You're probably right - I was laughing too hard to see straight.

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I am trying to decide between Andrews and M-Tec for my MT education. I realize this is beating a dead horse, but I would like to share some of the things I've noticed about the two and hope someone might have some insight for me.

Andrews: Has had an excellent reputation for a long time. You can take as long as you need to finish the program. Students have same instructors, i.e. everyone gets to experience REDPEN. 

M-TEC: Very good reputation also. New website is very professional. Long list of well-known CMTs and AAMT members on staff. You are assigned an individual instructor. You need to finish in 18 months.

I've been weighing these things in my mind trying to decide. I had a bad experience with MT training before. I was completely dependent on one person for feedback, etc. This was great while it worked, but all of a sudden this person stopped responding to my messages, phone calls, etc. I never want to get in that situation again. I am attracted to M-TEC because I know I could track down some of the people on staff there in other contexts if need be. I realize this is probably paranoia on my part because neither program is likely to disappear like mine did, but... The no time limit that Andrews has might be good if an illness or emergency arose. On the other hand, a deadline could be good because I tend to be perfectionistic and overwork things before handing them in. I'm a little nervous about being assigned one instructor at M-TEC because this puts me in somewhat of the same position I was in before of being dependent on one person. However, I would be able to contact Susan Francis or Kathy Kropko if there was a problem I suppose. Still, I kind of like what seems to be more of a traditional classroom experience with a lot of students under one instructor at Andrews.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

someone to even give me a chance. I've been really lucky so far.

Thanks for the advice though.

is going to take a program like this she will have a tougher time to find a job with a reputable company.   There are 3 good schools M-TEC, Andrews, and Career-Step and there are companies willing to hire newbies provided they have graduated in good standing from one of these schools.  Another option would be a local community college who might help with job placement.  I worked for a company that used to let the MT student some into the office and do a short rotation to get real hands-on experience.  

Some people are just determined they are going to do something and you can't do much about that, but I feel she is throwing away money if she goes this route.  I don't have any personal experience with any of the above schools, but they all come highly recommended. 

Why is it so hard for newbies to get employed? You go to school and pay all this money and don't know one want to hire a newby. If someone knows please let me know why.

I'm the kind of person who usually passes tests with flying colors, yet I just barely passed that test by the skin of my teeth.

They go by the BOS II book...so, if you have the book, make sure everything conforms to the rules in that book.  I don't own the book (yet) and just checked the style board to learn of differences between the two books.  Off the top of my head, q.4 h. (note the space between 4 and h), cancer classifications (some differences), using Arabic numbers for 1 through 9 instead of spelling them out, etc.

Don't give up!  If you are able, buy that book.  If not, use all the internet resources (reliable ones) that you can think of.

Good luck to you!

Regards,

Chickadee

I finally got my first job for 6 cents a line.  I found the job myself.  Keep looking around and do not give up.  I encountered a lot of road blocks.  Everyone basically cares out themselves.  Sad to say, but the majority of Americans do not care about teamwork, and helping others.  That is why India and other countries are ahead of us MTs and many other professions.  TEAMWORK

I attended TechSkills. The course was 32 weeks. I have a desire of being a transcriptionist. By me being a firm believer that I can make a career of being a transcriptionist, my positive attend has brought me a long way.

I'm sure they'll ask the basics about your experience, what work type you prefer, hours/lines you can do each day, etc.   They may ask you questions to see how well you know your stuff.    They should also ask you if you have any questions and they should tell you what they are looking for, what their platform is, how they pay, etc.  

Can a new MT without radiology transcription experience be able to do it?

Oh, just relax...Of course I want MT's with experience - and as long as there continues to be MT's with experience that want work at a certain rate, they will be hired in front of a newbie. In the work place it is all about what the market will bear. Nursing shortage? Nurse pay goes up. Until Filipino nurses flood the market. Then nurse pay goes down (just as an example). All I'm saying is as long as there are experienced MT's who are willing to work for 6-7 cpl (and I get plenty of them asking for work all the time at that rate), then a newbie can't be worth the same. It's all about what the market will bear. Therefore, you have to give the employer something to make hiring you more attractive than the next person....which is what? I'm always surprised that a newbie doesn't take an internship or something- whatever it takes- to get that experience. Without the experience, your chances of being hired go waaaaaay down.

My own suspicion is that it's the MT schools who keep telling newbies to go out and try to get jobs at 6 cpl - sometimes I even get resumes asking for 8 or 10! If the MT schools were honest about how difficult it was to break into the field - would people sign up and pay the money? No. But they take the money, train 'em and don't tell them that training isn't enough. Then the boards are full of postings from newbies complaining about how hard it is to break into the field. Well, for crying out loud - I would rather work for free for six months and then be marketable than to get 0 work at 6 cpl for years and years, holding out for that one chance in a thousand that someone would be willing to take me on

And I recognize that.  However, when my employer reviewed my first few batches of reports, he was quite impressed and surprised at the quality given that I was just getting started. 

So, I ask again- what is it that makes AHP an inferior education to other schools like Andrews and M-Tec?  Do they not provide enough anatomy/medical terminology instruction? Are they deficient in practice report experience? 

The only thing I felt under-prepared for was how quickly the doctor's dictate in real life versus what I was used to in practicing.  Other than that, doing real transcribing was actually easier than the practice tapes I was doing because AHP uses a good deal of difficult foreign accents on their practice tapes.  The account that I work on now has no foreign doctors (which is probably unusual), but some of them are ridiculously fast and incoherent. 

I'm really not trying to stir up anything here or argue that anyone is wrong.  I truly am just curious to know why AHP is not a good school.  I have many people ask me about what I do and where I got my training, and when I tell them that I've read online that the quality of an AHP education is questionable, I have no reason to give.  Thanks!