It is important to get your foot in the door
Posted By: Kat on 2006-02-28
In Reply to: New grad needs advice - Lori
You can command more money as soon as you can prove your skills. I agree with those who say to take this entry level job and move up the ladder from there.
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I am new, and I would take it. I wish I could get my foot in the door like that.
Foot in the door
What kind of accuracy do you have? 95% of what? Don't want to start a fight with anyone else, but I don't care who you are, where you are from, if you can type my account with great accuracy, i'll hire anyone. American doc, but challenging.
Getting foot in the door...
I like to think that I'm keeping my expectations realistic. As far as money goes, I'm actually more interested in getting my foot in the door than how much I make. To be honest, no I didn't look into several schools before taking the course I did. Which I do hope does not come back to bite me. I did the At-Home Professions course which, by reading the posts on this site, isn't one of the best schools. But it did teach me a lot of what you said. I do know that even the most experienced Transcriptionist learns new things every day, has to research terms, etc. I also did a lot of work with foreign dialect, and I'll be honest its not my favorite. But it taught me to listen.
I will post my resume on this site. I'll also contact local doctors in my area. I am hoping that because my expectations are low, that I'll find what I'm seeking. I guess what I'm worried about most is that people won't be willing to give me a try. They'd be surprised to find how well I can do. I just need to be given the chance.
Oh and as for my grade, that's just what they refered to my grade as, a GPA. But whether its a GPA or whatnot, it still reflects that I have a good grasp on the material. At least that's what I get out of it!
Thanks again.
Jenn
The only way I got my foot in the door was to
work inhouse for a couple of years to get experience.
Good company for getting your foot in the door. Go for it! NM
x
See important, important message inside.
I put my real name and e-mail up here. The rest of you, do not let this person steal your dreams.
I stumbled onto this profession 30 years ago when transcription was part of my office duties. I went from there to a huge hospital and worked there for 15 years, all the while taking extra work from home (mostly because I just love the work, but also for extra money).
During the past 30 years, I have supported my family of four without a lot of help from my husband. That includes buying my daughter a very expensive horse and all the accoutrements (sp?) - including riding lessons, horse shows, show clothes, etc., etc. My son has a very expensive hobby that I also funded. I ran an entire household on my earnings.
I'm saying this to illustrate to you that it can be done, but you sure can't send off sloppy records. You have to learn the correct way. You have to be smart. You have to listen and be willing to be humiliated once every now and then!
MT may or may not be for you, but do not let one unsuccessful person define your future. There are plenty of us out here who make a wonderful living at this.
"Foot in the door!"
I was just stating that my overrall grade was 95% after completing the course. I'll admit that there is still a lot I need to learn, as any newbie does from any school, but I find that AHP has gotten a bad rap because of the lack of training/education. And because of this, employers look down on grads from this school. The course did not even require me to use a foot pedal, and now I need to learn how to use one. Not to mention all of the different types of software out there that I am just begining to discover (i.e. FTP servers, encryption programs, C-phones, etc.); all of this was never even discussed in the course. Also, the course only provides students with 2 reference books. I feel I really need to update my reference library as well.
I am willing to do anything at this point so I can gain experience, but it has definitely become difficult to get my "foot in the door!"
This is important. see message
You need to know that although you might have a "certificate" from an MT school, you are not a certified MT. In order to be certified, you need to have 2 years' experience and then take and pass a test with the AHDI (formerly AAMT).
You need to know this because when looking for a job, if you say you are "certified" and the employer checks the list of CMTs (certified MTs) and you are not on it, they will think you are lying about it to get the job.
It is a very common mistake, lots of new grads think because they have a "certificate" that they are certified, but there is a big difference.
Good luck in finding a job.
Response to important message
Deb,
Apparently they have changed the requirements. If you go on the website they say anyone can take the test, but they suggest two-years acute care experience for success on the test. It used to be you could not even take the test without two-years experience.
It's hard to tell because you are leaving out one important item
it says "can work from home after training period."
Is this a place that is local to you? Why don't you try googling the email address and see what comes up.
There are some hospitals that are willing to train people for this job, but I have found that happens in very very tiny hospitals where they may have something like 40 beds or less.
"well-trained" is the important point here
Those who aren't are running out of job options. The employers won't hire or keep people who are not properly prepared. They are dumping the MT services who don't have high standards.
More important than typing speed I hope
you chose a good school. Doesn't matter how fast you type if you can't get a job because she chose a more "affordable" school that didn't give you the education you need to get a job.
Do not short yourself on the most important part of your career
You will be sorry if you try take the easy way out. Trust me, been there. After wasting 1 year and lots of money at one program, I went to the college and received excellent training. I graduated with straight A's on both programs.
foot pedals
I had that problem with the Infinity foot pedal, mine was IN-USB-0 and when I switched to IN-USB-1 foot pedal, it worked and I didn't have to pay for a wav player. They look the same exactly except for this one little difference on the back of the pedals. Look on the back of your pedal and see what it says--might need IN-USB-1 if you have an infinity pedal.
Foot Pedal????
Can someone tell me which foot pedal I should get, where to get one and how can I find the most inexpensive!!!??? Thanks!!
foot pedal
Does anyone know the best place to buy equipment such as a foot pedal? I have a dictaphone with a foot pedal is that the same as this other foot pedal?
