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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

I have been trying business with no response

Posted By: sidelinesmom on 2005-10-19
In Reply to: Where all have you applied? - MTx6

I have taken one test and did not pass because they wanted a 98% accuracy and I believe that I had a 94%.  All the other companies that I have applied at tell me that they want experience or I keep bugging them to take their test.  I am now cold calling doctor offices to see if they need anything.  I know 3 people in this field that work from home and they did not have trouble finding a job at all.  They all started about three years ago though.


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re this poster's response consider the bad response

should I get into this business

Hello, I have been researching the medical Transcriptionist field for months.  I have applied and been accepted into a training program but am finding myself hesitant to move forward for several reasons.  Maybe someone could give me some advice?  1)  I am seeing more and more comments about MT work being outsources overseas and I am concerned I am moving into a business that will be dying in a matter of a few years  2)  I am concerned I am moving into a business that will take me several years to make a solid living wage above poverty(in building a business) as I read so often of those individuals starving to get started the first 2-3 years 3)  In searching several boards it seems that many long hours are being put in by individuals just waiting for work, which actually makes the work day significantly longer. I am just expressing what I continue to read over and over again on several sites and hearing from MT's I have been fortunate enough to correspond with. Truthfully, I am a mother trying to ensure I secure a future for myself and my family. I am not trying to be negative, just realistic. I look forward to your advice


Should i get into this business
Medical transcription is a great business to get into.  You set yyour own hours, you can work from home.  Yes it is true that a lot of companies are outsourcing overseas, but if you look closely, a lot come back to America because they are not happy with the work.  If you start working with a company, you can get the experience of doing your own invoicing, and transcription, you will eventually find the time to go out and search for docs in your area that may need a Transcriptionist and that is howu you start your own company.  It is a lto of typing but if you put in the hours you are highly rewarded.  I took a second job with a company when a doctor that I got on my own, became a hospitalist.  I am trying now to find the time to go and look again for doctors on my own but it is hard, when I have one child at home and one child in school part time.  GOOD LUCK
MT business from home.
Thanks so much for your help. It's people like you that I hope will answer my emails. I'm going to keep making phone calls to schools locally and online. Thanks again Dee
You don't have to know if they checked on your business.
Good grief.
I don't think it is. I would not recommend this business
to anyone.   With all the work going offshore or going to VR and the line rates dropping, or not increasing with inflation, plus all the horrible platforms, etc. it just isn't the business I woulud want to retrain for. 
Future of MT business

EMR/VR is described in previous post.  If you do VR you are an MT and an Editor with a pay of 3 to 4 cpl.  Not my cup of tea but some people may prefer it.  You will see the large outsourcing companies send work out alot more often now to increase their profit margin - ALOT.  Therefore you are going to be limited as to how much you can make with them.  If you earned $2500 a month full time, there is someone sitting in India or the Philippines just waiting to do your job for an average of $239 a month.  Bottom line is that saving $$ will almost always be the deciding factor.  To avoid that situation, I have gone to a company that hires U.S. MTs only.  That is proudly posted on their web sites and companies who post on MT Stars.  You get paid more, there is steady work, and it will not be outsourced.  That is not to say that the client will not end up outsourcing as a cost saving measure.  Try to support U.S. companies and help them to grow.  They are the ones trying their best to protect U.S. jobs, not the AHDI.  If it is up to them, in the future the MT positions will probably be cut in half or more by 2015. 


As far as satisfying work.  If you have an account that you get good on, maximize your potential, and earn up to $20 or more than hour - that is satisfying!!  And by the way, there is no way your husband could ever guess what it is like to be an MT.  Stressful, yes.  Boring, no.  The knowledge and technology training you receive are invaluable, as long as you can make money doing it.  Not so easy these days, but possible if you don't mind changing companies/clients until you find the right fit.


