To be clear, this is the posters view of the mentioned school
Posted By: Administrator (sm) on 2005-12-30
In Reply to: Employers will hire new graduates of - Sandy
and not the opinion of MTStars. MTStars has no position pro or con on any school even if they are a sponsor. We are merely a venue for people to post within the Terms of Service/Disclaimer of mtstars.com
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I had a post pulled once for mentioning my school because another poster had mentioned it (sm)
over and over again. When I emailed the other poster, she forwarded me an email from a moderator saying that the mention school we were discussing WOULD get our posts pulled because it was "not up to the standards" of this forum or something, no matter that we both managed to get jobs just fine working for them. I just thought that was stupid and it's no skin off my nose, but it did get posts pulled. That was at least eight months ago now, so if things have changed now, good, and they should have. But I still won't risk saying where I went to school. I don't rock boats.
Why would you take the opinions of posters you don't even know?
1. You have no idea who is posting here.
2. You have no idea if they are even MTs or not.
3. You don't know their definitions of success, their perspectives, etc.
WHY would you make a career decision based on nothing but blind faith in an ANONYMOUS message board?
I am a little newer than the other posters (SM)
I certainly do not mean any disrespect at all to any of the trailblazers, but I think the MT programs now, particularly the good online training courses, do have the idea that many people want to chuck the 2 years' hospital experience out the window to work at home immediately. This knowledge is reflected in the setup of the courses themselves...you do learn at home rather independently for the big dog schools, just as you would work rather independently when you start working. I do believe these schools are expected by their students to be able to train people for employment at home straight away after graduation. I am certainly not dissing the idea to work in a hospital for 2 years at all. I just think that maybe the times have changed with more emphasis on MTs working at home, and the training programs are keen to that knowledge and are up to the challenge.
Keep in mind that a hospital will most likely pay you hourly, which is definitely a huge reason to work in a hospital. You will make beans on production at home, and not even beans in the can. You will make the cheap dried beans. Instead of building speed at home and making dried beans, you can build the speed and ear in the hospital with the consistent hourly wage, learn the ropes, and then go home when you are comfortable. However, there's a learning curve with each new job, and you go back to making beans every time, but now they are Bush's Baked Beans usually.
However, I would suggest that you just try to take some online tests, even for those companies that indicate that you need 2 years' experience. Some of them will waive that requirement if you do well. (Some of them will bid you farewell and ask you to retest in 6 months or when you really have 2 years' experience.) If these companies drop you a line after you test (and many will), you will get an idea of how you are doing. You may even accidentally get a job offer.
When you start work, you will send everything QA's way. You will worry about driving your QA person batty. I still worry about that sometimes!
Anyway, since I'm done talking in circles, there are benefits to both sides. It is not necessary to start in a hospital to be successful.
Out of curiosity, what training program did you go with?
SCAM WARNING FOR OUR POSTERS!! (SM)
To all of our posters on MTStars: We have experienced an individual who is apparently running a scam. We want to make you aware of this situation and urge you to be discerning in any e-mails you receive regarding this and diligent to report any contact with this person or other similar situations with us immediately:
Name: Sherry Robinson
Email: s_robinson28714@yahoo.com
Phone: 828 675 2119
Location : Burnsville, NC 28714
She is asking for $100-200 for work at home jobs. Once payment is sent via PayPal or check, she vanishes and later (after repeated emails and calls) sends a mail with links (mostly broken) to Work at Home Job sites, which any MT can find by simply using Google. Her scam is via telephone! The emails she sends out contain only the following information: Call Sherry Robinson 828-675-2119
MTStars Team
recruiter point of view
I am trying not to be "nasty" or "hurt feelings." Just stating my experience I have to agree with the MTSO post. I cannot tell you the number of resumes I get where the requirements absolutely 100% do not fit the person emailing me. And I love it when I post "please CUT AND PASTE your resume DO NOT ATTACH." Guess what, very few can read that. A second favorite of mine is ABSOLUTELY NO OFFSHORE COMPANIES APPLY. Guess what? Every Indian company out there cannot read because they apply ... oh, and they ATTACH a resume. The typos are sickening, but I won't get into that. But what really bugs me is how people take applying for a job so lightly. For instance, if you were to read a job opening in a newspaper, you would obviously construct a nice resume and mail it to the potential employer. Why on the internet should it be any different. I get emails for job openings with email addresses of "snoogleboogle@hotmail.com. Is it so hard to get an email address that is professional ... such as JaneSmith24@yahoo or Jsmith24@hotmail. And the ultimate ... "I have a handicapped child at home and need to be at home. Tell me what transcription is and I can do it. I'm sure it's not hard (LOL)." LOL???? Are you serious?? Nevermind the fact that, unfortunately, I cannot take into consideration your personal problems when I am looking to fill a position. So please don't tell me why you need to work at home, just send me a resume that says why you are qualified for this position. And LOL??? I will leave that one alone.
