I started out doing radiology.
Posted By: this was 20 years ago on 2008-05-11
In Reply to: Radiology or Multispecialty test for newbie? - kittykat
You may want to try the radiology portion since it is less intense and it's a good base, in my opinion. Others may not feel the same way, but I think you are better off starting with radiology as opposed to multispecialty. Best wishes... 
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Radiology
Radiology is certainly easier than working for a hospital, doing all the specialties. Naturally it also pays less. I think it's good experience to have because you can concentrate on anatomical terms. It can help prepare an MT for doing operative reports. But you can get behind in practicing drug names and keeping up with the new drugs.
I am doing radiology right now, and I like it, but many MTs don't because most of the reports are short. I have observed that many fast typists tend to like longer reports because they seem to rack up their lines faster.
Another drawback to radiology is that many jobs are being lost to technology. Therefore, you need to be so good at it that the MDs can rarely catch an error. If they have to do a lot of editing and corrections, they might as well use VR technology.
radiology
radiology reports are usually shorter than acute care transcription, but it goes deeper into anatomy and physiology. it would be best to start with basic 4 (hp, consult, discharges, ops) to become more familiar. it takes a lot of people about 2-3 years to even be really comfortable with acute care. good luck
Radiology question
I hear that Radiology is very hard, very specialized. Is this true? If so, why? If so, should a Radiology MT get a higher rate of pay?
MEDITECH for Radiology
I've searched the boards and don't see any real recent posts regarding Meditech. I am starting a new radiology account which uses Meditech. All I know is that I WILL NOT be using the Meditech program that uses Word. Does that mean it is DOS-based? Is that what MAGIC is? Are they other Meditech programs that use something other than Word or DOS? What are your average lines per day? I hear a lot of people copy/paste from Word into the system.. does that work for all Meditech programs? I would REALLY appreciate some info about this platform and people's average lines on it. Thanks so much.
Radiology Transcription
Hello Everyone:
Anyone out there doing transcription for Radiology? can you give me an overview of what the work is like? Do you think a "newbie" could start in radiology? Any information you offer will be appreciated. Thanks,
Is radiology easy?
I would really like to try it, but i dont know whether you will provide the wav file, then only i can say whether it is easy
Radiology experience
I just finished a home study medical transcription course that did not have any radiology reports in the practice dictation, but it did have all acute care. I am just wondering if this course did not give me enough of everything, or are others like this also? 
Radiology training
I am currently a transcriptionist, cardiology and I am wanting to learn radiology. How do I go about that. If someone could help me that would be great.
Thanks
Need a Job! Experience in clinic and radiology
I am a new medical transcriptionist, I have some minimal experience, I have over $500 into books from stedman and also $300 in computer software! I have every single thing needed except the job! Please I need someone willing to work with me, and someone to understand that I am looking for something LONG TERM! I have experience with radiology and clinic specially. But also a dabble of others as well.
Please contact me via email. I will send you my resume. Blessings, Marilyn
RE: Need a Job! Experience in clinic and radiology
Look on the job board for OSi who posted today looking for cardiology transcriptionists.
radiology is one of the easiest specialties...sm
after all, there's only so much they can say. Heart, lungs, ribs, spine - that's a chest x-ray for you. Very repetitive, if you've heard one, you've heard them all, except when you get into some of the really complex scans. If you could get about a month of training, you would pretty much be able to roll on your own. If you need the experience before getting the job, perhaps you can find a mentor that will let you listen in on dictation with the reports already typed? Great job for beginners.That's where I got my start 25 years ago. 
I agree, radiology is easy, but
there is a bigger threat of being replaced by VR unless you are so good that the radiologist will fight to keep you if needed. Most of the terminology is anatomical terms. They don't change like drugs do, so there are no excuses for getting anatomy wrong. You have to have a large English vocabulary, have great grammar skills, have a 99.5% accuracy rate, and not mind transcribing lots of short notes as well as some two-pagers. If you prefer getting 20-minute reports all day, you won't like radiology. Most of the dictators speak very quickly and efficiently, which is what I like.
Don't forget radiology offices in your area.
Never know when they might need some part-time help. Or chiropractic offices. You might do other jobs as well, but variety isn't all bad.
You can't give an average. Radiology reports
are typically under 10 lines and you can do 100 a day. I do Op notes for a hospital and can have reports that are 25 minutes long. I also have a lot of ESLs and if I have a day where I have the really bad ones or the bad American dictators I don't generate as many reports. If you are doing clinic work you would probably be able to do more reports than acute care, especially if you have the same doctors, because they you could set up macros for them. I generally do 40 reports a day, have done as few as 28, as many as 72, but that doesn't really tell anyone anything.