Thanks for your reply!
Barb
where can I get a foot pedal???
thanks in advance! 
Foot pedal
What type of foot pedal are you looking for? What type of connection - USB or does it have pins?
can you switch off one foot to the other?
Prop up one foot while using the other. Not everybody can do this. may not help that much anyway
Foot Pedal Question
Does anyone know why a company would want a transcriptionist to use a serial foot pedal instead of a USB foot pedal?
Alternative to foot pedal
I also can't use a foot pedal due to MS. I went to Career Step and used the keyboard to start and stop tapes. I don't remember what the keys were re CS but now I work for Medquist and use control-space to start and stop tapes. Good luck with the course. RM
Let's say I have the foot pedal and software....sm
...how much, if anything, would you charge me?
They are different kinds of foot pedal. The ones
generally mentioned here hook to your computer, not to a C-phone and they are not interchangeable.
tendinitis from foot pedal
Maybe your chair is too high. Try lowering your chair so that your feet are flat on the floor then you won't have to bend the front of your foot so much in order to push down on the pedal.
I can't operate a foot pedal due to disability is there another way of doing this?
Hi
Dur to spina bifida I can't operate any foot pedal devices. I have been interested in doing the MT course for awhile but was told I could not beacuse of the foot device. I would like to know if ther is a way around this and if so does anyone know of a good online school to take the course. Thanks Lindie
Andrews provides the foot pedal and software to run it
Andrews provides the foot pedal and software to run it. They also teach macro or expanders.
Just received a foot pedal that I need for a job I will be starting...sm
Everyone starting on this new account I was hired for need a Boomerang foot pedal so my recruiter sent them out. I told her that since I work on my laptop I needed a USB but she never responded. When I opened the package it has a 15-pin port. I did a search and it seems that is what is available. Is there an adapter so I may fix this problem. Otherwise, I'm not sure what can be done except letting them know I won't be able to take the position.
Thanks for the help in advance.
Not all foot pedals work with all programs - sm
so unless you are buying a digital player like Bytescribe or ExpressScribe, etc. there is really no point to just buying a foot pedal. You may buy a serial port one and land a job where only a USB port pedal will work (it happens). So far I have been lucky and my serial port pedal that I bought with Bytescribe has worked for all but 2 jobs I have had. The one job loaned me a footpedal, which I returned when I quit, and the other I had to purchase a USB pedal for Start/Stop, unfornately that one was probably a waste of money as I did not like their platform or the work so will probably end up selling it here or on ebay someday. --but if you need one so you can take tests then download the free version of Express Scribe and get the kind they recommend to work that (I use a 9-pin serial port pedal)-- though it would probably be smarter to get a USB pedal if it works with that as I think more companies use the USB pedal, though sometimes it is all in the set up of the program/foot pedal. Good luck.
Shall I buy Foot Pedals from ebay, India?
Hello friends,
Im setting up a workstation in my home for MT. I recently found a Foot Pedal listed in ebay India.
Anyone here have purchase experience with foot pedals in ebay?
Prabha.
Chennai.
Universal digital foot pedal
Starting out... looking for a universal digital foot pedal that i can afford!
Looking to buy .wav player foot pedal that is compatible with PC-DART
Any suggestions?
Tendonitis in ankle from foot pedal usage
I was so excited to find my first MT job in late February. I noticed right away that my feet would swell a bit after sitting at my desk working for extended periods of time. I just attributed this to sitting to much and didn't think much of it, because if would go away once I got up and moving. Over the last week, my ankles have begun swelling to the point of pain, and the pain is very similar to what I have experienced with ankle sprains in the past. I have been icing it, and this brings the swelling down. The only activity that induces this pain/swelling is transcription. It now appears that I have developed tendonitis from the awkward position necessary for foot pedal usage. Great! Am I the only one with this problem? Does anyone have any ideas for dealing with this. Not using the foot pedal is not an option. I have tried turning the pedal around backwards to force myself to move my ankle in a different fashion. This morning I am trying using my heel without the use of the ankle. The is terrible. I'd appreciate any advice anyone could give me. Thank you.
medical transcription foot pedal Delhi India
For Medical Transcription Foot Pedal
http://medicaltranscriptionfootpedal.blogspot.com
Or Call +91-9212521957 Shashi Bhushan
Thank You
A USB foot pedal would be good to have. You can download Express Scribe for free to take tests. nm
s
I just bought a laptop Dell E1505. Your biggest obstacle is the foot pedal as it's a 9-pin serial
port and NO newer computers have them anymore, especially laptops. Also, Escription is not compatible with Windows Vista which also most newer computers come with. I needed a laptop with Windows XP so I went onto Dell and they can "customize" one for you with the XP on it or you can do what I did and 400 dollars cheaper and get it from Ebay. The only thing I noticed was that the new one I got on ebay didnt have Word on it and I had to purchase Word 2003 for that as Word 2007 also is not compatible. Over the last 3 years, I have tried multiple adapters to get the foot pedal to work and finally used one that Escription recommends ..the Dynex DB9 model. I also got it on Ebay for $10 or they can be bought at like Best Buy but they are around $35 I think. There are a few obstacles with Escription and laptops etc.but since I like to travel, I finally got it worked out. I also plug in another keyboard as the laptop one is hard to type on and I like my ergonometer one. Good luck
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