You can view the various company websites.
Some of the companies will have an on-line test through MTTest. You have to submit you resume on-line as the first step of the test and then there are spelling, grammar, context questions, and then transcription testing.
I can't remember the names of companies that do this, but every test is diffferent so that even if 3 different companies have tests through MTTest, they are all different, so you can't just do one test and have those scores available for other companies to assess.
Justify L or R on the toolbar if you have it clicked under View. Don't
s
Board of Labor Statistics has a generalized view-
would hardly say they have their finger on the MT market pulse.
Let's be clear . . .
M-TEC is the only school that has been THROUGH THE APPROVAL PROCESS.
You made it sound like they're the only one good enough to get the approval. That's not accurate. They're just the only one who's finished the process so far.
Just to be clear . . . (sm)
You received a certificate from your school.
You did not receive a certification, which is only awarded after passing the AAMT exam.
The 3 that I see mentioned most often as being the
best are M-Tec, Career Step, and Andrews. There are companies that will hire you right away if you graduate from the first 2 listed. Stay away from At-Home Professions.
Here is a more clear example SM
1. MT who can work 4 hours during the day only, needs family time. Average line counts, good quality. Runs out of work, only wants certain work to supplement.
2. MT who works 2nd shift, asks for more work from whatever account needs help when work runs out. Will take work late into night if line count needs boost or come on early if TAT is out on his/her accounts.
Who is more valuable to the owner of the business?
You mentioned that you would even ..sm
be willing to do an intern to get experience. Well I did one with the AIM program. It is through Allstate Transcription. She hires some interns too.
Would love one! but like I mentioned
locally, there aren't any. I have went to all the dr.'s offices and the hospital and they have went to a paper form. They had used a service in a town 10 miles away and I applied and tested with the owner, who I knew and she would have hired me but she was notified that the work she had was being cut, since the paper form was being implemented, and she was going to have to down-size her workers. I had had a job line-ed up that paid hourly before they decided to go to this new form and lucked out. Now, I need to find something over the internet.
I would steer clear. (sm)
You said they e-mailed you offering you work and then asked for money. I'm a little unclear as to if you contacted them first or not. If not, I would definitely steer clear. Employers in this business don't generally do that if they are legitimate because there are so many MTs looking for work. I know people have been e-mailed off this board, and were offered work but they had to shell out money first and it turned out to be a scam. I realize it's only $11.95 but it does sound fishy and if it is a scam you don't want to give those type of people any more money. JMO. Please post again if you find out more information.
Hear ya loud and clear!!
I am also having trouble getting my foot in the door anywhere. Frankly, my toes are a little sore!
Search this board for 'schools' and a few will be mentioned. nm
s
I was extremely disappointed in the 2nd one you mentioned in your post. nm
xx
Yes, I understood perfectly. You came across loud and clear.
x
Been ripping people for years. There were even mentioned in
Family Fun magazine about them being a company to stay away from. Numerous unresolved complaints with the BBB. Alan claims to be an upstanding Christian - which makes me want to puke.
