Regarding schools did you ever notice that (see message)

See message [2008-11-01]
I have a Toshiba and I love it. It has 4 USB ports and a very good quality sound card. The only drawback is that it is loaded with Windows Vista and not XP. So if you are thinking about going with a company that does not support Vista, you will be out of luck.

Current and former students from all schools and programs - [2008-10-16]
I would prefer to discuss via email as I don't want input from those who have not attended any of the MT educational programs and I don't want to incite arguments, etc. I just need some answers and insight on your experience, etc. I have some questions I can send to you and would truly appreciate your input. Thx

You must have schools mixed up [2008-10-13]
As an M-Tec grad I must speak up. You do not have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of very poor reference works from them. Go on their website and see the reference books that are included in the price. As you have one instructor throughout the course, you have one QA opinion to deal with. This instructor will always be there to answer your questions. They have an IT instructor who gives online classes and who will always help you with computer issues. M-TEC uses the SUM tapes, which are real dictations, and I believe those might be the same ones you refer to as AAMT (actually now AHDI) tapes. After graduation your instructor and/or the directors will still be there for you as well as access to their website with all the information you had access to during the course. After graduation you receive access to a long list of employers that is updated on a regular basis, and you receive access to the grad forum where you can find information about employers/MTSOs. In addition, you receive job offers when companies/MTSOs approach M-TEC stating they have job openings. M-TEC has a very good reputation, and you receive excellent education. I have never had a problem getting a job. So, maybe you would like to check and see if that woman you tutored actually went to M-TEC.

SCHOOLS [2008-10-09]
I recently did a private tutoring job for a woman who had paid $3,500+ to that school you want to attend. Saw with my own eyes the conflicting info different QA (alleged teachers and mentors)people gave her. She was bright enough to do the work, but the school was a total ripoff in my opinion. Also, they made her buy hundreds of dollars worth of very poor reference works from them. Yes, I have strong opinions, but I also have the knowhow to back them up -- I have taught for 10+ years, last 8 in an Adult Education program. I use the AAMT tapes for transcription practice and also try to help my grads find jobs. Before this I designed and taught a Medical Transcription Course for the State of California. Talk to your local teachers. Any teacher worth her salt will be happy to discuss curriculum, required skills, where to find jobs, etc. Ask if they use the recommended AAMT tapes for training. Hope this helps. Rosie -- an oooold teacher

Schools [2008-09-17]
What school do I choose? They all claim to be the one. It is very difficult to choose. Does anyone work with a MAC rather than a PC?

Isn't clearly mumbles an oxymoron? no message [2008-08-13]

SCHOOLS [2008-07-24]
Dear Toni et al., I totally agree with hiring people NOT from the listed schools. Here are 2 reasons: 1. I've been teaching Medical Transcription and Medical Terminology in a technical college in Maine for 7 years -- and 15 years before that in San Francisco. Transcribed early in my career, then ran a hospital department and a transcription service My school uses the approved reference material and the AAMT tapes for training, and we have had graduates I would have hired in a minute, were I still doing that work. I came from a background as medical editor, not what we call QA now, but published medical textbooks, so you can imagine how particular I am! My first transcription job was with Vera Pyle. Remember her? So, I guess you could say I was qualified to teach, right? We charge around $220/semester for each class, so it's a real bargain, too. Best regards, Rosemarie Danelle 2. I recently tutored a student privately from 1 of the so-called,top-rated schools (Email me personally if you want their name)and found HUGE errors in her corrections, not to mention inconsistencies from Editor to editor working with her. Also found grammatical and spelling errors in the editors' Emails to her. Absolutely horrifying, and it cost more than $4,000 for the course.