starting an mt business from home
Help - I'm currently looking to do medical transcribing from home but don't know where to begin.  I'd really like to talk to someone that can help.  I worked at a hospital for 2 years in the orthopedic department as an mt.  However that was 27 years ago.  I have been with a major airline for the past 21 years which is now bankrupt, so I thought I'd go back to MT.  At least that way I'll be home once in awhile.  Where do I begin.  Thanks so much for any information you can give me.  I'm in  Northern Kentucky if that matters.
help with starting mt from home business
I don't know what online schools are legit!  Any suggestions.  I'd like a quick refresher course online if possible.  I want to get started now.   I'm still going to keep my other job and transcribe part time. 
Okay, we believe you. We are also aware there is no guarantee any particular business is going to b
I suggest you research companies carefully before accepting employment. I could have taken a job with a brand new company a few years ago, but understanding the risk, I looked for something with a proven track record. That's still not a guarantee, and I am now leaving the company I'm working for because the current manager is so untalented that I am concerned about the expansion she is currently planning. I don't think she's up to the challenge, so I'm getting out before I get burned. Posting about her here won't convince anybody of what it's taken me years to be able to see by close observation.
Many MANY of those places listed are out of business now, though, so
s
Allied Business School
Has anyone out there actually graduated from Allied and found employment? I finised their medical transcription program on 10/25/07 and have yet to get any kind of job offer. I have sent tons of resumes with no luck. I am so frustrated I can't even begin to tell you. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I just want to find somewhere to start. Thank You.
Millenium Business Solutions
Anyone out there heard of Millenium Business Solutions? Any information you might have would be great. Thank You
Allied Business Schools, Inc.
Has anyone else out there taken MT courses from Allied Business Schools, Inc. - and if so - have you had any trouble finding a job?
Allied Business Schools
I also graduated from Allied and I have had a terrible time finding employment. I graduated in October and have yet to start working.
Allied Business Schools, Inc.
I graduated from their course in Aug. 2006. I found employment within two weeks, of course, with no help from Allied. I went to Google and found as many transcription companies as I could and applied to all of them that would let me. I did a lot of foot work.

Just keep testing, and eventually, you will find employment. I know it is rough to get started, but it will eventually pay off. I just got a job working at a hospital on an Air Force base (coincidentally the same base my husband is stationed at), and I didn't even apply for the job. The staffing company that has the contract found my resume on Monster.com and called me. I don't work at home anymore, but it is a steady paycheck.

If you are this new to the business, then you might want to consider working outside the home just to get your foot in the door.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions, you can e-mail me, and I will help you out in any way that I can.
I didn't know Allstate went out of business...sm
Do you know why? I did the AIM program and worked for Allstate too.
Thank you for the response
Thanks for that response. I also posted on 2 other MT message boards and got the same response you gave me, I will hold off on doing that for now. I'm still pretty new at this so I was getting frustrated with my slow speed. But, I think I just need to be more patient with myself, I do have a good Expander program that I use.
response
I was looking into Career Step and M-Tec. After researching both, I'm not sure which one to choose.. I take it you went through Career Step.?
response
Executive Transcription Solutions is the company. Thank you all for your help
Thank you for your response
I emailed Linda for information.  I have heard something about a sallie mae foundation (spelling??) somewhere at one time.  Can anyone help on that subject?  Where do I find out the information ????
in response
Don't give up. Have you tested on some of the online sites? All I can tell you is that it can be done. Test, Test, Test if you haven't already. Email your resume to everyone, even those who say they require 2,5,10 years. I probably have not received responses to half of the emails I have sent out. I am a newbie, too, but I now have a PT and FT job. Good luck to you!
In response
"I never said MTec was dishonest. The gist of the post was that an MT training school could not give objective advice to a person considering purchasing their product. The OP was simply told to take this into consideration. Surely no one can disagree with that statement?"

I think I can disagree, Jo. I absolutely can (and do) give objective advice about the profession and would never mislead a prospective student into thinking that choosing M-Tec will guarantee them job placement or an easy ride to success. I have turned away many a prospective student and probably terminated an equal number for lack of progress or poor scores.

I have been an MT practitioner since 1971 and have worked in hospital medical records, radiology, you name it.

I currently own and operate a home-based MT service with 15 clients and 6 ICs. While that is small potatoes compared to some, I do it to keep my hand on the pulse of the industry. I experience every change this industry has made, right down to the EHR, VR, point-and-click templates and offshoring. I live it just like everyone here, and I have been just as frustrated over some of the changes as many of you here. I have not noticed any changes in the industry as a whole in terms of companies hiring qualififed MTs for entry-level positions, whether it be part-time or full-time, unless you want to talk about the growing requests for entry-level MTs recently?

I tell anyone who asks of my experiences with my service switching to an EMR-based system, but I will also tell you about our 96% placement rate for our graduates. These are figures that can be checked with our state board.