Also look up a possible knee control option. Was mentioned years ago on MTD. nm
s
My final exam was all but ' simple, easy, clear
transcription. It was 70 pages long, 98% accuracy, the audio was mediocre. It was a good school, but not M-Tec or Andrews.
That simple, easy, clear dictation practice is what the crappy schools use.
Then the person graduates, thinks they know what they're doing, and are totally shocked when they start trying to do REAL MT work. One of many reasons these cheap, crappy, found-out-about-it-on-a-matchbook-cover schools AREN'T recommended.
Agree with an outside school, but I went to a business & tech school. Great experience, better
s
You CAN get a job at home, right out of school, but it has to be a GOOD school.
You should enroll in Andrews School or M-TEC. I know you don't want to spend more money, but at least you WILL be able to get a job. If you thought At Home Professions was a good course, you will be totally amazed at what you DIDN'T learn in that course that you WILL learn at the two good schools. There is no "required" curriculum for MT, anybody can open up a school, charge what they want, and teach what they want. Companies will waive the 2-years' experience requirement for graduates of Andrews School and M-TEC, but NOT for the other schools.
School?
Has anyone graduated from Thomson Education Direct and got hired anywhere?
Just wondering about choosing the right school for medical transcription course.
MT school
I attend the Andrews School. It has a very good reputation among national services--some will even waive the minimum 2-year experience requirement and allow you to test for them if you are an Andrews graduate. I have heard good things about M-Tec as well. I would suggest that you contact hospitals, nationals, etc. that you might want to work for and ask them which schools they suggest as far as turning out job-ready graduates. Good luck!
$ for MT school
No, I don't. We have debt out of our ears but you can make payments or charge it or whatever it takes. I've always had to spend money to make money. I just want to make sure I can make it back fairly soon. When I do the math it seems like you have to be pretty darn fast at transcription to earn a living. I admire the people out there doing it!
School and $$$
Hey, sorry about your ankle. Sounds like this could be a perfect time to study for MT. I'm sure I saw scholarship information that was based on financial need on one of the "3" schools...Andrews, MTEC or Career Step. Go to their websites and see! All the best to you! 
What to look for in a school
There are three things to look at in choosing a school and neither of them is money.
The first is whether national services already hire their grads and keep them longer than 6 months.
The second is what percentage of the grads score adequately on the employer's test.
The third is how many students complete the course with a grade of 95% or better on the first try.
Even if an employer is willing to hire from a school, if few grads pass his test and qualify to be hired, then the school isn't so hot. If the employer hires, but the grads can't keep the job for even 6 months, then the school isn't so hot. If the school has a high drop-out rate and many students (sometimes "most") don't make it to graduation, then the school isn't so hot. If it takes students several tries to pass, then the school isn't so hot.
You can see that just examining whether an employer will hire a grad isn't such a good measure. You also have to look at how many students get to graduation, how they got there, how many of them passed the test, and how many of those didn't get fired or quit in frustration.
You want a school whose grads are almost uniformly hired by nationals and which graduates nearly all students (all have drops, but you want a low level of those) on the first try.
Considering all that, you have two options: M-Tec and Andrews. And Andrews has a pre-admission test you'll need to pass to get in.
In your case, you should not go for a school which will allow you to skip any courses. You don't know anatomy and terminology like you'll need it for MT--what you know is what you need for billing, and that is different. Unless you hold a PhD in anatomy, you need to refresh your memory. Any school that lets you get away with not doing that does not have your best interests in mind.
School
I recently graduated from Thomson Education Direct. Recently changed to Penn Foster.... I made 49.00 month payments with no interest. Is a good school!
yes, I'm still in school ..... nm
zz
Still in school????
I assumed from your post you were a recent graduate.
school
I agree.....Accept a challenge to succeed.
School
Education Direct,,,now called Penn Foster.
Great School!
