Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Becoming certified, anyone know if there is more money involved in being a certified MT versus non

Posted By: Suzanne on 2006-01-06
In Reply to:

certified.


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

Certified long before
AAMT ever came to be. I graduated from a 12-month, 8-hour-per-day (and yes I am still using hypens)MT course given by a local medical center and was given certification the night I graduated. I never gave a second thought to being certified by anyone else, let alone AAMT. All they did for me with their new guidelines was make my job harder. Thankfully, multiple accounts I have worked on are slowly but surely going back to the good old way of transcription, realizing that AAMT and their ideas are basically crap. I think they should all go to India where they support the MTs who try to do our work. I say try, because already I know of accounts who have returned here, after a very short and sour run with offshoring. Lay low and watch girls, it will soon all be back here, but what will those companies do when they discover that the MTs they felt were so disposable are now working for USA-only MT companies.
btw, I am not certified, I was asked if it was...
by another company because I had tested well.
Raises for getting certified
I wonder if you and I work for the same company... I am about to take the RMT (in 10 days) because of that small raise and the reimbursed testing fee.... :)
It is Certified Medical Transcriptionist sm
as described by AAMT (American Association for Medical Transcription). You receive this by taking a test with AAMT. In the late 70s or early 80s when AAMT first came about, if you had 2-3 years experience (I can't remember which) you could become a CMT by grandfathering in and not taking a test. I knew folks who grandfathered in who had only done radiology and could not do acute care at all. I didn't think that was fair at all. I am not sure how they do it now, but I think they may have a certification for different types of transcription i.e., radiology versus acute care. I remember I was 6 months short of the experience to grandfather in and I paid to take the test.

You must have so many continuing education credits in a prescribed period of time to keep your certification or you will have to take the test over. There are lots of ways that you can get CECs, sometimes by reading certain articles that qualify etc.

I kept mine for about 12 years but they kept going up on the price so much every year I finally just let it go. There are some places that pay a little more for CMT status, but not many. It really and truly is not worth the money you pay out. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but don't waste your money.
Certified Medical Transcriptionist.
nm
Gee, I really hope you're not certified....
being you can't spell right LOLOLOLOL
send certified return receipt
your invoice and be sure to add the amount of the mailing - then go to small claims - you are a contractor - no tin the letter if you are not paid, you will add interest and court fee - give them 30 days and go for it. You file in thier state and this can most times be handled on line
i would send them a certified letter addressing in it sm
that they are harrassing you, you have asked multiple times, and times you have documented on late night phone calls. request them to remove you immediately and given them 3-days notice from time of signature of acceptance or you will file suit for harrassment.
I would send her a certified letter stating
you would like to know the above, and that if you hear nothing from her within a certain timeframe you will be contacting an attorney (whether you actually do or not).
Send a Demand Letter Certified

with your invoices.  Tell her she has 10 days to pay or you will pursue legal action.


You might also consider taking her to Judge Judy.  They are looking for new & interesting cases, but first of all you have to send out your demand.  Contact the show's website & submit your case.  JJ is an arbitrator though and you will get paid from the proceeds of the show - so the woman that owes you money doesn't really get punished per se, but does get a good dose of public humiliation on nationwide TV!   That way you let other MTs know what a rotten business woman she is.


The show pays your airfare/hotel too.  My daughter took a girl who assaulted her to JJ and she won 5K!  That's why I'm posting anon - can't really discuss specifics until after show airs.


money versus time
I have a friend who is a small MTSO and she said running her own accounts she has come to realize that she either can make good money with her own accounts or be an IC/employee and have more time. She says she picks the money. She works 7 days a week, 15-18 hours a day. Life is too short. I'd rather have the time.
RN versus MT, which would involve the most money to be made. I am not sure if I want to go into RN
nursing or remain an MT.  I wonder which one pays best?
Can you make money editing versus transcribing at 3.75?

I really would like to hear the pros and cons of editing versus transcribing the reports.  I have been offered a position with Sten-Tel at 3.75 cpl.  I was told my production would increase and I would make more money.  I really want to make good money, but really do not have anything to compare editing too.  I have never done it before, thus I do not have a good grasp of how it would or would not increase my production.  If anyone can give me a breakdown of the pros and cons at STen-Tel working at 3.75 cpl, or any information on how much you really can make editing, I would have a better understanding.


 


Thanks


MDI versus MedScribe versus SoftScript versus Transsolutions versus TransHealth. SM

I'm getting ready to start applying and these are the companies that I'm looking at.  So give me the low-down.  Good, bad, India?


Here are my criteria:


9 cpl or better


Does NOT send work to India


Good accounts with at least 50/50 of ESL versus American dictators


Consistent work flow - no downtime or time spent waiting for work


Upper management should be professional, positive, and encouraging.


