in response to your post
Posted By: mt55 on 2009-05-18
In Reply to: Med. Transciption not too good anymore? What next? - Winnie
Hi Winnie, -- first of all why do you want to be an MT? Stay at home mom with young kids? Promises of $40k-100K a year -- if so, you are thinking the wrong career -- when I worked outside the home, I was able to take daycare as a tax deduction as well as private schools -- give it a second thought cause the great tremendous money isnt here and I have been doing this for over 30 years
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"software error" this is in response to dilemma post
nm
re this poster's response consider the bad response
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.
please e/m me -- my post didn't post.
x
I have been trying business with no response
I have taken one test and did not pass because they wanted a 98% accuracy and I believe that I had a 94%. All the other companies that I have applied at tell me that they want experience or I keep bugging them to take their test. I am now cold calling doctor offices to see if they need anything. I know 3 people in this field that work from home and they did not have trouble finding a job at all. They all started about three years ago though.
Thanks for the tactful response
My grammar may be a bit rusty, but you could have left the laughing smiley out and still have made your point, in a much nicer way.
I was merely expressing frustration that people discount all of the time one spends studying to prepare to do this kind of work. I was trying to explain to my dh the other night why I wanted to attend a good MT school, and his response was "What's so hard? The Dr. talks, and you type". He figures that with what I know already, I can learn the rest (in his opinion, not much more to learn) on someone else's dime. The only thing that got through to him was that I could not get hired to work from home for a national with the training I currently have, and that I could make more money right off the bat if I did complete the training. He still won't accept that the training is necessary to do the work, but has to accept that to get hired at a better wage, I will need better training.
I apologize if I misled you to infer that I felt I was totally qualified to be an MT and scoffed at anyone who was less qualified than I. I also apologize if I led you to believe that I don't have respect for how difficult the work is. I am terrified of failing at this and want to go through a good program, and hope to do so soon. I am qualified enough to satisfy this one particular employer, but just barely. I am in no position to train someone or try to get them hired, and I would never suggest that the path I took to get this job is a recommended way to do it.
Well, I am off to practice and study some more before starting work next week.
I will be more aware of my grammar when posting on this forum. Would you recommend the Gregg Manual as a good reference or is there a better one out there? Can we make peace?
Frustrated response
Medquist will hire you out of school as well as Spheris. Go to Mtjobs.com and click on the red bubble (search jobs) good luck
another good response!!!
nm
I posted a response to her too (sm)
Someone else responded to her original post and gave her constructive information regarding her grammar. She then turned around and told that person to kiss her you-know-what, etc. Then she kept complaining that people were offending her and wanted posts deleted. The administrator did so and also deleted her offensive post. What goes around comes around. The administrator admonished us not to treat her badly. When she used offensive language to the first response she was asking for it. Of course, that is just my opinion. Are we still allowed those? We spend so much time trying to send out perfect work that when we are posting on these boards it is easy to get lazy and not proof as well. It is just in our nature that these errors would jump out at someone else reading them. We do get paid for that, after all. Of course, there is no need to criticize each mistake made on this board although, as I stated previously, when you come here with an attitude you can be pretty sure that you will get it back x10.
Peace out....
Got a response from Medware
I received a response from Medware with their employee screening info as well as a few transcription "tests". Looked it over and filled out all of the info as well as did the tests and sent it back. I did a search on this company and got a mix of people who loved working for them and others who did not. Any input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!
Jill
Response to M-TEC Question
Hi Daphne,
I took the Tier 1 Premier Program a little over 2 years ago. My experience with M-Tec was wonderful. I also had no medical background. It is a very comprehensive course, but I truly enjoyed it and learned so much. You asked if Tier 1 Premier was necessary. My advice to you is if you want to work from home, you should definitely take the Premier program. If you take the Basic program, you generally have to work onsite somewhere until you are ready to work on your own. As a student at M-TEC, you will have your own personal instructor assigned to you to answer any questions along the way. This is a great school. Not only is your instructor available to you, but the directors of the school are also very accessible. The student forums are very supportive too. There are many companies who will waive the 2-year experience requirement if you are a Premier graduate of M-TEC with a decent GPA. You really can't go wrong with M-TEC. I think it was worth every penny.
response to jenn
Good for you!
However, I've been in this business for more than 20 years. I've seen plenty of nurses think they can and are doing a great job and simply cannot do it.
It amazes me how much they don't know.
In response to your question
They clearly are a SCAM. Don't be tempted to buy their equipment. They rip people off their money without providing them with real training and guaranteed employment.
In response to mentor help
I definitely am in need of a mentor. I graduated over a year ago and I am about to give up. I have had a few close calls, but did not come through. Any help will be Great, Thank You!
Response for Teresa - please see inside.
I'm not sure what "Medical Office Occupations" is, but if it's a school for medical transcription, they should give you some idea of how to find a job. If they can't help you find a job - then I hate to tell you this, but you're going to have a hard time.
Frankly, it is VERY difficult for someone with no experience to find a job unless they graduated from Andrews, MTEC, or Career Step. Some have found they can only get local in-house jobs at the beginning (and are lucky to find those).
When you say "no one will listen to you" - who exactly do you mean? Have you applied at any of the companies mentioned here? Taken any transcription tests?
You never know who is going to be on boards like this - recruiters, small MTSO owners, etc., and I would recommend making sure your posts are professional and reflect good English skills.
Read these posts and go through the archives for more information, as well.
