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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

My SIL finished a course at a local college

Posted By: sm on 2007-06-03
In Reply to: A friend of a friend is taking CareerStep - sm - XXX

She got a job on-site and could be sent home, but she has decided to cross-train for a management position.  If she takes it, the salary is $65,000.00 per year.  So tell me there isn't money in this business.  She just finished her course!!! 




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Your local community college...

It will cost a **** of a lot less, and your education will be just as good.  Many will tell you that you only get help in job placement, externship, be ready to work, etc. via Andrews, etc., but that's just not true because they just don't know any better.  Besides, that's a great sales pitch/gimmick, isn't it? 


In learning this field, you need a classroom setting and hands' on experience/instruction. You'll see exactly what I mean when you get in the thick of it, or even starting out in learning it, for that matter.


I went to a local community college
I started working for a small local MTSO.
Local community college nm
x
Check out your local community college -SM
I can't speak for all of them, but the one I went to offered externship programs and job placements for their best and brightest students.  An acquaintenance of mine also got her MT training at a local college, and they did the same thing.  Be careful, however, of the online courses.  They cost a lot of money - much, much more than your local college, and you won't get the hands-on training or be able to get your questions answered in a flash with them as you would in an actual college setting.  Also, an associate's degree at a college is much more impressive than admitting you received your training via an online course.  That, to me, just sounds so "fly by night."   
I vote for local community college.
If you attend a community college, it helps to network.  If you do on-line training, you won't have the social part of your training.  Also, it helps to try and find an on-site position at first to gain the knowledge although since you are already in a clerical position, you probably know more about anatomy and the hospital/medical setting than you even think.  I wish you all the best.  Another good thing about a local community college is that sometimes they know of great jobs because the teachers are also employed or know of jobs.  You will have a certificate of training in an MT program, but a certified MT is done through the AAMT or whatever it is now, and is not worth the money in my opinion.  You wind up after paying a few hundred dollars getting to put CMT after your name, but not when you transcribe a report.  For example, even CMTs cannot put XXX/xxx, CMT if you catch my drift.  
I went to a local business college which sucked.

My first job was a p.r.n. position with a local hospital filling in for vacations and people off sick.  That's where the real education came from.


I graduated from a local community college. sm
Had my first job before graduation but it was in-house with hourly pay and great benefits. Those are very hard to find anymore. I worked in-house for my first 2 years and then went on maternity leave picking up side work through a company for more income. Realized I was tripling my money going from hourly to production by that time, turned in my notice, and never looked back. Been at home ever since. If at all possible, in the beginning I would recommend to anyone to work inhouse even if it is for a transcription company. The value of having other "ears" is definitely not something to take for granted. I also learned as much as I could while getting that hourly pay as time is money when on production. I have to say I probably would not be near as proficient of an MT today had it not been all those hours learning and having another ear around to help out when stuck.

You bring up a point too though that I haven't really thought about before....With all the transcription being outsourced out of the office, it is only going to get much more difficult for anyone to get those breaks and get the required "experience" as a beginner.
See if your local college has an MT program that you can just take certain units of, like terminol
s
I'm going to a local community college for culinary arts, I'm 52. nm
xxx
Your local community college. Just as good and a heckofalot cheaper!
 
I probably read about it on MSN or someone mentioned it to me. Maybe call local college or JUCO
?
Well, not really. In college I did a gruelng intership at a local express emergency clinic and got p
gas, lunch, uniform, etc., AND the head doctor ended up sexually harrassing me! I kid you not! So, I don't think anyone without any experience getting paid 3 cents to learn MT in their own home setting is half bad.....It could be worse. They could ask you to do it for free.

PS: My college major was nursing.
If you want to work at a local hospital or doctor's office, go to community college. Otherwise
if you want to work from home, for a national company, you need to take the course from either Andrews School or M-TEC. It does you no good to save money by taking the Penn Foster course, because most companies will NOT hire grads from that school, it is a poor course and does NOT prepare you sufficiently for MT work.
Either one are 9 month courses at the local community college..worth a shot!
!!!
How about your local community college and save a heap of money & get just as good of an education?
  
Pharmacy tech 15 weeks, polysomnography 7 month course at local community college..worth a shot!
!!!
Buy local. The local stores pay taxes to support your city and state. (SM)
Using online and catalogues does nothing to promote the local economy.  We complain about outsourcing and about the big companies gobbling up all the work so the jobs at local hospitals are gone, yet we do the same thing when we buy on ebay, catalog, and these web sites that may be located any place in the world as their primary business location. 
I went local. Great local tech support, they know what I do and were able to set it up just for me
:)
No, I just was finished with my break and had to
get back to work. VPN is not connecting and I'm on hold with tech support.