Pay for lines WITH spaces.


Is there such a job out there or am I just dreaming?  If there are other companies other than the ones I listed that would fit the bill, please feel free to let me know. I tested with TransHealth and I felt like I tanked.  It was a hard test and I had to use the mouse to stop and start the dictation as it was online test and you couldn't download the voice files.  So that made it a lot more difficult.  One of the dictators was cutting himself off through the report and I had to leave some blanks.  I'm very frustrated with this whole process of looking and testing.  Are all the tests like that?  Or are there companies that allow you download the test files and transcribe them using your pedal and software?  Ugh!  I am just so frustrated and discouraged.


Thanks for any helpf.


It's time to get involved in

politics and vote for the candidates who have a plan  fixing the health care mess. They won't bother if we just sit on our thumbs and wish for a miracle. The corporations are right up in their faces with their needs and wishes, we need to be also.


 


 


The hospital involved
used at service with work at home MTs, for one thing. It was a complex case, but several people at several levels did not follow rules and regs.
Too many companies involved & they sm
will make the choice not to deal with unionized workers.  There is no law forcing any company to become a union shop and I doubt seriously any of them would.  That is why a union cannot work for transcriptionists.
I was not involved in any posts at all, but ICs
I am not interested in ICing at the moment, but those who do IC work have the right to be upset at this who work as supposed ICs, yet let their employer -- note that I used this word intentionally - they let their employers dictate the hours to work, the lines to produce, and hold them to a set schedule. This is the polar opposite of what an IC is. When MTs do not realize this and happily accept these illegal working conditions, it ruins the IC marketplace for the rest of the ICs. One company gets away with it and the next one follows suit.  That's how we got in the mess we are in today. When an IC says yes to a set schedule set forth by their employer, and is told how many lines to type, etc, it is 100% an employee position - the MTSOs just get their cake and get to eat it too, by having MTs, women, at their beck and call as employees when they have no legal right to do so. Everyone loses - the ICs, the MTs and the other MTSOs who are following the laws.  The more ICs who are ignorant of the situation, the less true IC positions will be left. Our freedom to work as IC is literally just about the last perk most of us has left.  It should not be taken away by fellow MTs who have not a clue of the laws and how it should be. So, yes, its a very very important issue and one that we should all understand and support, whether employee right now or IC.  It impacts our entire industry.
Jay Vance is involved, so it must be good.
x
Dislike it, too. Much too involved, too many choices, etc. nm
v
Man, the testing for these services is involved. nm
nm
seems a little *helium* involved in this response..sm
geez, not to mention some pretty snitty answers.
Yes, I know. Our hands have been tied. I'm sorry for all involved. :( nm
.
I usually would not get involved in this type of conversation, BUT...lm
Your reference to the Mexicans doing work the US citizens do not want to do is WAY off the mark. If the wages were as they used to be before US employers found that the Mexicans would work for lesser wages and be happy, US citizens WOULD do the work. The same applies to the MT work - were it not sent off shore at a ridiculously acceptable and low wage, MTs in the US would be much happier. With such an attitude, I fully predict that the poor class in the US will rise to meet that of other third-world countries - and your attitude about oh well, that's just the way things are now is exactly one of the reasons this type of working condition is being allowed to happen here on our own soil! Working for a foreign employer is a choice that few US MTs with good work habits and skills is willing to make - and that, in my opinion, should speak volumes! Just because you are willing doesn't make it wrong for others who do not. Just my opinion!!
I wasn't involved in the thread and don't
know what you are talking about, but we do have freedom of speech.  You can vote to get a post deleted by clicking on the blue vote/moderate button.  It takes 10 votes to get post removed - not 10 votes from same person though. 
How did Transtech get involved in this conversation?
nm
Amherst so we make less money and they get more money for MQ and bigger bonuses. Our guidelines came
from Amherst.
The company takes the money out of your salary, before they cut the check. It is your earned money,
:+
It's about "money, money, money, mmmoonnney. Singing The Apprentice song.
:{
You needn't be so smug. I'm not involved at all, other than reading
It takes no guts at all to come on and cheer for your company - any company, and even use your name.  Kudos to you, and mgmt will be tickled.  It does, however, takes guts to come on here and post, even anonymously, about negatives with a company, any company. I would assume from the postings that the person you are trying to "call out" is a current employee. First of all, you all know that even Larry reads this board regularly, along with all his "eyes" as in MTs. They even discuss it via interoffice email.  Second, if said employee is complaining currently about certain issues that are causing his/her unhappiness, he/she will be easily identified by the postings. Its a no brainer.  Then Transcend will be all over his/her butt, threatening whatever they want to threaten.  I am an ex-employee with Transcend, and I even have to watch what I say regarding my 100% total negative experience, as I don't want them honing in on me, either. Finally, it is just so ignorant to make blanket statements about any complainers who are "vague" as being job-hopping malcontents. I can assure you that one thing that bothered me BIG time about Transcend was how they treated me differently, as in preferential, as a new hire compared to what was supposedly required on hire, i.e. working set shifts, etc. After I was hired and not happy with a set schedule, I was allowed to do what I wanted when I wanted to.  That info alone will identify who I amt to my account supes.  I was shocked at getting that preferential treatment myself, and that had the opposite impact on me - it made me wonder who WAS getting what and why! And you act as if thousands and thousands of happy Transcend employees are reflective of the health of the company. It is a tiny company in the big picture. When I hired on, I had the impression Transcend was HUGE - right up there with MQ and Spheris, but there are only a 300 employees? If that? Larger than a small MTSO, but nowhere near the volume of the big guns.  I also had an account that had mandatory overtime - mandatory, while others had no work, etc. Just wasn't my "fit", but that doesn't mean I'm a job hopping loser MT. Quite the contrare'!  So, lighten up on the poster who has graciously told you over and over that he/she doesn't want to post details, and get off your high horses!  One can get bucked off easily when riding too high! Or hit in the neck with a branch!
why does this matter so much to you? Are you personally involved or affected?
It seems like you are being vindictive.  This was all 15 years ago but you are dragging it up over and over.  Perhaps you are jealous of how she turned her life around. Have you never made a mistake?
Past posts said they involved the owner. nm
s
Tapes? So there is shipping involved too? Yikes nm
dd
MTSOs are the bosses; MTs are the employees. There is no friendship involved. nm
nm
I think I would not stage an accident where a rope around my genitals was involved. sm
Obviously, I wouldn't be around for the embarrassment, but you'd think he'd think about his family.  I am sorry he is dead ... and really sorry that it happened under such freaky circumstances.
No, we did not give out information. No court order involved. sm
Obviously, TT was able to look at the information provided in the posts and determine who they FELT were making the posts.

