There's a reason these "matchbook schools" keep changing their name.
Posted By: deb on 2008-01-28
In Reply to: PCDI? - Amyy
Word gets out that they are crappy schools that do not teach you what you need to know, and more and more people complain that they can't find a job after completing courses from these so-called schools. It's an online "correspondence course" not a "University" no matter what they choose to call themselves.
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- PCDI? - Amyy
- There's a reason these "matchbook schools" keep changing their name. - deb
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Be honest. Which of those "matchbook" schools do YOU work for?
Or are you afraid of competition from well-trained MTs? Just contact MT companies and ask, and you will see how many of them DON'T hire grads from schools other than the "top 3" because they are not educated enough and most of them cannot pass employment tests, that's why so many companies won't even let them test and just give them the "you need 2 years' experience" line.
changing jobs
I am also with Breitner. I sent you an email.
Changing jobs
I am currently with Breitner Transcription and am looking to, yet again, change jobs. I am really worried about ending up at another place who says one thing and delivers another (I was promised an over-abundance of work and am only getting about 3 to 4 hours a day, if that).
If anyone can offer suggestions on companies, I would appreciate it. I looked on MT Jobs and have found quite a few places, but have heard different things about them, good and bad -- TTS, SoftScribe, ExecuScribe, and MedScribe, just to name a few.
ANY feedback, good or bad, would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
possibly changing my mind
I think this is more than just a little discouraging. I am still working on my transcription course as well and the future doesn't look too promising from what I am hearing. I originally wanted to go into a radiologic technologist program, but it is full-time for two years. I cannot quit my full-time job to go to school. I thought MT would be something I could do from home while I went to college full-time. But it doesn't sound like I would make enough money for it to be worth my time. Very disappointing.....
Get Another Reason to be an MT
After that, go to M-Tec or Andrews and then you'll be set.
I didn't see it but for some reason
most of my posts and responses don't get deleted even when things get thick! I don't take it personally or think much about it when it does happen. I've seen things that seemed very benign get deleted, not just here but other places. Seems like it is just the way things work.
Reason you can't get hired...
"... six were willing to test me. Four of them I failed and the other two I quit in the middle of the test because they had ESLs in there and we weren't even trained on ESL dictations."
This is what happens when you don't go to Andrews or M-TEC. You choose a "cheaper" school, and you get a poor education. Companies who "require" 2 years' experience WILL TEST AND HIRED brand-new grads from Andrews and M-Tec because they know they have a full, complete, and excellent education. They will not even allow people from schools advertised on the back of matchbooks and in TV Guide to take their employment test, because they KNOW they do not have the proper education and training!
There is no reason to be unhappy
Chloe,
I wish you luck... I stayed with a national co. for 18 months before moving on. I was not miserable, but I did not feel completely happy with my position. Needless to say, I have heard/seen newbies that quit after 2 weeks to move on to find a better fit. I am not saying that is what I recommend, only you can decide for yourself. Just know that if you are unhappy, you should not have to stay unhappy. Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of the road.
I wish you luck in your decision. It sounds like you are working awfully hard and not getting a lot to show for it. Hang in there!!!!!
There's a reason it's cheaper (sm)
"Bright Start and Mentored Internship will prepare you to work at the ENTRY LEVEL of medical transcription. This is what is required for a "newbie" position in a CLINICAL setting. However, THEY CONTAIN NO ADVANCED DICTATIONS, SO IT DOES NOT PREPARE YOU TO TRANSCRIBE WORK OF GREATER COMPLEXITY."
This means that you will only be qualified to obtain the easiest, lowest-paying jobs, not acute care, hospital work, operative notes, etc.
BIG reason it's cheaper
Read the WHOLE Bright Starts page, allie. You're thinking the basic program is the same you'll get at any school. Wrong!
Everything listed on that BS cost page is what you'll get at either M-Tec or Andrews. Only Andrews and M-TEC are $3800 or less FOR THE WHOLE PACKAGE. Their grads can get any job after either program.
BS will run you $4600 minimum for same with no evidence of getting a job with anybody but themselves.
No duh. For the same reason they don't teach machining any more.
www.china.com.
I did an intern program for same reason
You are certainly correct in what you say, we all have to start somewhere. The MT world today isn't what it used to be and it seems to be getting more challenging by the day. After my training program, I took Meditec's Jumpstart intern program. It helped me. It did not pay anything while in it, but I did get a job offer immediately afterwards working for them. Just an idea.
There is a reason employers are scrambling to get these grads!
Unlike people who have years of experience typing for a few docs and little medical knowledge, these grads have the equivalent of 2 years of experience AND understand what they are typing. You go right on hiring those not associated with the Top 3 - just leaves better pickings for the rest of us!
Only reason they have openings is because everyone is jumping off that sinking ship. NM
x
Forget "approved" schools. AAMT set the criteria, then approved schools that didn't meet i
Stick with Andrews or M-Tec (both of which happen to be "approved") but forget about any others, they are not worth it.
MT schools
Thank you for the advice. I have been researching M-Tec and have decided that it seems to be the best choice. Wish me luck.
schools
Can anyone give me any info on Laird's School of Medical Transcription. 
