It is a tough decision, but
Posted By: my two cents on 2006-02-20
In Reply to: putting 3-year-old in daycare - cnymt
it is one that you will not regret for either of you. Your work will get better and your line count will increase and your child will learn social skills and how to interact with other children. It can be a good thing, to a certain extent, for children to be in that type of setting before they enter Kindergarten. It teaches them social skills and structure and how to interact with others throughout their day. Not that we as parents can't teach them that, but they get it on a much broader scale when they are in a daycare setting. I have talked to teachers who have said they always can tell a huge difference in the children who went to daycare and were introduced to those things from those who stayed at home and weren't.
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Hard Decision
I am trying to decide between Andrews and M-Tec for my MT education. I realize this is beating a dead horse, but I would like to share some of the things I've noticed about the two and hope someone might have some insight for me.
Andrews: Has had an excellent reputation for a long time. You can take as long as you need to finish the program. Students have same instructors, i.e. everyone gets to experience REDPEN.
M-TEC: Very good reputation also. New website is very professional. Long list of well-known CMTs and AAMT members on staff. You are assigned an individual instructor. You need to finish in 18 months.
I've been weighing these things in my mind trying to decide. I had a bad experience with MT training before. I was completely dependent on one person for feedback, etc. This was great while it worked, but all of a sudden this person stopped responding to my messages, phone calls, etc. I never want to get in that situation again. I am attracted to M-TEC because I know I could track down some of the people on staff there in other contexts if need be. I realize this is probably paranoia on my part because neither program is likely to disappear like mine did, but... The no time limit that Andrews has might be good if an illness or emergency arose. On the other hand, a deadline could be good because I tend to be perfectionistic and overwork things before handing them in. I'm a little nervous about being assigned one instructor at M-TEC because this puts me in somewhat of the same position I was in before of being dependent on one person. However, I would be able to contact Susan Francis or Kathy Kropko if there was a problem I suppose. Still, I kind of like what seems to be more of a traditional classroom experience with a lot of students under one instructor at Andrews.
Thanks for any comments or suggestions.
Hard decision
First of all, let me say that you will get a good solid education with either school. That said, here are some further points to consider:
Redpen is no longer teaching trancription; she teaches coding now.
Andrews has been around longer, their teachers are more experienced, both in teaching methods and transcription. For instance, a recently hired teacher for M-Tec has only been a Transcriptionist for less than 5 years.
M-TEC only requires you to have an 86% score on your final exam to graduate; Andrews hold you until you get a score in the high 90s. Of course, you could compensate for this by just not allowing YOURSELF to graduate until you can achieve a high score.
HTH.
Need to make a decision soon....
Here's my situation: After months of research, I finally decided that I would like to go to M-TEC. Actually I would LOVE to go there! But I have one problem. I don't have the money for the down payment. As a teenager, I made a mistake of maxing out a couple of credit cards so now my credit is really bad so I cannot get the student loan they offer. Actually I can't get any student loan (that is credit based). So, I can either go through Everett Community College and use financial aid, and then maybe go back in a couple of years and go through the M-Tec Program? (I'm saving a little at a time so I can get my debt paid off) I guess I am just wanting a little advice on what to do or maybe hear from someone who went to Everett, because I don't want to go through this program and end up with no job! My son is already three and my husband and I don't want to wait too long to have another baby so I would really like to stay at home. Thanks a ton! You guys give really good advice on this board and that's why I came here to ask :)
Ok thanks.. I think I've come to a decision...
I'm either going to go to M-Tec or Andrews. I've done more research and I have concluded that these two schools are the best from reading many comments and reviews. Now the problem is deciding which one I should choose. They both seem to be equally good. Any help here?
Goodie for you for making the decision SM
to not use your degrees and stay home with your babies...but in the REAL world most women do not have that option if they want to be able to feed and clothe their children. You really CAN'T live on love. I had to put my oldest son in daycare at 6 weeks old. I hated it, but he certainly couldn't stay home by himself! It had nothing to do with "social skills" or "convenience." It was "necessity." I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my other 2 children (as my paycheck would have just barely covered the cost of 3 kids in daycare, so it wasn't worth it).
You really shouldn't be so judgmental and self-righteous. There are 2 sides to every story...not just YOUR side.
Seriously.
Chickadee
Tough to say, but (sm)
you are typing a legal document, a person's medical record and it absolutely must be correct! I look at it this way - if it was my record or a record of a family member I would be upset if it was inaccurate. Not to mention the potential patient care problems associated with erros in a medical record. Your best bet is to leave a blank where you are not 100% sure.
How did you make your school choice decision?
