agree - nationals make worst employers and here's why
Posted By: MS MT on 2006-07-05
In Reply to: would not say success = job with national - nm
I've been with my current national for a year now, and I'm burnt out. I do acute care work, struggle with lots of ESLs, and work on several different accounts. For the past 6 months or so, work has been very low on my primary, and I bounce around from account to account, and I only work part-time. I hate that. I wish I had a primary that kept me busy and only in rare instances would I have to work on my secondary or tertiary and so on. Instead, I may work on 4 different accounts in one day just to get in 500 lines, and of course it takes me longer to do that on accounts other than my primary because those accounts have a lot more doctors. Getting the same ones isn't a daily occurrence, and if you do, they're the difficult dictators. Is this normal? It's hard for me to shop around and look for a better national to work for because I don't have high-speed internet access, and some not only want high-speed access, but they also are very specific about what type you need to work for them. I feel stuck, but I am grateful to have a job and that it's not flipping burgers or working in retail. Been there, done that....in my youth.
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Employers = Verifiable companies with job offers, often well-known nationals
What we're looking for is a source for helpful information that results in good decisions. Ask the employers means, ask employers who give their names, the names of their companies, and are job providers. That information has to be verifiable in order to be useful. No offense personally. Information is just not helpful unless it comes from an identifiable source and can be verified as being authentic and reputable.
I'm not sure employers care, I would make sure
to pick a training program on the AHDI list ...
http://www.ahdionline.org/scriptcontent/mtapproved.cfm
I agree! I had 5 job offers before I even graduated! Just make sure you test well... nm
 nm
Agree...not a good reflection on our profession. A seasoned MT would not make this mistake. nm
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Experience needed for Nationals.sm
I've tried with 2 nationals and quit both. Both needed me because I had PT experience. Once PT work was caught up, then one gave me GYN, which I told her I had no experience in. The second gave me Indian doctors which I never got used to because always a new MD. I was told to create templates, etc., but when the dictation is not clear and the doctor's accent is as thick as mud, how do you overcome it? For now will stick to clinical until I can figure this out, but am wondering how it is done.
They are one of the worst schools out there, not
near enough instruction or dictation practice. Most people that take their course find they need more schooling or to get into a mentoring program. Most find that they just cannot past the testing from companies. I would look into going in-house, either at a hospital or clinic or getting into a legitimate mentoring situation.
Heartland mentors are the worst around...
very rude and unorganized. I highly do not recommend them.
Some of the worst cut prices and keep offering less
There was one really disreputable school that constantly bragged about how much less they cost than everyone else and how everybody else was ripping you off because they made you study BOOKS! This school claimed it was different. They said the more expensive schools teach you more than you need to know. They didn't teach you like the other schools that teach you too much, because the owner of the school claimed you can't learn anything in school anyway. You have to learn it on the job. I couldn't believe my ears or eyes, since it was a message emailed to me.
It is one of the worst schools out there. If you haven't
paid your money don't. If you read through the archives you'll see many posts where their graduates were unable to pass tests and/or felt ill-prepared for the real MT world. They are cheaper than most, but you get what you pay for.
Work for a small local and do PT for the nationals when I find a good one to stick with...sigh...nm
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The worst schools would like you to think the approval process means nothing
but it's pretty obvious why they want you to think that. They can't pass it. They may not even be eligible to take it!
I will agree that the AAMT Approval Process does not mean that every school on there is good, but it does mean that they have been able to pass a fairly tough process and the others have not done it.
Ask The Employers
If you want to work from home, ask the national employers, because that's who you'll turn to when you are ready to get a job.
If you want to work for a local hospital, on site, ask them where you should go to school. Then ask them if they actually hire people who graduate from that school. I've heard that some of the local people recommend a school but don't hire graduates after they take that advice to go to a local community college or vo-tech.
Employers will hire new graduates of
well-regarded MT schools, schools such as Andrews, M-Tec, and Career Step. Unfortunately, PCDI has a very poor reputation among MT employers, so it might be that that is causing the problem rather than lack of experience since many well-known MT employers will waive the two-year experience requirement for graduates of schools that are known to turn out job-ready MTs (Andrews, M-Tec, and Career Step). You might have better luck with a local doctor's office or clinic that does only one specialty. If you continue to have difficulty finding work, you might want to consider supplementing whatever training you got throught PCDI with a course from one of the "Big Three". Their graduates generally have several job offers upon graduation, plus those schools provide placement advice and assistance to their graduates.
I don't pay them. Employers test our grads and hire them if they do well
I don't pay them. Employers test our grads and hire them if they do well. I appreciate the fact that they are kind enough to let our graduates test for them, but I don't give them any money. None. Zero. Zilch. Nothing. Thanks for asking so that I have the opportunity to make that very clear.
but the employers are going to fire you when they find out you misled them
When people put CMT after their name, they are assumed to have passed the CMT exam through AAMT. We could all put MD after our names too and call ourselves Minnie Duck, but we won't get far.