School
HHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMM! I just graduated and landed a job within one week.!!!!
School
Are you stocking me? Your a stress ball!
Is school a must?
I have been an administrative assistant for 8 + years and I will be graduating from my Medical Office Specialist/Billing and Coding class in May. Do I absolutely have to go to school to become an MT or can I just test to get a job? Any responses will be greatly appreciated.
Shona`
re: Is school a must?
Yes! Have you mastered anatomy and physiology? Do you know pharmacology? Can you know medical abbreviations? Can you decipher various dialects of providers well enough to produce a medicolegal document? How about the body systems, brain functioning, neurology, endocrinology, cardiology, orthopedics, pulmonology, etc., operative techniques? Medical terminology of all the above specialities, plus more, then if your answer is yes, then test away. Transcription is a labor intensive occupation that requires medical knowledge, dedication, and accuracy.
Is school a must?
If you are really good at learning from a book and feel like you lack experience in just a few areas, then study that way. I got a little training but mostly I was self taught. I knew what I wanted and studied from books and listened to any dictations I could find. The hardest part is getting your foot in the door. I put applications in everywhere and was lucky to have a small MTSO let me show them what I was capable of though. If you have the extra money for the schooling, then go for it. I dont believe that it's a must though.
Good luck!
What school did you go to?
They should be able to help you, if the school was any good. If not, then you need more education from a better school.
school
I graduated from Career Step recently and I felt they thoroughly educated me on just about everything i needed to know. I took the online course and it took me about 9 months to finish.
School
NC Newbie -- what school did you attend? I assume you're from North Carolina, and so am I. Since I have done acute medical transcription years ago, I am in the process of trying to find a school for refresher courses. A lot of medical stays the same, but there are a lot of new procedures, drugs, etc.
Perhaps your school? (sm)
I would first check with your school for assistance. Many schools will offer some type of program to help get you pointed in the right direction.
If you went to one of the top three I know for sure that they offer assistance in this area.
Get your school to help you.
Your school knows which ones of the employers really like graduates of the school you attended. They know where they have been successful. If they have no employers clamoring to hire their graduates, you've got a problem. That means the employers have seen what their graduates can do and they don't like it.
Then you may have to work in a doctor's office. The pay isn't good, there are rarely opportunities for pay increases, but at least it's something.
I hope the first scenario describes you. Good luck with your new career!
The School you went to?
Career Step. I've heard of this school before, but like you I am still in the researching process for the best place to take the on-line course. How expensive was this course? Can you email me your answer. Thanks
My email address is: louisem@cinci.rr.com
Thanks again. Awaiting your response.
Where did you go to school?
Many comapnies will waive that 2-year requirement if you attended a school with a solid reputation of producing work-ready grads. Again, you get what you pay for.
school
I wouldn't go by one person's opinion. I am going through that program and I think it is good. It is very detailed and they teach about everything. They didn't even say what they sent the 14yr old there for anyway, maybe that particular course was bad.
The best school for you
In the MT world you will hear people talk about the Top Three. That would be Andrews, MTec, and Career Step. These are all good. The best school is the one that is going to be the most comfortable fit for you, and you will find that out by visiting their websites and forums. Like everything else in life, cost may be the determining factor. All three of these "top three" schools are good and their courses are very comprehensive, so you will have tons of work to do whichever one you choose. Be sure to choose a program which will help you find a job. It is surprising how many people enroll in courses which do not offer them any assistance at all. Courses also vary in length and instructional methods, so you'll have to decide how much time you can spend studying each day. Good luck!
Best school
A good school to look at is Janet Stiles electronically taught transcription. You can get more info at www.settinc.com
Best school
I took Career Step and it was great. I graduated within 7 months with high honors and I got a job in less than a week. If you go directly through careerstep.com you will only pay about $1350. Yeah, it sounds like a lot of money, but it's not when you actually see how much experience you get from just taking the course. I got a job that was looking for 2 years of experience.
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