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Thank you for post. It gives me hope

Posted By: Wondering on 2005-11-15
In Reply to: how long... - just me

since I'm getting frustrated at the moment.


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Uh oh, I hope you are not an MT because
I found an error in what you just typed!!!! Uh oh!!! You said, luckily you smelled something FISH and a lot of money, etc. LOLOLOLOLOL Fish. I bet she did. LOLOL
Yes, there is hope.

Even transcriptionists with a lot of experience have to leave blanks, which is an important part of this job because you should NEVER EVER guess.  There is such a thing as an "educated guess" and context clue guessing, which I have done, but I have a lot of experience and still there are times when I just cannot fathom what they are saying or have never heard of that term.  That is why this board is a very good tool.  I wish I had known about it earlier in my career.  I have learned so much from simply reading.  As a matter of fact, I learn something new everyday.  By the way, welcome to the world of medical transcription.  Enjoy the ride because it goes so fast!    


There is Hope
You typed 3,716 words over 150 minutes and still made $$? That comes out to about 25 wpm! There is hope for me after all!!! My current typing speed is about 25 wpm!
Hope you don't mind

I really hope someone chimes in with the answer to your question but I wanted to comment that I have heard nothing but positive reviews for MTEC and the reviews have been mixed, but leaning towards the positive for Career Step.   There are some CS students and alumni that will defend their school tooth and nail that it is not a second class stepchild to MTEC, and some that feel that MTEC (or Andrews) would have been a better choice. 


I had a friend who could not afford the down payment for Andrews, and either could not or did not want to try to get the Sallie Mae loan for MTEC, and I steered her towards the CS program at Everett CC because she had pell grant and student loan eligibility. 


You might want to ask some national companies whose grads they hire.  I asked a few (you could certainly ask more than I did, and I recommend that), and one listed a few schools I had not even heard about up to that point. 


It seems that the companies have some thing going on with CS because many of them have a link to request training info from CS.  Not a guarantee of employment by any stretch but worth asking what that is all about.  (hopefully not just about getting money from CS for advertising and referrals).


If it were me I would choose MTEC over CS.  But my decision is made - I chose Andrews over both of them and as soon as I can bring myself to send in the $1500  down payment(its just a scary amount of money to plop down), I am doing it!


hope i'm not being too nosey but........
how much more schooling do you have and what state are you in?
Now there's a newbie I have hope for!
Somebody who can already communicate effectively! Just the same, I hope you chose your school carefully, jwhitman.


wow, I hope I do not turn out like you
after 15 years of transcribing. You really sound resentful.


Hope this is not a bad sign

I just finished a dictation that the dr. cancelled 20 seconds into it because he "already did it on EMR".


Acct still has a large volume of work, but I wonder if they are easing into EMR.


Has anyone else started to run into this?


I work for a service so at least this one account is not my only source of income, but it does provide a lot of work.


Keeping fingers crossed.....


That is really low pay. I sure hope you are not an IC to boot!
nm
I hope this info. will help you. SM
I posted this several months ago on this board, and have copied here for you:

I truly do not believe there is an online or distance learning program, or even a four year college degree for that matter (yes, I have a 4 year degree in healthcare administration with emphasis in medical records) that will prepare a new MT for the "cut throat" world of MT. When I say cut throat, I don't necessarily mean cruel, but rather very competitive. You better know your stuff or you will not survive, or at least not make a good wage, unless you have the hands-on experience of working in a hospital in a wide variety of specialties with close supervision. Yes, one can succeed starting out at home if you have one specialty and learn that inside and out. The time and errors involved in the learning process starting at home in a variety of specialties for a national company (which for the most part is required to compete in this profession) will afford the new MT a minimum wage at most. Like I mentioned in my previous post, there are those few gifted new MTs who will pick up new specialties and satisfy the large online companies, but the general population will not. Just like a doctor, you have to spend several years in fellowship or internship to work your way up with fund of knowledge, etc. I say to any newbie, if you think you have what it takes, go for it. I'm just trying to be honest in saying that you need to be realistic in this profession, as sample dictations in school, as well as test dictations, are no comparison to the real world of MT where we continue to learn even after many years on the job. I hope this helps any new MT take the route that will be of most benefit to them in this profession.
Hope this helps

I got this by typing "set font" into the help area:









Set the default font


  1. If your document already contains text formatted with the properties you want to use, select that text.
  2. On the Format menu, click Font.
  3. Select the options you want to apply to the default (default: A predefined setting. You can accept the default option settings, or you can change them to suit your own preferences.) font. If you selected text in step 1, the properties you want will appear in the dialog box.
  4. Click Default.

Any new document you open will use the font settings you select.