Regarding schools - did you ever notice that (see message) [2008-07-19]
people who chose AHP, Penn Foster, etc. who managed to find a job afterwards, even in their own words state they were lucky enough or blessed enough to get on with a company, usually small and/or local. For every 2 or 3 of those posts, what about the literally hundreds of posts around the internet from grads of those same schools who have been unable to find a job, because everyone wants experience. They say will only hire with experience because you have told them you went to an inferior school, got a poor education, and probably can't pass their employment test, so they don't want to waste their time on you. So you can listen to the rare, occasional person who was lucky enough or blessed enough to get a job after taking a less expensive, inferior course, or you can listen to the people all over the internet who wish they had chosen Andrews or M-Tec (or even CS). No skin off my teeth.

staffing schools is what I call them [2008-07-18]
I don't want to mention who I work for because it is a small world among the larger companies and schools and I don't want any hard feelings or job grief. I'm too old now to start over!! Medical Transcription Staffing schools are not the retail type of schools we normally think of; the ones who advertise on Google, Yahoo and MSN. These schools specialize in training groups of students for an MT company all at one time. Or they provide small groups on a regular basis. These types of schools also exist in other fields. They work on what I would call wholesale margins because they don't incur as much overhead and they deal in larger numbers. Rather than promote who we use I'll find one for this board as an example. I can Google or Yahoo the web and should be able to find one. I'll do it this weekend, if I can remember. Toni

No! There are more than 3 "top" schools. [2008-07-17]
There are plenty of other good schools out there. Just do you research. A school does not have to be AHDI approved to be a good school either. Just make sure that their curriculum follows closely what AHDI recommends. That way you will be on the right track when you have completed your course.

"Staffing Schools"??? [2008-07-17]
In another thread someone was mentioning staffing schools as the place their companygoes to to get new employees, NOT to M-Tec, CS, or Andrews. But they didn't care to mention who their company is... What are these staffing schools? Anyone know about them and if this is true?

Schools and finances [2008-07-16]
Hello. I'm currently on disability and have an extremely tight budget. I was looking into becoming an MT to supplement my husband's income. The only school I found that would work with me on payments was At Home Professions. I looked into the top 3 that everyone is always talking about and none of them were willing to work with me. Is it really going to be completely impossible for me to find work after completing that school? Thank you in advance.

staffing schools?? [2008-07-16]
Would you be opposed to telling me the name of the employer you work for?

and yes I know there are typos in my message (nm) [2008-07-13]

Most companies will not hire grads of the "cheap" schools, so it's a waste of money. [2008-07-12]
Their courses are crap, and the people who do the hiring know it. They don't teach you anywhere near enough for you to be able to work at home on your own. Also, you will have very little time to study/learn (or work, for that matter) with that many children. You need it quiet, and you need to be able to concentrate. You can't do this job with children running around, or on your lap, or at your feet. You have to do it when they are sleeping, or at school, or have someone watch them (which will most likely cost you money).

See message inside. [2008-07-10]
If she's already made her decision, I suppose this doesn't matter much. But the fact is, if she takes the course from Andrews or M-TEC, she will indeed be able to pass most TRANSCRIPTION (not typing) tests right out of school. Many companies will waive the 2-year experience requirement for grads of those two schools because of the excellent training. Also, she should not need an internship if she takes the course from Andrews or M-TEC.

Transcription schools, internships and jobs. [2008-07-08]
Transcription schools, internships and jobs. Recently I was asked some good questions by a friend looking into becoming an MT. She was doing her homework before starting school. She had done enough research to be able to ask some really good questions. She wanted to train and work at home. She found courses from $1200 for mail order, to $2100 from a big internet school with all kinds of other degrees offered too, and then over $3400 for a very long but good course from a school teaching only medical transcription. She also stumbled on a school offering a special course for an MT company; $1900 for the basic education, an internship and a guaranteed job. So by then she was completely lost. She had 5 questions. I realized this is a big issue for transcription school students who can’t see the big picture. I think this whole thing stirs up most of us as we remember our training. Her Questions: 1 How do I determine if the school offers a good basic education? 2 Do I need internship training after my basic medical transcription class? 3 If I don’t do an internship, how do I meet the two-year experience requirement so many companies require? 4 Will I be able to pass typing tests given by employers if I’ve never typed real dictation? 5 Should I take an internship with a transcription company that promises to hire me after the 6 weeks of internship? I wanted to help and wasn’t sure how to at first. I reflected back on my training and my own internship. I’ve also seen the subject from the employer’s point of view as a QA supervisor. So I answered her this way and I’d like to see what others think. Newbies and students should get a lot out of this. • New graduates can rarely pass typing tests no matter which school they went to from my experience. • I have supervised initial training and internships and have found most student’s prior education to be very poor. Most new grads are not ready to produce much transcription of quality for a couple of months. • After interning, the newbies often quit shortly after training and the investment of my time was wasted. Most quit because they didn’t like the job or the hours, it wasn’t the pay. • What MT company would want to act as a newbie trainer and have many quit or move on to other companies? They’d have huge turnover. • Summing up, I’d say make sure the school offers a good basic education followed by an internship and strong post graduate job support. In fact, a guaranteed job if you can find it. If they don’t offer internship and grad support they probably have a weak basic class too. Stay with the first company for 2 years to learn the profession. After 2 years you’ve got the basis of a good looking resume and your new career is dependable. She thanked me and made her decision.

