I got my own accounts & started an MTSO.

• How much? - Paul Anthony
  • expect a 1 to 4 ratio of dictation minutes to transcription time - for new MT and regardless of experience
  • RE: - Shelly Hendrix
    • Most new MTs (no experience) are about 75-100 lph - pls sm - current supe
      • That's exactly where I am at after 8 months. - newbie
      • I began at 65 LPH. At 18 months, I am at 350. - M-TEC Grad
        • Can you say where you work that you can get lines that easily? Thx. nm - Woe is me
          • I got my own accounts & started an MTSO. - M-TEC Grad
            • How did you do that? - me
              • After some experience working for another MTSO... - see message
                • Good for you!! - nm - MTG
      • ...should add - that is with finishing a respected MT program. nm - current supe
        • Thanks for your message - Paul Anthony

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I was wondering if any of the newbies ever thought of acquiring their own accounts.  I have a friend who is doing this.  She got 250 free business cards (from Vista Print) and also had them create a pamphlet.  She is about to take her final exam at MT school and has decided to work for herself and is just starting to solicit business; she lives in Georgia.

I have other friends in the Chicago area who do this.  Their accounts are mainly with solo practitioners and small group practices.  Believe it or note, some physicians are still using microcassette tapes and some MTs still pick up the tapes and drop off the work.

Phyllis

A friend wanted me to try to get her a job where I start next week.  I'll be doing MT for an hourly wage.  I have an educational background and training in everything related to it except actual transcription, but I am being given a training period to get my ears up and running, and I hope that I can get fast enough.  I am working through a medical transcription text at home (bought it a year ago used to get more information about MT) to brush up and get some more information before I start. I am also gathering some reference materials to shore up what I already have at home from my previous studies. 

Anyway, she said something like "maybe you can get me a job there too". She thought that I could get her "up to speed" with MT skills and recommend she be hired.  I told her the reason I was hired w/o transcription education was because of my medical studies background.  I had to take a terminology test as part of the assessment.  She said that she would definitely fail that.  I told her then, first of all, she should take a med terms course, to which she said pretty vehemently that she did not have the money to do so.  I kind of stuttered at that point and kind of repeated what I had already said about my background helping me land the job.  I think she got annoyed with me . But this is a job where you cannot wing it at all, and you need to invest in your training. Why is it so hard to explain that to people without upsetting them? 

Recently when she knew I was looking for a job, she let me know that the tax prep firm she works for offers their tax preparer cost at a deep discount in January, and that once I pass it, I could apply to do part time or prn tax prep for them at the office where she works.  While that was kind of "insider" info that I did appreciate, I feel like maybe now I upset her by not agreeing to try to get her a job where I work. 

What do you do when people want you to get them into MT like this?  If she asks again I am considering finding a practice dictation to listen to.  I just know I can't put a word in for her if she doesn't even want to take a med terms course.

about 7 months ago.  It isn't all about typing, really.  I type about 98 wpm now, but with research, entering identifiers, finding doctors or city names, etc...the typing isn't as important, even though it still matters.  Plus, after typing all of the reports Career Step has, you'll be typing faster in the end.  When I started school I was typing about 74 wpm roughly, just to give you an idea.

Plus, there's always Typer Shark .  I bought it while in school to get some typing practice.  It's helpful and fun.

Hi Andrea:

I've been doing transcription for 25 years and I love it.  I've been working at home for about 6 years and for Medquist for 3 years.  One thing I would tell you right off the bat is a lot of graduates have problems getting that first job because everyone wants experience.  I would talk to the schools about what they offer in terms of finding employment once you graduate.  I know Medquist used to have a school called Career Step and would hire you directly upon completion, but I haven't checked into it lately.  I think the website is careerstep.com. 

Other than than, it is never too early to start building a medical library.  I would start with Dorland's Medical Dictionary or Dorland's Medical Speller.  They aren't cheap, but you will get your money's worth over the years.  I love my noise-cancelling headphones that I found on Medword.   

I hope this helps you get started.  Good luck!  

Monster.com and placing a resume there.  MTDaily is another place you can put in resumes.  Keep passing resumes out.  Look for a company and check out its reputation here and other MT service blogs or boards.  I came here first and discovered that some companies don't pay until they see their names lit up here.  I went looking for transcription companies advertising for doctors to type for, and then found the back door to their recruiting department.

Forgive me for being so ignorant of the abbreviations, but what does MTSO stand for?

Thanks.

anymore.  When you are competing with single-digit line rates from off-shore companies you can no longer charge 18 cpl.  In most cases it isn't corporate greed, but trying to be stay afloat.  Medical expenses are through the roof and everyone is looking for a way to cut expenses and MT is one of them. 

I agree that companies that went offshore long ago did it for greed, but now it is mostly for survival.

People go into this business lured by working at home and making $40,000/year.  They don't investigate to see how realistic that is.  They go to one of the cheaper schools because the better schools are too expensive, yet the cheaper schools are pretty worthless and don't equip you to work as an MT in the real world.   If potential MTs would do their research on the front-end they wouldn't go into this field to start with. 

Could someone tell me what MTSO stands for?  May be a dumb question, but I wont know if I don't ask. 

Thanks

I was given the opportunity to transcribe for the radiology department and soon was asked to cross-train to other areas of the hospital to transcribe.  Boy, did I learn a lot. 

I remember one lady (I was only 18 when I started working at the hospital) after 3 years of vo-tech high school training.  I used to get mad because she would make me look things up in the medical dictionary.  She forced me to use my noggin.  Once I got the hang of it, I thanked her again and again for being so hard on me.  There was another lady who worked p.r.n., but she had her own clients.  I learned a lot from her.  I think of her often when I "can't go/have to work" even though I work from home.  NOW, I know what she was talking about, but I have learned to manipulate my schedule to not miss out on anything.