(The default button is on the lower left hand side of the format font screen.)
hope it helps
I really appreciate your reply. I'm not concerned with benefits as I can go on my husband's group insurance. I saw a post that MDI-MD takes part timers. Ever hear of them?
Hope this helps
I was just in your shoes. I saw on the job board the other day there was a posting:

MTs wanted for Clinic work - all specialties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By: Alana Boser on 2008-02-19

TransRx Medical Trans. Needed immediately, full and part time MTs for clinic work. Newbies welcome, on passing testing process. Line rate /65 char line - depending on experience and test results. Click on the Apply Now link to submit your resume.


Hope for Newbies

Hi All!


I am a newbie. I haven't even officially graduated yet. I attend a school that has been called a 'matchstick school'. I have figured out why there was so much negativity about my school. The students are only required to do 20 (GASP!) transcription assignments throughout the course. However, the CD we are given to work off of has over 100 dictations. I would not be defeated by this school! I not only did the required assignments, I worked my way thru the other 100 in my own time.


Well, this weekend I found a website that lists 137 transcription companies located in the USA. I wrote my resume, omitting the name of the school I attended. I also listed all the transcriptions and specialties I worked on. I listed the amount of time I spent working on these as experience. Then I wrote up a cover letter expressing my desire and drive to work for a great, solid company. I sat at my computer over the weekend and went down the list of the companies. I emailed EVERY company on there with my cover letter and resume. By Sunday night I had a request to test with a company. I tested with them Monday afternoon and by Monday evening I had a job offer. They have asked me to start tomorrow. I also have 4 other requests to test with different companies sitting in my inbox. This amazes me because I have not even officially graduated yet!


Please do not mistake this for bragging. I have worked very hard and have been extremely discouraged over the past several months. I have sent out over 100 resumes and have had my fair share returned stating I do not have enough experience. During my downtime I worked thru all the dictations my school offered. I also found a website that helps improve typing speed. So for all you newbies, do not give up. When you are not job searching, practice your transcribing, even if it is one you did a hundred times before.


I hope this gives some fellow newbies some hope.


A little hope for newbies!

Hey ya'll!


I just want to give a little hope to fellow newbies out there! I have finally found my first job!


I started searching at the beginning of the semester, and now, a week before graduation, I have finally gotten my first position!


It takes a lot of hard work, determination, begging, crying, giving up, starting again, crying some more, and networking, but it pays off in the end!


So please, don't give up! Test, network, practice, make phone calls, apply for positions, knock on doors, pretend your sick so you can get some one on one time with your doctor, and most importantly, pray! You will get there!


Good luck everyone! I hope this gives ya'll a little boost! I know how frustrating it was, but you'll forget all about that when you finally get a "yes" from someone!


I'll be praying for all of you!


Also, you better hope you like working for them, because (sm)
that's all they're training you for. Most companies have never heard of this training program, and unless you have 2 years' of experience, they won't hire you. This place trains you to work for THEM only. You have no way of knowing how qualified you would be to work elsewhere.
I emailed you; hope it helps.
.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you can find one
x
you're quite welcome! hope it helps.
x
Great job! I hope you find a job

I hope you lose everything you own because some DEPENDABLE Indian - sm
took your job!!
She is incoming new MT and I hope that she can get some help here. Previous posts

that I had to remove were made by experienced MTs and were very ugly in nature.  Nichole came here and asked for help and when she was ridiculed only then did she retaliate.  I posted a Sticky above about helping incoming new MTs and not treating them like they are trash.  I would ask all experienced MTs to please follow that advice or don't post at all.


Thank you,


Administrator


I sincerely hope that you do not own/manage an MTSO.
If you treated employees with as little respect as you do others on this board, I don't think you would have many employees for long.  You have been condescending and rude.  My only point in this whole thread has been that you can go from nursing to MT with some hands-on training.  I have never said that formal training wasn't helpful, it's just not always necessary. Have a wonderful day! 
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. 
Let's hope it's YOUR medical records she gets to transcribe.
You should be bashed. Lying isn't going to do her any good. If they test her and she fails, or even if they hire her, if she has a crappy (AHP) education she's not going to keep the job anyway.

She's not going to "fool" anyone into thinking she has 3 years experience, especially when she's fresh out of a crappy MT school and doesn't know what she needs to know to work as an MT. Even if they didn't check her references in the beginning, they probably will once she starts working and it's obvious she doesn't know what she's doing.
I hope you're being paid a decent wage and not being
taken advantage of, which happens a lot.
please e/m me -- my post didn't post.
x
Where should I post it?
Is there a section on MT Stars that you post resumes or are you saying to just post it in a message? Thanks
I appreciate your post and I do
recognize what has been happening in the field.  As you stated, many MTs are allowing it to happen which is sad.  There is no way to go up from there and they don't have a clue to recognize that.
sorry..about my last post..
I thought I was answering on another string of posts.
In regards to my post
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?
they won't let me post to you...
e-mail me.
Thanks for this post.
I have another six months before I reach that "two years experience" everyone seems to want. I did bite the bullet and settle for a less than top paying job to be working and getting that experience straight from training. My outlook was the same as yours. I am glad to know I'm in good company. I thought your post was very nice.
Very useful post. I wish
this post would automatically pop up every time somebody came here asking about schools, and whether the extra $1000 or whatever is worth it.
i only got about 2/3 of the way through your post.....
and thought there are much better ways for you to do this. Here are some suggestions that might save you a little money.