I feel confident that I can speak with authority on any MT-related issues without bias -- those are just the facts! :)

Does this mean I won't be happy to talk with you about the pros of enrolling through M-TEC? Naaah -- I have to be honest -- I think our course is one of the best on the market, and many employers and happy graduates would agree.
Thank you for your response.
Thank you for your response, Melissa. As before mentioned, I'd had trouble grasping the full concept of verbatim transcribing - especially when changes would have to be made for appropriateness without changing what the dictator said. Currently, the QA in my internship just sends back short responses (Nice report, uploaded; this word s/b another word, corrections attached, uploaded; etc.). The feedback is nice, but I didn't always know why one word should be another word when I typed what the dictator said. Those words could very well be word agreement. I hope I have the right understanding now. Thank you again for your response, it helps.
Response
Dianne,


Please be reasonable.  You enrolled on August 10 using our 7 month payment plan.  You paid $399 down and then on August 18 you paid an additional $554.24 to have your second shipment sent.  As stated our on site, materials are shipped usually within 2 -3 business days from enrollment, and then take 5 to 10 business days (a total of up to 13 business days). When you contacted us yesterday, the materials had been 14 business days.  Obviously, there was a delay, but, unfortunately, we have no control over the postal service.  To compensate for this delay, your dictionary was ordered through Amazon to be delivered the following day.  It was brought to my attention this morning, that according to the tracking #, your first shipment arrived yesterday morning.  The same day you started voicing your complaints everywhere.  I don't understand why you are continuing to do so when we have done everything possible to correct the problem.  You have been doing so well with your testing, and with your medical background, I am sure you will continue to.  To compensate further for this delay, which fortunately did not prevent you from continuing with the course, we would like to offer you a free upgrade to the Expert edition.  This edition includes additional dictation, additional online modules, our Work Placement Program, and the ability to enroll in our Internship Program.  If you decide to withdraw from the course, please contact me directly and I will start the procedures.  I also wanted to inform you that we are looking into an alternate shipping service to prevent this from happening in the future.


Sincerely,

Amy Rudd

School Director

Virtual Learning Center

Response
1) It is not OUR responsibility to check out your career choices for you and warn you.

2) If you'd bother really checking around and talking those who work for the virtual companies, you would have learned this BEFORE you made your choice!!!

My goodness. Don't you realize that companies SELLING education are in business to make money? Of course they're not going to tell you, "Come! Take our course! Spend your money and time! But you'll be hard pressed to get a job, may never get the WAH opportunity you want. But hey! Don't let that stop you! Just write out that check and you'll be well on your way to your DREAM (as in not gonna happen) job!"

Does it not make sense to you that anything with a get-rich-quick scheme is just that, a scheme? What profession can you train in a year or less and come out making $40,000 from your home?! Sounds like a scam BECAUSE IT IS!!!!

So, here. I'll tell you straight up:

You're in stiff competition, sweetie. Those of us with years of actual inhouse acute care experience will always beat you out for a job because we worked INHOUSE and gained ACUTE CARE EXPERIENCE (heck, any experience is better than none) and didn't expect the top pay, top positions, top anything to start.

You've also got competition from technology (speech recognition) leaving you with the icky dictators (and as a new MT, you have difficulty doing the good ones most of the time).

You've also got competition because it is just cheaper labor to send work to India. Besides, India is working their daytime hours while we all sleep -- because no one wants to work other than M-F 8-5. Also, with the severe shortage of experienced MTs capable of producing high-quality high-production work that isn't dependent on 100% QA, sending out is a viable option.

You have been told.
Thank you for your response!
x
Thanks for your response!!
very helpful :P
response
Tell the doctors to take some responsibility, to speak English and those who do, speak clearly and with a little more respect to the transcriptionist. We ARE NOT DOCTORS. This infuriates me !!! This is bullsh_t.
Response
That is a somewhat difficult comparison because very few people, if any, complete more than 1 of the courses you mentioned so they would not be able to give a fair comparison of job search results. I can say that I see very few M-Tec or Andrews grads complaining of an inability to find that first job.

Perhaps another question you might also want to ask is whether the grads were able to hold onto that first job for the 2+ years that is the typical minimum experience requirement for the industry. While I know more CS grads than I do Andrews or M-TEC grads (because I went to CS), I know very few CS grads that did not spend at least a portion of their first post-grad year job-hopping. I only know 4 CS grads (including myself) that are still with their initial employer after more than 2 years.

