Wow, this busy message board and no one has a response? Doesn't matter anyway, I've already s
Posted By: aonstudent on 2008-03-18
In Reply to: I have been contacte by an employer *sm* - anonstudent
nm
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Form doesn't matter. I just do
it all is the usual format, headings capped and then just type. I make paragraphs if needed. Be sure and check for grammar (see your original post) because bad grammar will surely count against you, probably even more than a blank will. Just do the best you can with what you have to work with. If you don't pass it will at least have given you some experience and you have an idea of what to expect on the next one.
I so agree! Doesn't matter to me what school...sm
what matters is how you do on grammar and such and then the test files. I can spot a good Transcriptionist a mile away and it has nothing to do with the school listed on her resume.
I'm an employer and I say it doesn't matter where you go to school.
I'm impressed by an applicant who shows the ability to follow directions, troubleshoot and stick-to-it-ness. I have seen crap come out of the big three and I have seen crap come out of community colleges and matchbook schools. I have seen superb MT's come out of community colleges and I dare say matchbook schools. As a matter of fact, I didn't even go to school. I was a paramedic and just applied for a job typing x-rays. So I say it matters more what your natural abilities are. If you a linguist and type like the dickens, and know the medical field, you don't even have to go to school. 
If you file jointly it doesn't matter who paid for them, it all comes
from the same pot anyway.
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.
Um. What? Your message doesn't make any sense.
Why should any MTSO be expected to hire someone who is clearly unqualified. Why should someone who broadcasts his or her poor skills in the initial contact be given "equal opportunity" with someone who really is qualified? It takes time and money to test and set up a new MT for work. That's time away from earning and money out of the MTSO's pocket. You think she should give that clearly unqualified and incompetent applicant a job? Why? It's not going to work out, as any experienced MTSO can tell you. You can tell from the initial contact when you've got someone who will not be able to do the work, no matter how much you try to help her or how many chances you give. It's not a matter of just being new, it's a matter of wheter the applicant is qualified, regardless of level of experience. New people with good skills will know enough not to make egregious errors in their communication with potential employers. Those people get hired. Those newbies get the opportunities. They deserve to get the opportunities because they can do the job. The unqualified, poorly trained newbies make their incompetence clear very early on, and MTSOs have learned to identify and eliminate them "right off the bat" (or bet, or whatever you think it is). Get down off your high horse and understand the needs of the person doing the hiring. Your message makes it clear you know nothing about the MT business or how to run any business. No one deserves a job just because he or she wants one. An applicant is going to have to show some potential before an MTSO is going to take a chance and make a job offer.
Look on the company board. I've never
heard of them, but there are some posts about them on the company board.
I've been searching for quality MT school- glad I found this Board
It appears that everyone can agree on M-Tec or Andrews School--by the way is that Linda Andrews and not Andrews/Holbrook?
I want to get started with training soon and I'm having difficulty deciding. I've taken both their tests and they both seem like good choices. Decisions, decisions...
Busy must be too busy - nm
x
They are probably all busy working! LOL
x
There are more, but I'm busy. You'll notice
they refused to resolve it until after the BBB contacted them.
MTSO's can be extremely busy...sm
Not only can they be overwhelmed with trying to handle the new work load, but they have to sort through resumes, interview and hire someone, plus paperwork. So if they do have more work, this just adds to the workload. I dread bringing on someone new because it is such a huge amount of work - that takes away from getting the work at hand done in a timely fashion. So patience is good, I'm sure they know you are there, but maybe just keeping their head above water...
Professional MT's would be too busy working to
frequent this board themselves. I run a business, I have time. What's your excuse?
Linked the website. They've never responded the few times I've tried. nm
,
re this poster's response consider the bad response
so you've been MT'ing for 6 months and I've been at it for 25 years but I don't know
what I'm talking about...that's a good one. The purpose of this board is for experienced MT's to give information to new MT's. One of the developments in this field is its recent downturn. We have a responsibility to be upfront with what we see, know and any conclusions we might draw. With less than 1 year of experience in the field, I hardly think you're in a position to give an educated answer regarding things like job markets, global influences and technological challenges. But then again, people like to only listen to things they like to hear...so have at it!