Why did you pick the particular schools that you chose? Did you ask them for help in job placement? What do the employers tell you when you test for them, or do they even allow you to test? I know that several schools' graduates are not having any problems like this at all, and they don't cost $10,000. Not even Andrews costs $10,000.
Too tough-Lighten up
Everyone is being so tough on Miss Jill here. Are you all really so disgruntled and bitter that you can't find a moment to encourage a new MT. By the way, its great that you have hired and fired, but you yourself made typos in your own post, and while you may have found her attitude to be "prissy" I just find yours to be mean and ignorant.
Sorry they put you in a tough spot
That sounds like an uncomfortable situation for you. I hope it gets better. Wow, fines. I had never heard of that. I did not think MD's were hospital staff, but contractors. Well, I guess it could be part of the contract to get the dictation done in a timely manner so the hospital could stay in compliance. hm.
It is tough being a newbie
Being a newbie in transcription is tough, specially working at home. You won't be able to concentrate, and also you have to do a lot of research, which is time consuming. You are going to get stressed out. Is there sombody else who can watch your kids while you work? Maybe a friend? Really, day care isn't that bad if you do your homework and find a good place. There are some really good day care centers out there. I think kids rather spend some time at day care and interact with other children than having a mom at home who spends hours in front of a comouter. Transcription is tough when you are a newbie. Do you have a job already?
Good luck to you
Another newbie with three teenager
when I had a very tough ESL doctor
my manager said to just do your best with it, so I try my best but don't lose sleep over blanks. It will come in time. Something you might want to do at first is go back through and listen again to those blanks. Sometimes something you type later might tip you off to what a blank should be, or you just hear it clearer.
It's really tough to get a break
which one of the reasons why I quit teaching MT after 10- years. It was impossible for me to find an on-site internship program (no one wanted students on-site asking questions and slowing the productivity of regular MT's). I found a couple of IC's that would let my students transcribe the reports after they had already been transcribed and would verify work experience for them for doing that. I just hated seeing so many students putting all the effort into a class and then being unable to find a job with no experience. My advice was always to go to work on-site vs. trying to go it alone at home with no support. Keep applying until you have no other option. Good Luck
Thanks all for your input! It helps alot in my decision making! nm
Can I ask how document formation will input your decision? Seems like a sideways way
s
Yeah, it's a tough call (SM)
 Like you said, it depends on the person. Regardless, there's a big learning curve for getting it right in this career. I hope for the best for the OP!
This is a tough field to be in - I have been transcribing for 12 yrs (sm)
I understand your frustration - the best advice I can offer is to try to find a small MTSO to work for - an individual who has maybe 20 or less employees, so that you can develop a good relationship with that person (you have to look around, they are not all great!) That has worked the best for me. I work close to full time now, but when I was part-time (also because of my children) I once worked for a company who gave me a terrible account...no one wanted to type this guy...after a while I had learned that he repeated many phrases again and again and I worked hard to make hundreds of abbreviations for him. I got to the point that I could do his work very quickly and he was very happy with me doing his work so the MTSO kept giving his dictation to me. One day, I did a 30 minute tape from him in an hour and a half....I sent my work in...my boss called and told me that I could not have possibly done that tape that fast. I told her that I had made tons of abbreviations for the doc and that I had actually done the whole thing in an hour and a half. I told her that I liked doing his work now because I had gotten very used to him, being given him every day. Guess what? She never gave me his work again. I guess she kept it for herself? But she wouldn't let me have it back? Why? I don't know but I know that if you try to pick and choose they will almost never let you because someone else might want the same account. I guess what I am saying is you have to play it smart...don't directly ask for an account. There are a lot of small-time supervisors in this world who are power hungry and want to flex what little muscles they have over anyone they get the chance to do so with. I hate having to play the game and wish everyone could just be open and direct and honest, but they aren't. And in this field it really can be very dog eat dog.
First thing you want to do is get a tough hide! This board is brutal!
I would like to say we are all civil and well-mannered, but you can take a quick look down the first page and see that we are not, so first of all, don't take offense at some of the replies you will get. There are many more of us out here who are willing to help out, but you will see the "nasties" are the majority on this board. I quit coming here for a long, long time...still not sure why I came back....anyway. Things are quite different than they were when you were an MT (I know, I've been an MT for 30+ years). You have a great background and it wouldn't take you long to get back into the game. The first thing I would do is talk to one of the MT schools. The 3 best are the Andrews School, M-Tec and Career Step. You can speak to one of the counselors, you may be able to bypass some of the class work because of your previous background. There a LOT of new procedures, equipment, drugs, tests findings, etc. in the past 25 years and you need to get reacquainted with things. Good luck to you - you can do it! Let us know how you make out. (And don't forget to ignore the trolls  )
How extremely childish. You are in for a BIG surprise. This is a tough business. nm
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