor and Weigh). Now that may just be a typo posting, which is fine, but if you actually don't know grammar and phonics rules, it's the kiss of death in this field.
Test scores
No I am not saying my test scores are too low. I usually denied because of lack of experience. As for misspelling receive that was a typo in my post. I asked for suggestions on how for find a job. I thank you for the tip about the grammar brush up but that isn't the problem. I have never worked for a hospital and I think that the school I went to is holding me back. Unfortunately I had no idea that At-home professions or Us career institute as they call themselves now was considered such a bad school. Again thanks for the tip but I believe that my problem is more a lack of experience problem than a grammar problem. When I did this about 10 years ago the field was so much easier to get into. Any other tips would be appreciated.
Test everywhere you can, you learn a lot that way - sm
also make cold calls. This is how I landed my first job. I had tested with a company and passed and was hired, but was waiting to actually start (took 2 months for that to actually happen). In the meantime I started calling local companies, I got hired over the phone by one willing to take a chance on me. I was on probation for 3 months, doing about $200 a month (she only had little bit of extra work), after I a month or so I knew I was "hired" for good and eventually got a little more work as the MTSO wanted to do less herself. I applied at another place (while working the 2 jobs) and picked up a 3rd. All were PT but different types of work, etc. so I packed in a lot of experience that way. Just keep plugging away, took me 2 months to land the 1st then 2 weeks later got #2, and 3 months later got #3. Just takes a little time, patience, and lots of persistence.
I took their online test on 8/21 and just
heard back from them yesterday. The lady I talked to there told me that she is really behind on contacting people. When did you apply with them?
typing test?
I am testing for jobs, and they want a typing test sent to them. My comment... why? I type what I hear not what I read. The brain is trained in a different way. I can only type 60 wpm without my shortcuts and stedmans smart type. They want 80 wpm. I dont know if I should test or not?
No companies have let me test yet
I haven't received any replies yet from companies to let me test. Is there any way to test other than sending out resumes?
Test answers
I wondered that myself! But then again I am a pretty naive critter
MEDQUIST MT test
I replied to your message once, but never saw the reply here...so if this shows up twice, please forgive me! I took the Medquist test a few days ago, also, and today I got the same letter...FAILED...with no explanation. Like you, I thought I had done pretty well as a newbie. Now I am trying to take the Focus Informatics test. However, the very first test...I cannot understand her at all, and it is supposed to be a test for newbies. Is there someone who can give me some insight into Focus Informatics and their MT tests for newbies? I really want to get started working and thought I had a chance with Focus, but if I can't even transcribe the first couple of lines of the first report, I'm doomed. HELP, PLEASE!
Is this a test question?
x
First Test Experience
Newbie took test at local hospital last night. I had to just post my experience. I was in a small, messy room with no windows. The MT who gave me the test sat me a a workstation, brought up dictation file and said 'now you just type'. The head phones they gave me didn't work. They gave me another set and that set kept cutting out on one side. I wasn't at all nervous, but my experience was less than enjoyable. I was given 11 dicationas to complete that were actual doctors at that hospital. I would say half were ESL. I had to chuckle or I would have cried. There was no terminology test or anything - just dictation. I didn't do very well. Even the English speaking doctors were mostly just mubbles. Had I been able to even understand a little of the terminology they were speaking I could have done better; however, they were horrible. Slowing down the dictation didn't help - in fact - I don't think that was even working. I spoke a little with the MT and she said the courses don't prepare you for what you will really experience. Is this really what I'm in for? I've never run across any dictations, even the ESL, in me courses that were this bad. Although the MT told me it's better to work at a hospital as a newbie, I think I disagree. I think I would feel more comfortable working from home. I guess you get used to the doctors eventually. On the lighter side, I did watch the MT doing dictation and noted her Expander usage and ya know what --- I think I can do this and will not give up!
Medquist Test
I recently took the Medquist test and failed for a second time. I looked everything up before submitting it, and still failed. I have been in the medical field for for almost 20 years, and this really surprised me. Does anyone know how many questions you are allowed to miss?
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