See message [2008-07-05]
From what I've read from other students who have graduated from those programs, you shouldn't have a hard time finding work once completing the programs. They have a really good reputation and so companies hire right out of the program. Iwork from home, but I also work as an RT 1 day a week at a hospital, so I don't feel isolated. When I did work completely from home, I felt isolated. Personally, I need the social contact. I think as long as you stay active with your friends and family, it shouldn't be an issue. :)

Online MT schools?? [2008-06-17]
Hi. I just signed up for Allied MT School. Have any of you graduated from there, and did you like it? Also, did you have any problem getting a job after graduating? I am a bit discouraged with some of the negative reviews. Thank you.

MT Online Schools [2008-06-04]
I am looking for an online school for MT. Forgive my ignorance about this. I have no clue where to start. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks.

Those are absolutely the 2 best schools. [2008-05-28]
You can't go wrong with either one, they are worth every penny. I chose a less expensive school, and if I had it to do over, I would definitely choose either Andrews or M-TEC.

Andrews School and M-TEC are the absolute best schools. [2008-05-16]
Career Step is a distant third. Any other are not worth the money and nobody will waive the 2-year's experience for any schools but those.

See message... [2008-05-12]
We do not grammar police at MTStars. As was stated, MTs come to this site to relax, for enjoyment. If one is searching for employment, the appropriate avenue is to send a resume to a potential employer. Whether there are mistakes in one's resume is not the problem of the posters here. A simple post here will not always be an accurate portrayal of one's skills, and I think it is unfair to assume such. Moderator

See message... [2008-05-12]
It is grammar policing. It is not appropriate here. We do not allow employment-seeking posts on the boards; therefore, the posts here are not directed toward potential employers. If you spot a mistake in someone's post and you feel the need to say something,please do itpolitely via E-mail. Moderator

Be honest. Which of those "matchbook" schools do YOU work for? [2008-05-08]
Or are you afraid of competition from well-trained MTs? Just contact MT companies and ask, and you will see how many of them DON'T hire grads from schools other than the top 3 because they are not educated enough and most of them cannot pass employment tests, that's why so many companies won't even let them test and just give them the you need 2 years' experience line.

Absolutely untrue - no school here [2008-11-24]
I never attended or graduated ANY school! Hired off the street at a hospital 5 years ago, due to my coding/billing background - I didn't even apply to be an MT, they asked me to try it. After 3 years left the hospital, applied to a major MTSO, hired immediately on the results of my test,after a year applied toa differentmajor MTSO, again hired immediately due tomy test scores. Soif 2 of the major MTSOs (Spheris and Webmedx) hired unofficially trained, uncredentialed little old ME,it proves schools and credentialsdon't pertain - its skillsthat matter.

Great post [2008-11-20]
I, too, am tired of hearing that there are only 2 schools to go to to get MT training. I hadn't even HEARD of either of them when I decided to be an MT and I've been working at home since I graduated over 4 years ago.