No information has been given out by MTStars on this situation whatsoever.

Move on.

Moderator

They are cruising for a bruising! I got a check from another co when the labor board got involved
NM
yep, gotta spend money to make money. NM
.
So does yours. Perhaps you need a basic money class to learn to keep money. sm
I am off today and appalled at reading the posts on here.

Are you always this bitter? Do you have a family and friends who are safe and healthy? Count your blessings instead of being so angry and you might see that this is not a bad field to be in. It has kept food on my table for 27 years and will continue to do so. Is it harder now? You bet, but it is not impossible to make a good living of $50,000. You just have to work hard, give it your all and appreciate the good companies that are out there.

If I were an MTSO, I would find out who all these people posting such bitter posts are and find replacements for them a.s.a.p. Negativity spreads like poison, and with the world in the state it is, we should bond together not make it worse.
Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money is. nm
x
I completely concur. Find a good one, or move on, quickly. No loyalty involved. The don't sm
have any to the MTS.  NONE of them.
MQ versus others
Neither do I......
SE versus IC
I thought they were the same, so I guess I am the one with the missing brain cell!
IC versus SE

I know the SS differences between the 2 but can anyone tell me is there any real advantage of being an SE versus an IC?  Why did MQ do away with SE?  Do you think this will be growing trend with companies?


RN versus MT
Take the R.N. course. I wish I had taken it at an earlier age. You will have a job that you can depend on with good salary. Don't make the same mistake I made.

Good luck.
RN versus MT
So true!!!
SE versus IC - sm
If you got 8 cents as an SE, what do you think this would calculate to in line rate as an IC - 9 cents?  By this, I mean SE helps with your taxes but by how much would you estimate?  Anyone know? 
QA versus MT?

I was just offered a QA position.  If I accept the position, it will be my first QA job.  According to my calculations, I would only make about a dollar more an hour on average by staying a production MT than I would as QA with this particular company, who pays their QA staff by the hour.  I am wondering, is being offered QA anything like a promotion in the industry, or is it more of a lateral move/matter of preference?  Would love to hear opinions on pros and cons of QA  Thanks!


BS versus DQS
I have used them both and produce about 150 more lph on Bayscribe.
MDI versus MDI-MD
Would appreciate clarification - Are these the same company, the one located in Gaithersburg, Maryland? Thanks in advance.
MDI versus MDI-MD
Thank you for your response. Do you happen to know if the one in Maryland is the one that people generally refer to as a good company to work for and one that and does not send work out of the US?