Thanks Busy!! Tips from pros are always appreciated as I'm learning ...
and I'm sure others are glad for any helpful tidbits that're thrown our way. :)
or it means the job market has shrunk while you were busy studying...welcome
to reality. You may want to just cut your losses and get back in school for Medical Assistant, nursing or something. From here, it only gets worse, honey.
I've never heard of that school, and I've
been doing this for nearly 20 years. Maybe they have in Canada, but in case you work for a company in the US, you might want to consider M-Tec and Andrews. They are on-line and their students get jobs when they graduate because they are in demand. Again, not sure how much it will complicate getting work since you live in Canada, but I think you should at least compare the programs closely.
No matter who you think you offended
I've known Linda for a long time and she is one of the most honest, honerable, professional, does what she promises people who knows what she is doing person I know in the MT industry. Her school has always been one of the best.
No, I am not her and do not portray her on a TV commercial. lol
I work for MQ and no, it won't. It won't matter if you
Have you tried that yet?
It does matter where you live
as well as all the other things mentioned in other posts. That said, Meg is obviously new to the profession and does not understand that by charging 6 cpl directly to the doctors offices you/she/whoever would be doing all MTs a disservice and contributing to the decline of our compensation. I am on the other side of the country, but the rates here are typically charged by the gross line at about 12-14 cpl, which translates to a couple of cents higher for 65-character lines. Even if you are working for a service 6 cpl is low, although admittedly not much lower than what is average these days, but take into consideration that you are not having to fight to attain and keep accounts, and all that goes with that end of it, and are doing only the transcribing and what goes into producing the actual reports. Services are charging hospitals even more than the rates I mentioned above, to the tune of about 21-23 cpl. (which also varies and is based on several factors).
Read ALL the posts on this board & the Company board and you'll
s
It is a matter of personal opinion. Some like
Shorthand, some like Instant Text.
Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of whether a school is good or not.
If you want to work online, from home, most places will only waive the 2-year experience requirement for grads of Andrews, M-Tec, and Career Step. Even a wonderful, fantastic community college course, if not recognized by national employers, won't get you a job. All you will keep hearing is that they "don't hire newbies" and "require 2 years' experience" which is actually not true because they DO test AND hire grads straight from the above three schools without experience.
No matter what you learn in school, each
company has their own way of doing things. Some go by BOSS, some the account dictates how to do things and you do whatever they want, even if it is against what BOSS or JCAHO say. Even a different account within the same company will do things differently than the previous one. You have to adapt. With the rare exception QA is very helpful and don't nitpick.
That's a matter of each persons opinion. I happen to like
MT, I have my own accounts and do the work myself. I get up, take little breaks in between and don't beat myself up. I also have a separate private life outside of work, so for me I am not isolated.
That wage per hour is a crock, no matter what! Look at the 3 recommended
s
Um, no. Actually, it doesn't.
In any event, the OP knows what MTSO means. She wants to know how to find one. This was in the message.
So what? That doesn't mean we have to be members. I'd
rather not be involved in an association at all than a two faced one like AAMT.
So you got lucky. Doesn't mean everyone will. nm
x
...or maybe even a 3rd if the different formatting doesn't
s
Thank you. It doesn't hurt to
.
It really isn't a very good course and doesn't
prepare you enough to get a job. Most who take it have difficulty passng testing with companies and end spending more $$ to take another course of a mentoring program.
That doesn't sound bad at all (see msg)
What I have seen for new MTs is about 500-600 lpd for the first couple-few months.