Quit telling people they HAVE TO GRADUATE FROM ANDREWS (sm) [2008-11-16]
to get a freaking job in this field. I didn't go to any overpriced overrated schools, I have my own accounts and I make well over $40K a year.I have plenty of work (too much in fact) and I amso sick and tired of you people saying the only schools that are qualified are Andrews or M-Tech. If you want to work for a slave-wage national, sure, then spend your money and get the good credentials and see how long it takes you to get your $ back. However, if you want to succeed, it's possible without being suckered in if you are willing to pound the pavement, sell yourself and do a good job. It is possible. I, for one, am proof of that and frankly I'm sick and tired of all the negativity towards people who didn't go to the coddled 2 schools. Most smaller MTSOs don't give a flip about where you got your education. We care that you can do the job. Period.

bah humbug [2008-11-16]
AHDI-approved indeed. Great intro into the war-is-peace world of AHDI, big fat facilitators of offshoring & traffickers of the CMT credential. They want you to believe that you need their organization (which you don't), so that they can continue to fatten their bottom line along with their tool of the crime, Prometric. There are plenty of good schools, & in the end it depends more on the initiative of the student both during and after MT school.

AHDI.........s/m [2008-11-16]
I agree with deenibeeni, this has nothing to do with getting hired or not. Most of the MTSOs and clients do not care about the AHDI and if the schools are accredited or not. Clients set their own format requirements, often disregarding AHDI rules. They know about M-Tec and Andrews, which are the 2 best schools and prepare the MTs better than the other schools, but who can afford them? Otherwise, I do not think that there is a big difference between one or the other MT school. Once hired there is a lot of on-the-job learning, especially technically.

How I did it and have been doing for over 10 years.... [2008-11-14]
Okay, it is time to let the cat out of the bag on how you are going to be successful as a Transcriptionist out of school. The first thing I am seeing is that these schools promise that you will be working from home making in upwards of $40,000 a year. Forget about that. You are new to this. If you come out of school working on a production basis you may very well fall flat on your face and make $3 an hour by the end of the day. I was a transcriptionist for almost 5 years working for a hospital and I decided I could make more working on a production basis.......I failed miserably my first year. First off, get experience under your belt and make an hourly rate in the meantime. How did I do this? Well, I started out getting a job in a hospital, any job I could get. I started out in billing, even though I wanted transcription. I watched and waited for openings, when finally someone in the psychiatric unit called me (I made friends with everyone, the key to getting calls like this one)and said they were losing their transcriptionist and I should apply. I applied and got my first transcription job, making an hourly rate. Had I not gotten pregnant with twins I would probably still be there. After babies were born, went back part time in the evenings. This time since I had experience and another local hospital was willing to hire me in the radiology department. Again, hourly. I watched and waited once again (I hated radiology transcription). I got to know who was in charge in the transcription department. I sent her a fax asking her if she needed any part time help (back then there was no work related email). She said, yes, I could work part time (I now had experience). The part time went to full time with benefits. However, I got bored and decided to work for, of all companies, Medquist. I thought with my speed I would be making at least $20 an hour.....hahahahahahahahaha, what a joke. I was lucky to make $8 an hour with them. After about a year of struggling I finally got my foot back in the door of a hospital in another state. I had to commute to the hospital every day during training, it was awful, however, now I again work from home, have the ability to make about $20 or more per hour, I own my own home, own a half decent car, I am divorced and don't take any child support from my ex, instead we share in the custody 50/50. The moral of my story........ Get your foot in the door. Look for jobs that are front desk, secretarial, whatever. Once you are in there and they realize how great you are you can go wherever you want. My first transcription job in the psychiatric unit also involved secretarial duties, so not just straight transcription. I highly recommend getting into a hospital. The bennies are the best and lots of hospital transcriptionists are working from home with full hospital benefits. If you can't get into a hospital, get into anywhere where you can do some sort of typing/transcription, that way you have your first reference/experience when you apply to a company that is strictly work from home. Everyone wants experience, they just don't want to be the ones to give itto you. I am so tired of seeing these schools and companies swindle people. If you are looking into training, I highly recommend your local community college. You will probably take some credit college courses that will be able to be used should you decide to do something else. My local community college has a course for under $3000 and there are college credit courses that are able to be used towards another degree. I did my training as a medical assistant, transcription was only part of the course. However, now I am so bored with transcription that I am going back to school to be a nurse. I hope this helps someone out there. Good luck to you all!