There are a few things that would make me leave: A really harsh line rate cut for the same work; being forced to be an employee with a set schedule are two reasons that come to mind immediately.
OMG! Just finished listening to a doc with the -
next thing to laryngitis!  What a treat that was!
oops - sent before I finished ...
Now for 2007, they are planning to start sending 20% of our local plant's work overseas. Twenty percent of my little town's factory workers from this place will be out of a job. This is just the start.


Finally finished, no dead air.

Just finished. Took an hour. No blanks. Going to
and drink a beer lol
36+ years. I wish I had finished my Masters. sm
The field is changing. I would never recommend it.  I do not see a bright future. 
Just Finished Treatment for Sciatica

I was diagnosed with sciatica/piriformis syndrome about a month ago. My physiatrist sent me to physical therapy for Graston therapy and iontophoresis. I was to the point where I had to sleep in my recliner with a heating pad on my hip. Of course, this is the result of sitting for too long......a battle wound common to the medical transcriptionist.


The Graston therapy is pretty painful and you really wonder how it could possibly help. The iontophoresis consisted of a patch with two large circular pads connected by an electrode. The pads are soaked with dexamethasone. The patch is then stuck to the butt for 24 hours. It's painless, except I pulled off a couple of layers of skin when I removed them. I had this done about 5-6 different times over a three-week period. I was also taught some gentle stretches to stretch these muscles, which I haven't been too diligent about doing.


Bottom line is that I completed my PT about two weeks ago and I haven't had any pain since then. I hope you get some relief for your condition. I know how very painful it can be.


 


Just finished 150 minutes today
Still have 30 to go. 
Just finished jury duty....
Ended up getting almost as much reimbursement for jury duty as I would have working, when mileage was figured in. Only had to be there 2 days, so it wasn't a hardship. Met some interesting people and was overall a positive experience. I was VERY reluctant, but was glad I did it.
Wait. I misunderstood. MS4 = student, a Mr. - R4 = MD, but not finished SM
with residency in his specialty.
My son just finished is enlistment..best thing that every happened to him..I sent them my son..they
nm
Do they hire people that haven't finished their MT course yet?
I'd like to know what kind of test they give people, folks who have barely even started the transcription portion of their MT course, yet they're being hired as MTs. Gives us all a bad name.
I just finished training, which I thought was GREAT! sm
The platform is EXText, although I think they have others. I like the way they seem better organized than other companies I've tried. I'll let you know about the 2-week honeymoon period whether the "marriage" will last or not!
I do the same thing. Then when the report is finished, I scan back through
the whole report to make sure I didn't leave any stop code markers behind, and listen to each blank once again.
Pole (North): Have U finished ur Christmas shopping?
I'll start: NO!
homemade potato soup, cornbread, and just finished

Just finished Black Creek Crossing - he never lets ya down :-)
x
You might be sending finished work back to an FTP site
s
Well I just finished watching Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. How that for an evening. N
:
my friend just finished her BSN 2 years ago, working 32 hr/week making $60K with benefits nm
x
Wants high quality finished product at 3 cpl editing and 6-8 cpl straight typing. Also rumored she
doesnt like to pay in a timely manner. I passed..
A nice sunny room just for me in our finished lower level. Love my cocoon room.
:+
I'm in college myself ...
Do you have an undergraduate bulletin from the U? If not, GET ONE TODAY. Look at the degree programs. He must pick out a major and register and be assigned an Academic Advisor first.

Make sure he fills out his FASFA anyway and has it sent to the university. Just because you make $40K does not mean he should not qualify for grants or scholarships whatsoever. I don't know who told you that or if you just are assuming that, but it is not true.
A university has many, MANY avenues for financial aid. He will be assigned a financial aid counselor and you need to call up there right now, TODAY (if he is planning on attending this fall semester in about 5 weeks) and go talk to the immediately. Do you know the FASFA website? Have you filled it out? You MUST fill it out, it will be processed and sent to the university, then they will send him an award letter and you can go from there.

Now, student loans are not bad debt at all. It is an investment in your future. Just make sure you are borrowing responsibly an amount that can be paid back easily. As well, it will not hurt him one bit to pay his own student loans back and/or you pay just part of them. He should have to be payint and investing in his OWN future.