Newbie/Student response
I am not yet a professional MT, as I am still in school and have been unable to find employment, but from what I have learned so far in school I understand that paying attention to details is one of the most important aspects of being an MT. If this is actually the case, why would anyone take a possible employment opportunity so lightly as to skip directions or misspell words on an application? For those of us who are trying very hard to find work, this is rather insulting. An MT is supposed to be proficient in grammatical skills (!!!!!), so anyone applying for a position should have enough respect for himself and the company that he is applying to that he would at least read the instructions on the application. I am not trying to be rude or cruel in any way, but I just feel that so many errors on an application would most likely discourage an employer from hiring the applicant.
Another thing, when looking for employment last night I accidentally stumbled across an Indian transcription company. On it were many testimonials from employees and hopeful employees of the company. There were so many misspelled and out of context words in these statements! I know that my grammar has a long way to go; that’s why I keep and handbook by my side when I am trying to perform professionally. Why is it that so many companies prefer these people that can’t even use English well over Americans that are studying to perfect the use of our native language? I am having a hard time finding any company that is willing to hire a new-grad, so all of the bad grammar coming from the Transcriptionist on that site hit my mean bone. Please don’t think I am a bitter, sarcastic person because I am not. I just find myself a little erked at offshore companies. I know that I will find I great opportunity soon enough.
Wow!!! Great response. Would hire you myself if I could!!!!!!
nm
I posted my response to you above accidentally.
d
Now that's what I call a response to a question!
Finally, someone who answers a question instead of nit-picking apart someone's question because they didn't use correct grammar or punctuation. Bravo to you for offering up some good, helpful advice!
mt gave a good response
Focus uses the EditScript platform and it was actually pretty good with VR. However, I didn't like editing. I would rather type and am faster typing than editing reports.
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.
update on my newbie's response!! too funny!! sm
I sent her a reply telling her I was sorry, but I didn't think she had what it takes to be an MT, as it is very detail oriented job. She told me, I'm sorry, but I did not type that. I had my son respond for me, because I was getting ready for work. I did not know I was being tested via email. then she ripped into me with For your information, I wasn't applying for the job, I was requesting information to see if I would even be interested. I'm sorry that you are on your high horse, and need to be pushed off!!! Wow...very mean! I happen to work for a living and graduated with a great GPA for a very reputable MT school, you don't even know me women so don't judge me!!!!
Omigosh, I laughed till I cried 
My deepest apologies because in reading my response and that icon, it came out much more sinister
of a remark, which was not intended as so sarcastic.
Here are some great links and I hope they help!
Grammar errors: http://esl.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsu.edu%3A8080%2F%7Ebrians%2Ferrors%2Ferrors.html
Miriam Webster Online: http://www.m-w.com
OneLook Dictionary: http://www.onelook.com
Grammar Slammers: http://englishplus.com/grammar/mistcont.htm
Guide to Grammar and Writing: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar
Wow, this busy message board and no one has a response? Doesn't matter anyway, I've already s
nm
Where should I post it?
Is there a section on MT Stars that you post resumes or are you saying to just post it in a message? Thanks
I appreciate your post and I do
recognize what has been happening in the field. As you stated, many MTs are allowing it to happen which is sad. There is no way to go up from there and they don't have a clue to recognize that.
sorry..about my last post..
I thought I was answering on another string of posts.
In regards to my post
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?
they won't let me post to you...
e-mail me.
Thanks for this post.
I have another six months before I reach that "two years experience" everyone seems to want. I did bite the bullet and settle for a less than top paying job to be working and getting that experience straight from training. My outlook was the same as yours. I am glad to know I'm in good company. I thought your post was very nice.
Very useful post. I wish
this post would automatically pop up every time somebody came here asking about schools, and whether the extra $1000 or whatever is worth it.
i only got about 2/3 of the way through your post.....
and thought there are much better ways for you to do this. Here are some suggestions that might save you a little money.
1. Try finding another internet provider. I pay $30 per month for my high speed.
2. Do not spend money on books anymore. Use reliable web sites. This is the beauty of Internet. In the old-days when we worked on-site and there was no Internet, we had to rely on books, but nowadays you can have the AAMT Styleguide on your computer, and there are so many reliable web sites for surgical instruments, medications, etc.
3. Can you possibly e-mail your invoices. This will get it to your provider quicker, and hopefully a paycheck back to you quicker, i.e. no paper or ink. My printer has been out of ink for 2 weeks. I do everything on line now, and never print anything anymore.
3. The cabinet was a one time purchase, but will be a tax write off.
4. Talk to your husband about the importance of your job and income. I hate to work when my husband is home. Some times I need to, and he and the kids all know that mom is working and cannot be disturbed (for the most part).
5. I hear you on the CPA thing. Mine charges me so much money to do my taxes. I am seriously considering disolving my corporation and going back to using my social security number. I really have not seen any perks there.
Anyway, hope some of these help.
I said in my post that she can't get
a TRANSCRIPTION job with just a coding education.
Thank you for this post
The office that I work for is going to EMR soon. I was so afraid I was going to lose my job. I'm still not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing, but I have EMR training starting next week.
Any certain post, or are you seeing many? nm
XXX
there must be at least 10 different MTs who post with the
username 'anon.' This 1 is a new 1, still in the 'basic program?'
post your resume
when you are ready. Some companies do hire newbies even if they do not post.
post resume
there should be a link at the home page of this site.
check post below
regarding posting your resume on this site.
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