I'm sorry that this happened to you guys. [2008-11-13]
It's so frustrating, I sure wish more people would check into these schools and ask questions before they plunk down their money. For just a bit more than that $3000 you could've attended either Andrews School or M-TEC, which are the two best schools out there. And it definitely would've been cheaper than paying Allied AND then paying Career Step. Unfortunately, even when people DO ask questions beforehand, and they are told that these schools are inferior, there's always SOMEBODY who managed to find a job after completing these bogus courses and they don't hesitate to insist that you don't need to pay the money for the good courses. Just because a few people get lucky, they are definitely WAY outnumbered by the people with your same complaints who cannot get hired without shelling out more money for a REAL MT education.

Good Luck [2008-11-12]
Good luck finding a job. I took a course that was not through one of the top 3 schools and finally found a job at home, online, and I got ripped off after working there for 8 months as their checks started bouncing. Needless to say I could not find another job because I did not have enough experience and I did not take the right course. I was forced to go back to work in the field that I was in before I quit to work at home. You have to be careful. I wasted thousands of dollars and really got nowhere. If it looks too good to be true, it is.

ALLIED [2008-11-11]
Okay, so I am about 85% done with the Allied Business School Medical transcription course. I have done very well and gotten pretty much 90% to 100% up until this point, whereas now, as it is getting increasingly difficult am struggling through getting 80% to 90% when I'm lucky. But here's my question to you all. I have been reading through the posts here on Allied and needless to say, it has NOT been encouraging. I realize that with any message board there is a lot of negativitiy if you are searching for it. I have learned a lot. I quit work almost 2 years ago to be at home and concentrate on the studying. We are in desperate need of my income in our family and I am beginning to worry that I made the wronog choice in choosing Allied. They told me that there was job placement with benefits upon graduation. Now, I read here and see that I may have been misinformed. So, what would you do if you were me? I in now way would quit at this point after investing over $3000. But, should I search for further study or just hope that I can find work and if not, try Walmart? I plan on really going all out, but we can't afford an additional 2-year-long search for employment after taking 2 years off for study!

Best way to be taught [2008-10-29]
Just wondering how the top schools teach. The course I took I thought focused too much on terms and body systems and not enough on nitty gritty about actual dictation, formatting, labs, and other report-based information. Anyone out there get top-notch education? What are your thoughts on it all?

If you are just out of school you don't have the [2008-10-20]
experience to get your own accounts. This is nothing against you personally. I would suggest you trying to get a job with a national or work in-house in your local area for a while. U.S. Career Institute isn't one of the better schools and once you actually start working you'll realize how much you don't know.

Work at home? [2008-10-13]
You can get hired after completing a local college program, but it all depends on the college and how local employers view it. Most programs focus on entry-level skills and few employers have entry-level jobs and the time to train people who should have gotten that training in school. It's very unlikely that you'll be able to even apply at a national service to work from home because they require at least 2 years experience in acute care dictation. They make exceptions for grads of certain schools, like Andrews and M-Tec, because those grads don't have entry-level skills--they look like they have 2 years experience already. They also know those grads have a good chance at making a success of the job. Ask your instructors which employers will hire you. Ask the employers NOW if they'll hire you. Don't settle for vague promises. If they can't refer you to actual students who got jobs, then cut your losses now and find a better school. You can find a local job typing for doctors offices, but you'll have to work at it. With your background, you might be able to break into it by getting a job as a medical secretary.

Difficulty finding work despite decent grades from Andrews [2008-10-06]
Angela, I am a recent grad of Andrews--one of the top two schools recommended--and I graduated with a grade average of 97.9. Contrary to popular opinion, Andrews' grads do not have several job offerings available to them as soon as they finish up school. The graduate is basically on her/his own as far as scrounging up a job. Having Andrews on my resume only allows me to test for a few MTSOs that would not have even given me an e-mail response. It is not an automatic door-opener at all. I am having a difficult time finding employment because there are only so many entry-level positions available for new grads. There appears to be a glut of newbies. The economic decline is not helping either. I have passed every single acute care transcription test where I was allowed to test, and I am on many waiting lists for future openings. I am reallylucky that I am disabled and at least have some money coming in that pays the mortgage. I can wait for an opening, and I don't have to sign on with those MTSO that preys on newbies who can't find jobs. If folks from the top schools are having difficulty finding employment, just imagine how much more difficult it is for someone that has only completed a low-quality matchbook-type MT education. I wouldn't waste any money on the Penn folks. Kathleen