Employers don't check references? Not very wise of them
We're dealing with confidential work. You're telling me that there are still MT employers who don't care enough about the quality and accountability of the work that they would "bother" to check references? You are going to put confidential patient records in the hands of people with no attempt to even see if they are who and what they say they are? No educational references checked? No past employment checked?
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!
the previous post said it only matters what the employers think. I'm an employer and that's wh
think. What exactly do you identify as **balderdash**?
The solution then would be for potential students to contact the employers
If someone wants to work at home for a national company, contact them. If you want to work on site for a local hospital, contact them.
My bet is that the national services and some of the other large services will prefer certain schools and will not test others. I'll also bet that the local hospitals will have never heard of any medical transcription school and will prefer the school down the street. Of course they may not hire new graduates, so once that person graduates from the school down the street, they may have to go to work for a private physician's office for a couple of years. Do you disagree with that?
Former employers do not give "true" references. Because of lawsuits. So irrelevant.
x
Even some of us most experienced MTs don't make that. Make your
s
make as many as possible
expanders equals $$$$. But you have to be careful not to use the wrong one. If you have two that are similar you may end up with something ridiculous in your report so proofread well! I like to make Expanders for entire physical exams and operations. Some operations by some doctors are so similar it's worth it to do that.
Low MT pay v. those who make $40k+
I see so many people complain about the current rates of pay for MT's and say that they're barely making it. Then, every once in a while there's a post by someone who says they've been working as a MT for two or three years and are making over $40k. What gives?
Are the MT's making this much money just "lucky", with the right company or in the right situation, or just very fast? Are they working for their own accounts with no benefits and have to take a lot of taxes out of that $40-45k? Are the people who complain most about pay just newbies? Or, do many of you consider that amount to be barely making it? I live in the midwest, and that salary could easily support a somewhat modest lifestyle for myself, my partner, and our baby while he goes back to school.
I have a pretty good understanding of all the variables that go into MT salaries and that it's slow starting out. I realize this isn't a profession you get into solely for the money. I'm just wondering if it's reasonable to shoot for (for example) making $40k/year as an MT three years after graduating from Andrews.
Try these guys. They make (sm)
all sorts of handy gadgets like that.
I'm sorry you couldn't make it
Business actually is growing at a record pace. I'm truly sorry that you weren't able to meet the standards (one error per page...50 pages, 50 errors). It is not unusual for disgruntled students to forgive their inadequacies and blame it on the Company.
However, once enrolled in our program you can always come back and display your "talents". If you have been inactive for 6 months, you can pay a $50 reinstatement fee, submit a new application, and resume.
If you are that talented, making all that money, what do you have to lose? Another client, hospital, clinic?
I really don't think I'll hear back from you, $50.00 reinstatement isn't "petty cash," right?
Lin
Then you don't have what it takes to make it
as an MT. If you can't digest truthful information being given and have the courage to digest it, apply it to any areas of yourself that might need tweeking, then you will not last as an MT. This industry can be pretty rough at times. If you have thin skin, you won't make it. I can only imagine how you will take QA feedback.
Good luck to you.
Did you make the wine?
Some friends of mine like to make muscadine wine, here in Georgia.
Make sure you present yourself at your best
There is a lot of competition out there. You have to make sure your resume reflects you at your best. Have someone review your resume for typos, spelling, grammar, puctuation, or other errors. Make sure it is as perfect as it can be. Make sure your cover letter is perfect as well. The MTSO I work for has commented more than once that when she gets a resume with errors (for example, run-on sentences, missing punctuation, typos, etc.), she just drops it in the trash. When she advertises a job, she gets so many applicants that she doesn't waste her time with those who don't even look good on paper.
Y would it make it MORE DIFFICULT?
Having NO school experience is worse than having school experience????? I find that very hard to believe.
Actually, someone did make the statement
above that if you graduated from M-Tec, Andrews, or CareerStep many employers will waive the experience requirement. I'm thinking that is where the discrepancy lies. The statement is being misinterpreted to mean that they will waive experience altogether instead of just waiving it for testing.
do you mean you make 9 per every 65 char?
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It isn't going to make much difference either way because
you're not producing a lot of minutes, a lot of lines, or a lot of pages.
That sure is a lot $$ for the course. You can easily make
$15K/year, but getting that first job will be difficult. I personally would not have invested that much money in taking an MT course.
Yes, this does make sense...
in the fact that I see the differences between these two sentences. The problem is, I don't know what to do with that information.
Forgive me, but WHAT do I have to do to make $40,000
a year? After 18 months I am so frustrated...0.07 cpl at 1000-1200 lines per day. Did I make the wrong choice or am I just not SHARP enough?
TIA
To make 40K per year,
You have to make roughly $20./hr for a 40-hour week (if my math skills are any good!). To do that, you need to either make a higher line rate, or produce more lines per hour. That means doubling either your lines per day or your cents per line.
I would venture a guess that most folks making 40K a year do NOT work for nationals, but have their own accounts which tend to pay more per line, which ups the $ per hour. Of course, with that comes a whole new set of headaches and probably more incidental hours (billing, delivering, bookkeeping...time spent maintaining an account in addition to transcribing hours.)