MT Schools
Hi
I am looking to train in this field and have looked into the Career Step Program. There are soo many programs out there and I'm not sure which one to choose. Looking for opinons on which programs are some of the best. Its an awful lot of money and I certainly don't want to chose the wrong one.
MT schools
I am researching MT schools to see which one is best. I am having trouble figuring out who will give me the best training. I am a medicla biller (18 years) and would like to work from home. I thought about PCDI and VLC but I am not sure. I don't want to spend a lot of time and money on a school who is not recognized in the MT industry. Also most of these schools start the medical terminology and anatomy, that's great for someone who's new to the medical field, but what about those who know terminology like the back of our hand. Can anyone recommend an online or correspondence school?
Thanks!
MT schools
Thanks for the information, I will keep this in mind:)
thank you, thank you!!
Schools
Just wondering which schools are best. I checked out a few. Does anyone know anything about Meditec? Is it a good online course?
Schools.
Thanks for the advice. I will check into both of those schools. I presently work in the Administration Office of a hospital, and on occasion when a doctor quits the hospital I have had to type Discharge Summaries, etc. for him/her when they finally return to catch up on what they did not complete. I have yet to figure out why they quit without having all their charts complete--however, they realize there's more time allowed for DS than H&P's, Op Notes, etc. So, besides taking extra terminology courses and practicing with Absolute Experience tapes, I have done a little "real life" transcription.
schools
"career step" is highly recommended, and the gal with whom i've been e-mailing is very helpful. i was an MT in my past life, am now and RN (could you guess from the ID?), and seriously thinking of doing both. i suspect that if i go the course route, it will be via career step. good luck!
Schools
The best schools are M-Tec or Andrews. The next best is Career Step. You will need to go to one of those to brush up on your English skills and learn everything else you'll need in this industry. For instance, your first two sentences should have been just one sentence, and the little things are very important in this field if you want to compete. If that is too picky and boring for you, you won't enjoy going to school or working as an MT.
Re schools - please SM
The top 3 are Andrews, MTec, and Career Step. Companies are more willing to hire new graduates of these schools and some have partnerships with CareerStep, in fact.
You can search the archives here for posts regarding schools and get more information.
In addition, ask the school what placement assistance they offer and who hires their graduates. Don't take their word for it, either - call the companies they say will hire you and ask them if they hire grads from that program.
MT schools
I recently heard only graduates from Andrews and MTEC were getting the newbie jobs out there. Well let me tell you what I did, I graduated from HTC Education now called Brighton College and I was educated with a SUM based program. I also took Medical Coding at the same time. I called the director of MTEC to inquire about the program they offer and discovered it was not any better, still the same based SUM program that I took. The tuition cost were about 250 dollars higher but given inflation over the last year that is relatively a mute point. So I paid the same as their students do. I invested 10,000.00 in my tuition and references and computer, just to be as highly educated as an MTEC graduate and so I asked the MTEC director what their job placement was. I was told that their job placement was at 98%. Well Newbie MTs let me tell you this is purely political on the part of the AAMT and those two schools and by the way when I was looking into schools for MT I went to the AAMT and found Brighton College/formerly HTC Education and it was at the AAMT website at that time my school was also recommended by the AAMT so why am I not able to get hired as Newbie. As far as I am concerned and the research that I have done on this subject it is all a lot bull! Just hang in their work for the peanuts, get internships, do anything you can to get the experience it will happen.
Schools
As a recruiter, I can tell you firsthand that Andrews School trains the very best transcriptionists. I will look at their graduates before I look at any others.
schools
Ok, I have looked at the different schools, and am good at working on my own. I am 9 credits away from being a Registered Health Information Tech. So I have Medical Terminology, Anatomoy and Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, already among my knowledge base. I just don't have the $3000 to put into a transcription course that I know is going to just reiterate most of what I already know. I want to know if Career Step would be adequate enough for me to be Hirable as a transcriptionist?
Thanks for any input that you might be able to give me!
re: Schools
Thank You!
Schools??
I'm an MT-wannabe and I have a few questions:
What are the "Top 3" schools?
Are tech schools really that much better than online schools?
Does anyone know anything about Penn Foster online? They're nationally and regionally accredited. Does this make them a "better" online school?
I appreciate any and all feedback on this. TIA!
MT Schools
I just want to let everyone and anyone that is looking for a good MT school not to go the TechSkills. When I started with the school there were several things that I was not told up front which could have affected me later. I wanted to pass this information on because I wish someone had informed me. Please pass this information to anyone looking for a MT school. Have a good day!!!
Schools
I posted above about schools but I thought I would address you directly. I went to two different schools. My first was Professional Career Development back in 2000 I finished. Had a hard time finding work like others and decided to take a refresher course at TechSkills. I have completed that course and received my certificate but it was more that I expected and more than what I was told. So if you as me do not pick TechSkills. Hope this helps!!
Look at other schools...
I am attending At-home right now. Almost done in fact but there are way better schools out there. I attended college first to earn a degree for medical office which would have included med. transcription. Unfortunatly, I had to move and dropped out.