Depends on if you want a job or not. [2008-10-04]
If you need to work at home and want to get a job right out of school, there are only two reliable choices, Andrews or MTec. Read the archives. Look at the numbers of people who complain about not being able to get a job after graduating. It's not because there are no jobs -- jobs in MT go begging. It's not because they're stupid, either. It's because only two schools teach MT effectively enough to virtually guarantee you a job. They cost more for a reason--they have hgh-quality programs with instructors. National services will test and hire their grads without hesitation, and those grads invariably get up to speed quickly and make it past the 2-3 month point of employment.

MTEC does offer financial assistance. [2008-10-01]
While MTEC is expensive it is also one of the top 2 MT schools out there. You get what you pay for. Also, they do accept financial aid. Check out their site, they have a person on staff that handles situations just like yours! (Oh yea, I am a student at MTEC!)

Same suggestion plus . . . [2008-09-21]
I think some distance MT schools will be able to work with you if you have a MAC. You would be able to complete school, which will take about a year, before you have to think about a new computer. If you attend a school which will prepare you for a job with a national service, you might not need to worry about the new computer, because the employer is likely to supply one. In other words, trying to plan a career around a soon-to-be-outdated model of a computer you now have isn't worthwhile. If you want to do MT, do it without concern for whether you will eventually need to use a new or different computer.

Spend some time reading through posts on this board [2008-09-17]
and you'll find your info about the preferred schools and the ones to avoid. I don't know of any MT company that is setup to work with MAC.

Financial Assistance??? [2008-09-15]
I am currently a full-time-college-student-but-otherwise-SAHM. Pretty soon we'll be needing more money, but I have neither time nor resources (day care around here is INSANELY expensive) to work outside the home. I've been doing the reasearch and have come to the conclusion that MT is a good job option for me. The problem is the training is sooo expensive! I mean,if we didn't need the money I wouldn't be looking for the training to begin with--so obviously I don't have $1600-4000 up front for the training. And most of the payment plans I see aren't looking much better--like $1000 up front, $350 every month after that. Right now that's just not feasable. Are there any MT schools that offer reasonable financial assistance? Or, I'd even be cool with a payment deferment plan or something! Anybody know of a school that's willing to help the financially strapped?

$350??? [2008-09-15]
The training has a cost because the schools have expenses. The better schools have more expenses in the way of providing better materials and actual instructors rather than do-it-yourself computer programs. Providing training for you isn't free for them, so you can see that it's reasonable to expect to have to pay something for training. Yes, there are schools that will set you up with a loan if you qualify. I don't know how that would work with you being in college already. Do you have loans for that, as well? Andrews, which is $3800, does have a payment plan stretching over two years. With a down payment of $1000, doesn't that come out to less than $120 a month. A no-interest payment plan over 24 months is not a bad offer at all. I don't know what school ends up being $350. The more immediate problem is that if you intend to go to college full time, you might not have enough time for MT. If you actually intend to get a job, you need to attend a school that will enable you to get a job. And that means you'll have to pay and you'll have to spend a considerable amount of time studying MT.

It is very difficult w/o formal training! [2008-09-09]
I know people that went to one of the top 3 schools and still have problems as a newbie getting work, without 2 years experience! I don't know about interships, especially without training. As far as the money, I am new and cannot tell you much about that. With a Master's degree, I would think that you would make more than any of us?! What do you plan on doing with your degree?

Now I'm worried about my schooling [2008-09-08]
I've been reading some of the posts on here and it sounds like a lot of people bash Penn Foster and don't think they are really a legit program. Is this true? I certainly hope I didn't waste my money and all this time by choosing a program that I thought would teach me what I needed to learn and because I had to pick something that wasn't crazy expensive and not one of the best schools. I'm just worried that I'm not going to be able to find work doing this once I'm finished.