I do Radiology now, kind of fell into it but love it. nm
Radiology or Multispecialty test for newbie?
I have tested with a couple of companies that give the option of testing for Radiology or Multispecialty. I'm just wondering, as a new graduate, which test I should choose?
It has started already and I'm
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.
I started with
15 to 180 range per 2 weeks last year and now am getting 650 to 700 per two weeks. It depends on the account that you get. If you are working for somebody right now with work coming in regularly, concentrate on it. When you get your speed and accuracy up and believe that you can tackle more reports, try looking for another account.
however, when I first started out, I DID....sm
I DID pay quarterly when I first started out....gave the IRS about $500 every 3 months....totaling $2000 for the year for the IC side of my business (I also work for a national who takes out taxes with each pay period...which is good, cuts down on what all I owe the IRS by April).
Started out at 9, now up to 12.
Just depends on where you work, how much they need you, etc. If you are happy with that then do not worry about it!!
I started at .065 cpl
... and I was thrilled to make that, as a High Honors grad.
I started at 8 cpl
Considering how slow newbies are and how much they have to learn, I think 8 is very reasonable.
I started at 8 cpl
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.
When I first started I had no MT
experience and no MT schooling. This was in the day before we had expanders. I did just under 700 lines a day and that was a hard 8 hour day. It was gross lines, so maybe 600 lines based on 65 characters. I don't know how long it took me to get to 1000 lines/day, but it was probably 6 months. You just need to build up your Expander a little bit and work smarter. Don't get on-line, build up your reference materials so that you don't have to get on-line much, you can look it up in the book and not be tempted to check e-mail, etc. Set an egg timer and work until it goes off, don't think about the laundry that needs doing or what you are going to fix for supper. Every hour take a 15 minute break and do the laundry, or lay out something for supper, etc.
How to get started
I have my BA in something totally different but I want to start looking into medical transcription so I can have the opportunity to work at home when I have kids. I just don't know where to get started. The places around where I live require 2 years of experience and a number of classes. Are there any places that you can just take a few classes and start working? Any information will help!
getting started
Hello- I am actually a dentist- and have been for 18 years. I am currently staying home with my child and thought MT might be a good avenue to travel for awhile. What sort of training do you recommend for someone who has a medical/dental degree. I have all the medical terminology and pharmacology etc I think one might need. I do not know anything about the digital transcription or have any equipment. What do you guys recommend?
Getting Started
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!
I started with going to
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.
Getting started
Just finished school-looking to start slow as IC- not fast, but accurate and dependable- any suggestions?
I started by doing transcription
for veterinarians! You might try a local specialty veterinary hospital to see if they need any transcription help. You do need to know a little bit about dog and cat breeds, but the body parts are pretty much the same (except for the tail)!
Just Started working PT
I just graduated from Career Step and got a PT job within 2 weeks. Mind you it was the only company that was interested in doing the PT thing, plus I have dail-up, so I was really limited on my options. But, so you know, PT jobs are out there. Good luck.
Newbies I know started at 6 cpl
/
I started my education
at a community college and finished at PCDI, and the materials were identical, so I can't say either way is better, but the best help I got was once I started working, and the training on the job. I think PCDI teaches the basics, and if I were you, I'd shoot for an in-house position to start with to have some help. All of PCDI's tapes were incomparable to what you really get. If I had a doctor speaking like that, I'd be making millions :) Good luck!
Jill, have you started yet? nm
just an fyi...but i got a paycheck before dsp...maybe they just started doing that
nm
I relistened to everything when I first started sm
The question is, when you go back over it, do you find that you got everything? When you do, then you should feel confident enough to just move on. I still read through my stuff to check for errors, but I don't relisten and I have not had QA tell me I missed anything.
I got my own accounts & started an MTSO.
nm
I started at 6.5 cpl for acute care.
I had 3 offers (2 of them before I even received my final exam scores): One for 6 cpl no spaces, one for 5.5 cpl for straight transcription and 2.5 cpl for VR editing, and 6.5 cpl for acute care. I took the 6.5 cpl since it was the highest cpl, but found that the account was awful. It was mostly ESLs (probably more than 90%). I could work a whole 8-hour shift without a single EFL (English as a first language) and most of the docs were new residents that had no idea how to dictate a report. It was awful. I had times where I could get 200-220 lph so I knew I could do the lines with decent doctors, but most days all I had were ESL residents and my average was more like 120 lph, so I didn't even make minimum wage. I worked there for 6 months just to get the acute care experience and then began hunting for a better job. I now work for a clinic that pays me 13.5 cpl and also for an MTSO that pays 7 cpl, but it took me several months of testing and turning down offers as I was not going to work for less than 7 cpl and did not want to work weekends.