I work an 8-hour shift with a 30-minute lunch and two 15-minute breaks (I'm an employee). I start getting slower around midshift or a bit after that point. I have found it very helpful to have a timer on my desk and take a break when it goes off, whether it be my 15-minute break or a 5-minute one to stand up and stretch. I usually have my timer set at 2 hours. It's a pretty nifty digital timer that has hours/minutes and minutes/seconds (your choice) so you can set it for more than 90 minutes, although 90 minutes might be good for you since you're still new.
We don't request work at my company; it's already there and as soon as I submit a job I grab another one which helps me stay focused and not want to take a break.
I don't know if I was helpful in any way, but don't fret about speed; it will come with time.
Thank you for the response
Thanks for that response. I also posted on 2 other MT message boards and got the same response you gave me, I will hold off on doing that for now. I'm still pretty new at this so I was getting frustrated with my slow speed. But, I think I just need to be more patient with myself, I do have a good Expander program that I use.
response
I was looking into Career Step and M-Tec. After researching both, I'm not sure which one to choose.. I take it you went through Career Step.?
response
Executive Transcription Solutions is the company. Thank you all for your help
Thank you for your response
I emailed Linda for information. I have heard something about a sallie mae foundation (spelling??) somewhere at one time. Can anyone help on that subject? Where do I find out the information ????
in response
Don't give up. Have you tested on some of the online sites? All I can tell you is that it can be done. Test, Test, Test if you haven't already. Email your resume to everyone, even those who say they require 2,5,10 years. I probably have not received responses to half of the emails I have sent out. I am a newbie, too, but I now have a PT and FT job. Good luck to you!
In response
"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?"
I think I can disagree, Jo. I absolutely can (and do) give objective advice about the profession and would never mislead a prospective student into thinking that choosing M-Tec will guarantee them job placement or an easy ride to success. I have turned away many a prospective student and probably terminated an equal number for lack of progress or poor scores.
I have been an MT practitioner since 1971 and have worked in hospital medical records, radiology, you name it.
I currently own and operate a home-based MT service with 15 clients and 6 ICs. While that is small potatoes compared to some, I do it to keep my hand on the pulse of the industry. I experience every change this industry has made, right down to the EHR, VR, point-and-click templates and offshoring. I live it just like everyone here, and I have been just as frustrated over some of the changes as many of you here. I have not noticed any changes in the industry as a whole in terms of companies hiring qualififed MTs for entry-level positions, whether it be part-time or full-time, unless you want to talk about the growing requests for entry-level MTs recently?
I tell anyone who asks of my experiences with my service switching to an EMR-based system, but I will also tell you about our 96% placement rate for our graduates. These are figures that can be checked with our state board.
I feel confident that I can speak with authority on any MT-related issues without bias -- those are just the facts! :)
Does this mean I won't be happy to talk with you about the pros of enrolling through M-TEC? Naaah -- I have to be honest -- I think our course is one of the best on the market, and many employers and happy graduates would agree.
Thank you for your response.
Thank you for your response, Melissa. As before mentioned, I'd had trouble grasping the full concept of verbatim transcribing - especially when changes would have to be made for appropriateness without changing what the dictator said. Currently, the QA in my internship just sends back short responses (Nice report, uploaded; this word s/b another word, corrections attached, uploaded; etc.). The feedback is nice, but I didn't always know why one word should be another word when I typed what the dictator said. Those words could very well be word agreement. I hope I have the right understanding now. Thank you again for your response, it helps.
Response
Dianne,
Please be reasonable. You enrolled on August 10 using our 7 month payment plan. You paid $399 down and then on August 18 you paid an additional $554.24 to have your second shipment sent. As stated our on site, materials are shipped usually within 2 -3 business days from enrollment, and then take 5 to 10 business days (a total of up to 13 business days). When you contacted us yesterday, the materials had been 14 business days. Obviously, there was a delay, but, unfortunately, we have no control over the postal service. To compensate for this delay, your dictionary was ordered through Amazon to be delivered the following day. It was brought to my attention this morning, that according to the tracking #, your first shipment arrived yesterday morning. The same day you started voicing your complaints everywhere. I don't understand why you are continuing to do so when we have done everything possible to correct the problem. You have been doing so well with your testing, and with your medical background, I am sure you will continue to. To compensate further for this delay, which fortunately did not prevent you from continuing with the course, we would like to offer you a free upgrade to the Expert edition. This edition includes additional dictation, additional online modules, our Work Placement Program, and the ability to enroll in our Internship Program. If you decide to withdraw from the course, please contact me directly and I will start the procedures. I also wanted to inform you that we are looking into an alternate shipping service to prevent this from happening in the future.