They are legit, just not good. To take their courses you have to have [2008-09-08]
8th grade education, which should tell you they aren't that great right there. My teen son took one of their courses (not MT). It was very poorly written, if you flunk a test you can take it again and they will pass you, even if you flunk it again. There were lots of errors in it too. I would look into a different program to take or try to find a menitoring program. It is difficult for people who have gone to some of the better schools to get jobs. Penn Foster does not have agood reputation so it will be much more difficult for you to get a job. I would try to find something local where you could work in-house for at least 2 years to get some experience.

Needing Advice [2008-09-06]
I'm thinking about taking an online MT course so I can work from home for extra money. ( i am a respiratory therapist in a hospital) Will the income I receive doing this be worth the time and money? Also what online schools does anyone recommend? Should it be accredited by the ADHI organization? Do you need to be certified to get a decent job working from home?

Career Step vs. MTec [2008-09-05]
I have been researching MT schools. I've narrowed it down to two: Career Step & MTec. Which one should I choose? Thanks

Don't waste your $ on AHP.....sm [2008-09-02]
I took their course and will not recommend it to anyone. First of all, they fail to tell you is that most companies won't hire you if you don't have at the very least 2 years experience not including school. And a lot want even more than that. It took me almost a year to find a job and for many others I've read about a lot longer. If you research on the boards you'll find that's a very common problem. However, you'll also find a few who found jobs right away. By the way, I'm not trying to be discouraging about becoming an MT, just stating that AHP made it sound like you'll get a job right away and you'll be rolling in the money in no time. HA! The other thing, and this is what really, really has me so irked about them is that they teach you using standard cassettes for dictation. There are very few doctors who use them, or mini/micro cassettes, anymore. Most have gone with the MTSOs. That being said, they teach you absolutely NOTHING about the MTSOs, the platforms, expansions, templates, standards,etc. Come to think of it, I don't even know HOW they dictate. I think some use their cell phones or something portable. All I know is it's nota cassette player.I have absolutely no idea. Not that it's really important but it would just be kind of nice to know. T They also don't teach you about ASR, VRS. There was 1 little bity paragraph about it in course 5. All it said was basically that it exists. AND...at the company I work for, the MT's pay actually decreased (by about 30%, I believe) when they got put on ASR. As far as the med term, AP and other subjects......medicine has come a long way from when those lessons were printed! Oh, I did get a chuckle when they said you could use a typewriter if you don't have a computer. Another thing,the tapes they give youareeveryone's dream dictators.If I could have those docs every single day my line count would be through the roof! I'd be rich!! AHP mentions a little something about ESL docs but don't tell ya anything about the American docs who dictate like they're are in the Indy 500 for dictation (it sounds something like this: dflhofhdfhdkljoehkej....), nor the docs who think it's okay to dictate in the middle of the cafeteria during lunch hour, the ones who carry on conversations with other people while dictating, so you're wasting time which is money to you, or the docs who dictate while driving. That one's fun. You get to listen to their radio, the wind from the windows, a train, screaming kids in the backseat, the spouse in the passenger seat talking loudly on the cell. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, when it comes to dictating, these people with these 10 years + education and fancy degrees lack common sense when it comes to dictation. (By the way, you even get an occasional doc who doesn't think you can hear the grunts, gas and plops when they're using the freaking bathroom!!!) You'll here slurping from drinks, burps, blowing noses, passinggas,hacking, gum chewing/popping. That's just to name a few. You name it, we've heard it. Don't get me wrong, we do get those perfect dictations also, but not as often as we'd like and not often enough to make the kind of money we'd like. That's just a few of the things AHP doesn't teach you about. There's a lot more you'll find out when you get a job. I think a major factor in myself getting a job was my 10+ years of experience in the medical field. Don't take this wrong. Like I said, I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming an MT. Some love it, some hate it. I actually like it. I justwould encourage you to at least research other schools (even your community college, which call it medical language specialist instead of medical transcriptionist) before you decide.It may cost a little more, but it's worth it in the long run. This is definitely a case of where you get what you pay for. Besides, a lot of the employers take into account where you got your training from. I guarantee, if they had a grad from AHP versus a grad from Andrew's or MTec, they'll hire thethe one from Andrew's or MTec first. Oh, AHP doesn't help you find a job either. They give you a little packet about making business cards, talking to local docs, etc. Pretty much stuff you learned in high school when they were preparing you for the work force.