The third thing might want to inquire about is the type of position (clinic versus acute care)graduates from each school are able to obtain and what grads from each school can expect in regard to starting pay. At the CS student forum, I have seen grads profess to be willing to work 1-3 cpl or even for free just to "get their foot in the door" because they have not been successful in finding a job.
If you take an MT program at an outside college or business school, you might just be able to take
s
thinking about selling my transcription business...
 and just wondering if any one has any opinion on interest in that. The person owning the company would make a minimum of $82,500 a year, running the business and doing some transcribing part time. It would be very easy to do some marketing and bring in some new accounts, which could easily push that 82500 to over 100000 a year. I have repetitive stress injury and my doctor has told me I need to find something else to do. I was thinking if there was an MT or a group of MT's (the company is incorporated so shares can be sold) that would like to get together, they can eliminate the middle man, earn retail price for their lines and establish job security, not to mention satisfaction. Price would be around $250,000 but like I said, a group of people could go together to cover that and with a little work in marketing, it could be paid off in three years. The business is about 10 years old and to the point where it is generating its own referrals. It could really go places if someone wanted to spend a little time marketing to a few new hospitals. Any one have any thoughts on this.
Sorry to hear about your lost business. We aren't seeing that.
I'm seeing more business than ever before. I hope yours will pick up. Don't get discouraged.
MBS (Millenium Business Solutions)/Medlytics

Can anyone please tell me, specifically,


 what problem there is with MBS?  I was just notified by e-mail to fill out their job application and did so.  I have been trying in vain since 11/07 to find a job (new grad from LearnTranscription.com) and am getting desparate!!  There is a posting that they are terrible, but not really any specifics about them.  Anyone worked for them? 


 


 


MT schools are in the BUSINESS of selling MT courses.
Of course they are going to paint a rosy picture of this career.

Allied is not a very good course, and the MT companies know it. That's why they say they require 2 years' experience. (But they will waive that for grads of the better schools.)
Thanks for the tactful response

 My grammar may be a bit rusty, but you could have left the laughing smiley out and still have made your point, in a much nicer way. 


I was merely expressing frustration that people discount all of the time one spends studying to prepare to do this kind of work.  I was trying to explain to my dh the other night why I wanted to attend a good MT school, and his response was "What's so hard? The Dr. talks, and you type".  He figures that with what I know already, I can learn the rest (in his opinion, not much more to learn) on someone else's dime.  The only thing that got through to him was that I could not get hired to work from home for a national with the training I currently have, and that I could make more money right off the bat if I did complete the training.  He still won't accept that the training is necessary to do the work, but has to accept that to get hired at a better wage, I will need better training. 


I apologize if I misled you to infer that I felt I was totally qualified to be an MT and scoffed at anyone who was less qualified than I.  I also apologize if I led you to believe that I don't have respect for how difficult the work is.  I am terrified of failing at this and want to go through a good program, and hope to do so soon.  I am qualified enough to satisfy this one particular employer, but just barely.  I am in no position to train someone or try to get them hired, and I would never suggest that the path I took to get this job is a recommended way to do it. 


Well, I am off to practice and study some more before starting work next week.


I will be more aware of my grammar when posting on this forum. Would you recommend the Gregg Manual as a good reference or is there a better one out there?  Can we make peace? 


 


Frustrated response
Medquist will hire you out of school as well as Spheris. Go to Mtjobs.com and click on the red bubble (search jobs) good luck
another good response!!!
nm
I posted a response to her too (sm)

Someone else responded to her original post and gave her constructive information regarding her grammar.  She then turned around and told that person to kiss her you-know-what, etc.  Then she kept complaining that people were offending her and wanted posts deleted.  The administrator did so and also deleted her offensive post.  What goes around comes around.  The administrator admonished us not to treat her badly.  When she used offensive language to the first response she was asking for it.  Of course, that is just my opinion.  Are we still allowed those?  We spend so much time trying to send out perfect work that when we are posting on these boards it is easy to get lazy and not proof as well.  It is just in our nature that these errors would jump out at someone else reading them.  We do get paid for that, after all.  Of course, there is no need to criticize each mistake made on this board although, as I stated previously, when you come here with an attitude you can be pretty sure that you will get it back x10. 


Peace out....


Got a response from Medware

I received a response from Medware with their employee screening info as well as a few transcription "tests".  Looked it over and filled out all of the info as well as did the tests and sent it back.  I did a search on this company and got a mix of people who loved working for them and others who did not.  Any input would be greatly appreciated!!  Thanks!