He probably needs to find a part-time job, period. Nothing wrong with that. It will teach him discipline and show you whether he is serious about an education or not. If he has registered already (and he should have if he is attending this fall ... if he hasn't and wants to go, REGISTER TODAY)...you know when his classes are and he can hit the pavement today on finding a part-time job.

You've have a bad experience as far as academic counseling at the junior college -- at least from your description, I would call that near idiocy. At the U, he will have to claim a major and it should have a sports program so that should not be a problem. Do NOT---NOT---NOT---NOT just "put him in a major". This is his education. It must be what HE wants.

There's not a lot you can do until you:
1) Fill out that FASFA and process it
2) Call the U, physically go in with your son and see a Financial Aid Advisor
3) Register, see your Academic Advisor and get your classes

If I can help you in anyway, let me know.
I had it in college
I went for PT - they did u/s and massage and heat application. Also, I received medication via (I am going to get this wrong I think) iontophoresis.

I had to change the way I held my food trays (I was a waitress) and do some exercises with a one pound weight.

It resolved with cessation of what was causing the problem in the first place. Every so often it comes close to flaring back up if I am not careful. Now my big problem is mild tendinitis in my thumb .

I never needed surgery though I have heard some people do if it gets really bad.

Did they do the Finklestein test (is that what its called?) on you to dx it? Its where they have you make a fist and then they flex your wrist down. I yelped and almost kicked the dr!

Good luck.
What did you go to college for? nM
x
I was in college before
I attended college off and on from 1989 - 1997. It will only take me a year to complete what I started.
college or not (I did) - what you do....sm

What a person does for their entire lifetime is a career, a profession.  Some of us went to college, some graduated, some never went to college.  Who cares?  I spent 27 years doing this so yep, it has become my profession......worked Wall Street for 3 years in the 60s-70s, well that was my profession at the time (decade).  Worked restaurants as a kitchen manager for 5 years - that was my profession during those 5 years and what a chef I am....*LOL*


Worked in a major teaching hospital for 10 years PRIOR to doing full-time MT work.....so yep - the medical profession is my profession and I'm a paraprofessional !!!


Dream on..........


For College - sm
You may want to check with the school. At FSU, your laptop needs to have specific programs/capabilities if you want to take it to class with you to use in class, and also to download from their blackboard on the internet.

My tech also agrees Toshibas are the best and I was lucky that the Toshiba was compatible with many of the requirements.
college or not
I graduated in 2004 with an Associate Degree in Medical Office Administration, Office Systems Technology, when I was 18 yrs. old I went to nursing school and then worked a few years as an LPN. I don't regret my college or degrade college in any way, but, most employers want an experienced MT but won't give anyone a chance to prove that someone just starting out can do the job.I am now 50 years old, taking care of my disabled husband and CAN NOT get a job at home working as a medical transcriptionist, and can't afford to take the extra tutoring that some suggest. I would just like a chance to make a living, not a bunch of money, just enough to pay my bills.
They are not gone...they just went to college--sm
They will be around more than you think....when they need money...when they need their laundry done...and, of course, holidays. They will miss you too, I am sure. You won't be nearly as lonely as you think you are going to be. lol
College

I have 2 kids in college, one I helped on the front end and because of this career, one I will have to help on the back end (meaning help him pay off his loans while he is in school instead of giving him money up front).  The Stafford loans have very low interest rates right now, the rates went down.  I live in Western NY and there are 2 MT jobs that I know of at one hospital.  The other hospitals don't have inhouse transcriptionists.  One uses a service (used to be my competitor) and they are giving all new residents laptops for EMR and the other gave all their doctors laptops 2 years ago.  I'm tired of MTing to be honest, 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week, first as MTSO as qualified people were hard to come by and then because either the service didn't pay, didn't pay on time or didn't have any work so I have needed to work for more than one.  I would love to do anything else.


Thanks - I have 1 in college and 1 soon to be..nm
x
kid drinks in college
And what are you gonna do if you kid does drink at college??  Kidnap him/her and deprogram them?  They are adults when they are in college.  I would hope by the time a child gets to be 17, 18, they have been taught right from wrong and no I would not want to know if my child was partying and drinking in college.  They are living a normal young adults life.  I would want to know he/she is having fun and doing their studies and, of course, if they became a drug addict or alcoholic, they I will be there but normal partying for young adults, Im okay with that..better than being tied to my apron strings.