Unfortunately, by the time we see ads everywhere for big money opportunities (transcription, selling on ebay, raising alpacas, etc.) the prime time to get involved has probably already passed, and then folks who respond are stuck with disillusionment and bills for starting costs/prep.
Just my humble (and maybe a bit pessimistic) opinion.
You make more editing???
I make $22/h transcribing...interesting
I make more as an MT than I did as a nurse...
Nurses do not make the big bucks, let me tell you....I make more now as an MT...plus do not pay for daycare, etc....
We all make mistakes
No matter how long we've been at a job. It happens. You'll learn more and more and make less and less mistakes, but they will always happen. I see mistakes that even QA make while looking for samples, often.
Want to see a silly doozie I did the other day?
ERROR |
poor glucose tolerance (managed by died alone) |
CORRECT |
poor glucose tolerance (managed by diet alone) |
This error was upgraded because of this mistake and when I got my audit I was like huh? I kept looking at it wondering what was wrong with this. Finally I saw my mistake and felt so st*upid. And, I've been doing this for almost 10 years.
So, either you feel better knowing that you are not alone or worse knowing that you'll still be making these mistakes 10 years from now (just not nearly as much).
you can make up to $40 per hour.....
if your speed is good and you have a good expander. anyone who types less than 70 words per minute, will probably have a hard time earning over $20 per hour. Those who are making $5 to $9, well that's just crazy. Terrible account, terrible dictators, terrible expanders...something is definitely wrong.
Trying to make the right choice
I have spent months reading and learning about becoming an MT and I am still left with questions that I hope maybe a broader range of people might be able to answer (you all  )
Is Career Step's program the same as what's offered at M-Tec? The price is clearly not and I have spoken with enrollment at both locations and asked them directly the cost differences but normal everyday people who do the job is who's opinions I'd like most.
1. Training (are the both relatively close in what they teach)
2. Certificate vs. diploma
3. 4 months for one program vs. 9-12 for another.
Any honest, none school bashing, opinions would be very gratefully appreciated.
Need to make a decision soon....
Here's my situation: After months of research, I finally decided that I would like to go to M-TEC. Actually I would LOVE to go there! But I have one problem. I don't have the money for the down payment. As a teenager, I made a mistake of maxing out a couple of credit cards so now my credit is really bad so I cannot get the student loan they offer. Actually I can't get any student loan (that is credit based). So, I can either go through Everett Community College and use financial aid, and then maybe go back in a couple of years and go through the M-Tec Program? (I'm saving a little at a time so I can get my debt paid off) I guess I am just wanting a little advice on what to do or maybe hear from someone who went to Everett, because I don't want to go through this program and end up with no job! My son is already three and my husband and I don't want to wait too long to have another baby so I would really like to stay at home. Thanks a ton! You guys give really good advice on this board and that's why I came here to ask :)
Make your own hours?
absolutely not.. that's a myth..
Make Sense?
Does this make sense?
On sight apnea secondary to number one.
Yeah, and if you can't make it as an MT after taking the VLC course,
you can always take their basket making class.
You make some good points, BUT please SM
It's interesting how you only see PCDI grads and the like complaining that no one will hire them as new grads.
I can't remember ever seeing an Andrews, MTEC, or CS grad complaining they can't get a job.
I know a couple of recruiters who have told me they won't even look at PCDI grads. Are they possibly short-sighted? Maybe, but sometimes it's just not worth picking through the haystack to find the needle when you have another source of needles.
I would suggest looking for a smaller MTSO or a local physician/hospital to start out with.
How do people make a living in ....
this business? I'm new and realize how lucky I am to have a MT position in which I can work from home. I was hired by a MTSO who needed people on a new account she was getting. Now I am not needed on the account because it's just not rolling in all the work it was suppose to (maybe that is how is going to be or maybe just cause of the holidays). She continues to give me as much work as she possibly can and is constantly stating how amazed she is by my ability to catch on quick to the new doctors she throws at me. However, I am lucky to make $100 every two weeks. I am looking for a second MT job. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am wonder if even a second job is going to bring in enough money though. I actually just have to bring in around $500 (rent because my husband can pay everything else) but of course to be financially comfortable I would like to bring in more. Is it worth getting a second job or will I eventually have to get a third? I really want to stay working as an IC for the MTSO because she is so nice and it lets me be more flexible than a national would. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
I'm working, why would I need to make myself feel better?
I'm sure if they wanted them to know, they would have told them. I think you know we don't give out names here!!
Facts are facts! Good job cheering them on though!
It's okay as it is, or make it 'of the' oropharynx..nm
s
first year as IC, you don't have to make payments...sm
you could pay all of 2006 taxes by April 15, 2007. But in 2007, the IRS will send you forms that you use to pay quarterly. You pay 100% of last year's taxes in 4 equal payments and then make up the difference when you do your taxes. For example, you started as an IC in 2006. Your taxes were $2000. You pay $2000 by April 15 2007 and you also pay your first quarterly payment of $500 (1/4 of $2000) by April 15. I also would suggest you make all your payments in the current year - don't pay the last quarter by January 15 when it is due because it screws up your bookkeeping and state and feds handle it different. Pay your last quarter tax by December 31.
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