Jill


Response to M-TEC Question

Hi Daphne,


I took the Tier 1 Premier Program a little over 2 years ago.  My experience with M-Tec was wonderful.  I also had no medical background.  It is a very comprehensive course, but I truly enjoyed it and learned so much.  You asked if Tier 1 Premier was necessary.  My advice to you is if you want to work from home, you should definitely take the Premier program.  If you take the Basic program, you generally have to work onsite somewhere until you are ready to work on your own.  As a student at M-TEC, you will have your own personal instructor assigned to you to answer any questions along the way.  This is a great school.  Not only is your instructor available to you, but the directors of the school are also very accessible.  The student forums are very supportive too.  There are many companies who will waive the 2-year experience requirement if you are a Premier graduate of M-TEC with a decent GPA.   You really can't go wrong with M-TEC.  I think it was worth every penny.


response to jenn
Good for you!

However, I've been in this business for more than 20 years. I've seen plenty of nurses think they can and are doing a great job and simply cannot do it.

It amazes me how much they don't know.

In response to your question
They clearly are a SCAM. Don't be tempted to buy their equipment. They rip people off their money without providing them with real training and guaranteed employment.
In response to mentor help
I definitely am in need of a mentor. I graduated over a year ago and I am about to give up. I have had a few close calls, but did not come through. Any help will be Great, Thank You!
in response to your post
Hi Winnie, -- first of all why do you want to be an MT? Stay at home mom with young kids? Promises of $40k-100K a year -- if so, you are thinking the wrong career -- when I worked outside the home, I was able to take daycare as a tax deduction as well as private schools -- give it a second thought cause the great tremendous money isnt here and I have been doing this for over 30 years
How extremely childish. You are in for a BIG surprise. This is a tough business. nm

"


If you are inadequately prepared, you will be toast. My business is growing.
Please don't put us all in the same box with you. Some of us have nothing to complain about. We're doing well.

You may not like that. It may not make you happy. That doesn't make it any less true. Go ahead and wish the worst for others if it makes you feel better about losing your accounts, but you may have lost them because you aren't very good at what you do.
All we have to go on is what you posted. You are losing work, going out of business, failiing
If you aren't doing well, the wisest thing is to change your situation. Get a better education perhaps. All we know about you is the fact that you have posted that this career is not working for you and some of your friends are also having problems.
Response for Teresa - please see inside.
I'm not sure what "Medical Office Occupations" is, but if it's a school for medical transcription, they should give you some idea of how to find a job. If they can't help you find a job - then I hate to tell you this, but you're going to have a hard time.

Frankly, it is VERY difficult for someone with no experience to find a job unless they graduated from Andrews, MTEC, or Career Step. Some have found they can only get local in-house jobs at the beginning (and are lucky to find those).

When you say "no one will listen to you" - who exactly do you mean? Have you applied at any of the companies mentioned here? Taken any transcription tests?

You never know who is going to be on boards like this - recruiters, small MTSO owners, etc., and I would recommend making sure your posts are professional and reflect good English skills.

Read these posts and go through the archives for more information, as well.
Newbie/Student response
I am not yet a professional MT, as I am still in school and have been unable to find employment, but from what I have learned so far in school I understand that paying attention to details is one of the most important aspects of being an MT. If this is actually the case, why would anyone take a possible employment opportunity so lightly as to skip directions or misspell words on an application? For those of us who are trying very hard to find work, this is rather insulting. An MT is supposed to be proficient in grammatical skills (!!!!!), so anyone applying for a position should have enough respect for himself and the company that he is applying to that he would at least read the instructions on the application. I am not trying to be rude or cruel in any way, but I just feel that so many errors on an application would most likely discourage an employer from hiring the applicant.

Another thing, when looking for employment last night I accidentally stumbled across an Indian transcription company. On it were many testimonials from employees and hopeful employees of the company. There were so many misspelled and out of context words in these statements! I know that my grammar has a long way to go; that’s why I keep and handbook by my side when I am trying to perform professionally. Why is it that so many companies prefer these people that can’t even use English well over Americans that are studying to perfect the use of our native language? I am having a hard time finding any company that is willing to hire a new-grad, so all of the bad grammar coming from the Transcriptionist on that site hit my mean bone. Please don’t think I am a bitter, sarcastic person because I am not. I just find myself a little erked at offshore companies. I know that I will find I great opportunity soon enough.
Wow!!! Great response. Would hire you myself if I could!!!!!!
nm