1. Try finding another internet provider. I pay $30 per month for my high speed.

2. Do not spend money on books anymore. Use reliable web sites. This is the beauty of Internet. In the old-days when we worked on-site and there was no Internet, we had to rely on books, but nowadays you can have the AAMT Styleguide on your computer, and there are so many reliable web sites for surgical instruments, medications, etc.

3. Can you possibly e-mail your invoices. This will get it to your provider quicker, and hopefully a paycheck back to you quicker, i.e. no paper or ink. My printer has been out of ink for 2 weeks. I do everything on line now, and never print anything anymore.

3. The cabinet was a one time purchase, but will be a tax write off.

4. Talk to your husband about the importance of your job and income. I hate to work when my husband is home. Some times I need to, and he and the kids all know that mom is working and cannot be disturbed (for the most part).

5. I hear you on the CPA thing. Mine charges me so much money to do my taxes. I am seriously considering disolving my corporation and going back to using my social security number. I really have not seen any perks there.

Anyway, hope some of these help.


I said in my post that she can't get
a TRANSCRIPTION job with just a coding education.
Thank you for this post
The office that I work for is going to EMR soon. I was so afraid I was going to lose my job. I'm still not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing, but I have EMR training starting next week.
Any certain post, or are you seeing many? nm
XXX
there must be at least 10 different MTs who post with the
username 'anon.' This 1 is a new 1, still in the 'basic program?'
post your resume
when you are ready. Some companies do hire newbies even if they do not post.
post resume
there should be a link at the home page of this site.
check post below
regarding posting your resume on this site.
reply to this post
I understand what you are saying and can see the reasoning. One of the problems is that the employer does not know how well you can do the job because they won't even let you test with them being a newbie. They aren't willing to see if you can make the grade. Many of us who are new have done very well in out course. Meditec may not be one of the top ones, but Davenport University specializes in business courses and I felt that they did not do an adequate job in teaching MT, that is why I went with an on-line course. Not all of us are able to AFFORD the top three school's to go to. There is no way I could have afforded it with what my daughter and I have been living on for the last two years while I was trying to better our life by going back to school. Better, ha! all I have so far is loans that I am paying for because like I said in my first posting, locally, there are no transcription jobs and the closest city is around 50 miles away and  financially it is not possible to travel there daily for part-time work. Maybe, if someone would give us newbies a chance, they may just be surprised!
Reply to your post.

DMK -


I am interested in working with you. I have a wave player and am willing to obtain Word Perfect. Please contact me.


 


Thank you,


wrc


Was there really a need to post it in two different places?
And really, she could be a little more appreciative considering the fact that we, the MTs, are picking up her expenses for office space, utilities, computers, office furniture, supplies, software, etc. I totally get the point about following instructions and spellchecking, but there's no need to SCREAM about it with her rude attitude.
Post edited. (NM)
x
Agree with your post

My situation is the same.  I made very good money for 25 years and seeing my pay going down, down, down.


So for me it's back to school and time to move on.  I would not encourage anybody to get into this field.  I have a friend who is a nursing assistant and makes $15 an hour.  Hey, that's a lot better than MT and not much work or very low pay!  Besides, it is not worth the years of study at this point in time.


what happened to my post? nm

x


just two comments re above post...sm

"If any company offers you a position but want you to buy equipment/software up front be very cautious." If the company is offering you a position as an independent contractor, the IRS expects you to provide your own equipment. You should also be prepared to buy your own reference books and possibly even software to access the account's system or transfer files. Sometimes services will provide that but by law they are not supposed if you are working as an IC.  I had a friend who owned a service that the IRS came after. She had mostly IC's and the IRS said they weren't IC's because they didn't fit all the IRS requirements, one of which was they should work for other employers than the service. So if she had been providing equipment for them also, she would have been sunk. You can do an internet search regarding IRS rules for independent contractors, if you feel you need to be educated on the issue.


Also "If a company offers you a position at a radiculously low rate also proceed with caution and come here and ask about them."  When I started as an MT 25  years ago, I drove 80 miles round trip to go work in house for a service. I sat on a metal folding chair in a stinky, smoke-filled room with 20 other transcriptionists, banging away on a Selectric set up on a banquet table, for $5/hour. The point is, if you really want the job, do what you have to do. Remember there are probably 100 newbies applying for every job posted on this board. A service might be willing to give you experience if you trade off on pay. After all, it's basically the same thing as "buying" experience...if you work for 3 cpl instead of 6. Some people on this board will disagree with me but all I can say is I see postings here ALL the time of people in your same position.  What I did was work for cheap to break into the field.


Might want to post on Word Help
NM
Maybe you should read before you post.
"I don't remember anyone mentioning Spheris. Maybe they did. I don't have time to go look."