This is similar to how I started out 19 years ago.
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. 
When I started working from home we only had one
I just made sure that my programs were closed out before my husband or kids got on. The only problem with letting others on is that they will surf the net and download things that bog the computer down. I would suggest if possible for you to have your own PC. Usually bare bones is okay as long as it's fairly new. Actually, Vista does not work with some companies, so you may want to look into a refurbished tower running XP and maybe Office 2003. I've also seen others post that they work from a laptop on the go, which I haven't done yet, but it seems to work well when MTs need to travel. Good luck in your endeavors, and welcome to the MT world. It is a satisfying job.
I started at minimum wage.
When I started working as an MT, I was only making minimum wage(was an employee and they had to pay at least minimum wage if I didn't make my line count). I could have started working at the local hospital for $15 an hour, but I chose to stay home with my son and not have to put him in daycare, even if it meant I would make a little less. I am glad I did. Now after 11 months, I make $17 an hour and do not have to pay daycare, commute costs, or spend a lot on clothing (love to working in my sweats). I knew the minimum wage was temporary and that if I focused on my speed, I would get to where I needed to be financially. So while you may start out making minimum wage, you don't have to stay there.
started school at 25 wpm, finished at 75 wpm
It takes a lot of practice but it is definately doable. I have been transcribing for 12 years and am well over 120 wpm. I haven't done a typing test in awhile to give you an exact number, but it is definately possible. I agree with the poster who said make sure you are in a credible school, it makes all the difference in the world!
Our nine year old son started asking about the birds and the bees (sm)
this year. We have answered exactly what was asked every time. Once he started asking questions, he didn't stop.
We have covered birth control, child support, the fact that if he gets a girl pregnant he will have no choice in the matter if she chooses to abort (which horrified him) and many other things. He also knows that he will always be able to come to his father and I for birth control. The way he is being raised (Christian home), we hope he will not have sex before he is ready, which we hope will be when he is an adult. (Ideally, on his wedding night. But we don't push that.) But if he makes the decision to have sex when he is a teen, we have let him know that we will help him protect himself.
We have also told him that if he believes a girl when she says, "I'm on the pill", we'll kill him.
And I feel very bad for you about your daughter. If I had a child who had a child and behaved that way, I don't know what I'd do. (Other than pay to get Norplant in her arm, that's for sure.)
Good luck at getting custody. It sounds like you'd be a much better choice for the GC.
I started MTing in 1979 and right not would not recommend it to anyone.
..
Whee! Have you started testing yet? Congrats! nm
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.
It is hard to transcribe radiology notes as compared to usual notes?
Can a new MT without radiology transcription experience be able to do it?
I started working from home within 2 days of graduation.
I have been with my same company for coming up on 6 years now. I had some tough days in the beginning, but I dug in, learned as much as I could, and made it through the hardest part. In-house may be better for some starting out, but it worked for me being at home as long as I was willing to work hard. Good luck to you. :-)
I just started yesterday with World Direct Transcription...
I also was a little nervous accepting this position, mainly because after posting a question on this forum regarding anyone's knowledge of this company, I received NO responses! I am very happy with everything so far, the account I am on is great and my supervisor is very helpful! Good luck Sonnett with your test! Have you heard anything yet?
I did a community college certificate and immediately started working as an IC
I always recommend the community college route because it is VERY inexpensive compared to the MT schools. You can always do an MT school after your community college work if you think you really need it.
I am NOT a certified medical Transcriptionist (CMT) because that can only be obtained through AAMT. I DO have a certificate of completion of the MT course through my community college though. I have found it to be more than adequate for me to work as an IC MT, and my teacher has been very willing to help me with problems and questions that I can't figure out myself through these wonderful MT boards!
Good luck!
I enjoy MT, but I see the writing on the wall. I have started another at-home business....(sm)
I love the tax benefits of working from home, so I have gone into another business. I am probably about six months away from having this business surpass my current income. Once that happens... I am out of MT. Sad, but true.
I don't want to be the last rat off of the sinking ship! (Not that I consider myself a rat, mind you. More like a cute, fuzzy mouse, perhaps...)
Ha ha!
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