Sincerely,
Amy Rudd
School Director
Virtual Learning Center
Response
1) It is not OUR responsibility to check out your career choices for you and warn you.
2) If you'd bother really checking around and talking those who work for the virtual companies, you would have learned this BEFORE you made your choice!!!
My goodness. Don't you realize that companies SELLING education are in business to make money? Of course they're not going to tell you, "Come! Take our course! Spend your money and time! But you'll be hard pressed to get a job, may never get the WAH opportunity you want. But hey! Don't let that stop you! Just write out that check and you'll be well on your way to your DREAM (as in not gonna happen) job!"
Does it not make sense to you that anything with a get-rich-quick scheme is just that, a scheme? What profession can you train in a year or less and come out making $40,000 from your home?! Sounds like a scam BECAUSE IT IS!!!!
So, here. I'll tell you straight up:
You're in stiff competition, sweetie. Those of us with years of actual inhouse acute care experience will always beat you out for a job because we worked INHOUSE and gained ACUTE CARE EXPERIENCE (heck, any experience is better than none) and didn't expect the top pay, top positions, top anything to start.
You've also got competition from technology (speech recognition) leaving you with the icky dictators (and as a new MT, you have difficulty doing the good ones most of the time).
You've also got competition because it is just cheaper labor to send work to India. Besides, India is working their daytime hours while we all sleep -- because no one wants to work other than M-F 8-5. Also, with the severe shortage of experienced MTs capable of producing high-quality high-production work that isn't dependent on 100% QA, sending out is a viable option.
You have been told.
Thank you for your response!
x
Thanks for your response!!
very helpful :P
response
Tell the doctors to take some responsibility, to speak English and those who do, speak clearly and with a little more respect to the transcriptionist. We ARE NOT DOCTORS. This infuriates me !!! This is bullsh_t.
Response
That is a somewhat difficult comparison because very few people, if any, complete more than 1 of the courses you mentioned so they would not be able to give a fair comparison of job search results. I can say that I see very few M-Tec or Andrews grads complaining of an inability to find that first job.
Perhaps another question you might also want to ask is whether the grads were able to hold onto that first job for the 2+ years that is the typical minimum experience requirement for the industry. While I know more CS grads than I do Andrews or M-TEC grads (because I went to CS), I know very few CS grads that did not spend at least a portion of their first post-grad year job-hopping. I only know 4 CS grads (including myself) that are still with their initial employer after more than 2 years.
The third thing might want to inquire about is the type of position (clinic versus acute care)graduates from each school are able to obtain and what grads from each school can expect in regard to starting pay. At the CS student forum, I have seen grads profess to be willing to work 1-3 cpl or even for free just to "get their foot in the door" because they have not been successful in finding a job.
AHP doesn't have a very good reputation. SM
I have heard from many MTs who have a VERY hard time finding a job because major companies will not usually accept a newbie from that program. Some smaller MTSOs or offices might, but why make things more difficult? I recommend checking out Andrews, MTEC, or CareerStep. I have no bias towards any of them, just have heard good things about those 3.
CS doesn't even supply you with real
reference materials, except for the dictionary and drug book. All other books were written by the owner, who was trained by her mother, who taught herself.
I would rather have had real instructors instead of an "automatic grader" and real books instead of "home made" ones.
It doesn't sound familiar and
I don't see it in my Stedman's ENT book.
Sorry.
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