I do have a job right now working at home and have two main accounts. My point is that I had a college education before I started At home. I would have prefered to finish in school but due to a complicated pregnancy and lack of income due to having to leave my job I could barely afford At home.
There are many many other that are better. Many will help place you. At home gives you a book on how to start out but that is about it.
Schools
I recently graduated from Career Step and I started working within a couple of weeks. They are now AAMT approved. They do offer a payment plan, that's what I did, it wasn't too bad compared to the other schools. Good luck.
schools
Thanks, I have been looking at Career Steps, but yet again the payment plan is more than I can do at this time. I also contacted M-Tec, and the same thing with them.
Thanks
Donna
MT schools
Hello,
I have been looking at two different MT schools, and was hoping to get some opinions. The two I am looking at are Career Step and TNI. If anyone has gone to these or has any feedback please let me know. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks
Schools
I went to Everett CC online, that uses Career Step materials, but you also have teachers, deadlines, and lots of interaction with other students. I found it to be an awesome program and have been offered three jobs this week just graduated in August. My testing and good references must speak for themselves. My job right now pays well and I get a very good cpl. So I would have to disagree about the Career Step program.
Top schools??
I am intrested in MT -- So what are the top schools to go to?? I want to try to get off in the right direction.
Thanks,
Cassandra
Only schools I would consider (sm)
Career Step, M-Tec, Andrews. They are the only three that are endorsed by the AAMT (if that really means much) and have proven to be the schools that prepare students to be gainfully employed after finishing the course.
What schools were they?
That you hired from before that did not work out, as I am currently researching on-line courses for MT and need to know which schools are reputable. Thanks
Can you email me your answer thanks.
to: louisem@cinci.rr.com
Schools
Would that apply to someone who did this type work for approximately 6-7 years way back all through the 60's? I was trained by 12 physicians in a small hospital and did the "whole nine yards" -- meaning Radiology Reports, Op Notes, Labor and Delivery Records, H&P's, Discharge Summaries, Consults, etc. for 12 physicians (being the only transcriptionist). I've tried to stay current with this field by going back to school to take only the terminology part (in a Community College -- GPA 4.0). And I try to keep abreast of what is going on by checking this site along with others regarding transcription on an almost daily basis. What do I need to do to get back into this career? I did take the PCDI course before learning it was not one of the accepted ones.
MT Schools
This is for any one who is looking to become a medical transcriptionist. Everette Community College in Everette Washington has an excellent online MT program it is an accreditted school, and offers financial aide. As we all know, MT schools can be very expensive and all the $ sure helps. You can live any where in the US and take this couse. Get a FASFA grant and there ya go.
There are two of these schools...
One is Allied Health Schools and the other is just plain Allied Medical Schools. I have read all of the info on Allied Medical Schools and also on MTec and Career Step and they are all the same. They all teach the same thing and are accredited by the AAMT. So I figure how different can they be. Is there anyone out there who has went to Allied Medical School? If so can you tell me if things went OK for you in the job market or not. I am just curious is all. I am not down grading what you wrote to me. I just think that not all of them can be bad. If they were then there wouldn't be so many people out there working doing MT. I know that not all of them grad. from just those couple of schools that everyone here has mentioned as the best and the only one that you can go to in order to get hired by someone. Please don't take offense to this.
Schools
Does anyone know any good schools in South Carolina? I've been looking into tech schools and wondered if they're any good. What about Gatlin Education services, Ed2go, Jer Courses? And what courses/schools are good if I want to work locally after graduation?
MT Schools
You might start at http://www.aamt.org/scriptcontent/mtapproved.cfm. They have a list of schools approved by the AAMT for MT education.
Top Schools
Does anyone know if any of the top 3 schools have a shortened program for someone with 1 year experience? I have 1 year of experience in family practice and went through a medical transcription program, but not at one of the top 3 schools. I already have invested a lot of money, but I know see how hard it is to get another job unless you have attended one of the 3 top schools.
schools
I did not go to one of the top 3 schools and I got a job as soon as I finished my online course. I'm making good money (though working a lot of hours) and I've gotten a raise already. Also, a healthy quarterly bonus. I love the company I'm with. I work from home.
top 3 schools
Career Step, Andrews, and M-Tec.
I can provide more info on Career Step if you would like. Let me know!
Schools????
I know Career Step is one of the top three but has anyone heard anything about Everett Community College, the school Career Step has a partnership with?
Schools????
Does anyone know any thing about the school Career Step has a partnership with, Everett Community College?
schools
Hi. I am looking into online medical transcription schools. I have researched and found the AAMT website. I am specifically looking into career step. I am wondering if a school needs to be "accredited" by any certain body/board to be considered a good school by employers out there. Does accredidation mean anything in the medical transcription world? Also, any words from Career Step graduates on their experiences after graduation would be greatly appreciated. Do any graduates feel prepared and ready? Do you have any problems getting a job? Any positive/negative comments about your experiences would be great. I just want to know all that I can before I decide which school to join. Some schools out there say they are accredited, and I am wondering what the difference is.
Thanks for any help!
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