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Awful place for a newbie to start! Indian techs, uneven work load, very little help along the way.

Posted By: Friend had a terrible time there! nm on 2007-04-01
In Reply to: Please tell me about Focus, I'm thinking of applying. - Joan

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Wait until you start dealing with their Indian techs, in India!, and run out of work. nm
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I've seen awful work from "experienced MTs and good work from new graduates
I've seen awful work from "experienced MTs and good work from new graduates.

Training and education really does make a difference. Some people just have 15 or 20 years of very bad experience. They may be fortunate that one employer was willing to hire and keep them, but if that one closed, they would be in trouble. It all depends on the person. some new graduates are a better bet then some experienced MTs. I would prefer to find an experienced MT with great skills and a teachable attitude, but many experienced MTs know everything and are only willing to do things the way they've always done them.
A frriend who was there ran out of work all the time (within the last 3 months) & the techs screw
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Time zone difference & work load are what I ask about first as I'm on the east coast. Get up too
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Indian MTs will work for peanuts
so a lot of American hospitals and doctors are using services, some based in India, some based here, that employ Indian MTs in order to save a few pennies. The quality of the work they get back does not seem to be important to them. Much of the MT work being done in India is substandard, but it's cheap, so they get plenty of takers. The offshoring phenomenon is a major contributor to the low line rates U.S. nationals offer to U.S. MTs as well as to the difficulty many MTs are having in finding good employment with plenty of work. You are wise to stay away from the Indian companies. Many American MTs who have worked for Indian companies or Indian-owned companies have had difficulty getting paid and many report being subjected to verbal abuse by their employers.

American jobs for American MTs.
Agree. Ask if the load can be split or if you can do only the later dictated stuff. You
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Newbie looking for work

I am graduating from a community college with a medical transcription diploma. I am feeling a little discouraged because I am having a hard time finding a company willing to hire me to work from home. I feel that I have been extensively trained but so far no one is willing to give me the opportunity. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or know of anyone willing to hire a newbie? Thanks


Newbie work available??

Can anyone inform me of companies hiring less experienced MTs looking for PT work? I trained and interned for 1 1/2 years and actually worked only 7 months but I am eager dependable. Anyone??


Newbie work
I think Spheris will usually hire newbies, so you might want to check them out.
work for newbie
In my opinion, the best way to gain experience is to go to your own family physician and ask if he or she will give you some overflow work.  That is what I did.  She let me type her PA, paid me 10 cents a line, which you will not get with a company, and when her regular Transcriptionist wanted time off, I covered for her eventually typing for the doctor herself as I gained experience. 
Newbie work MT Internships
Just want newbies to know we have a great internship program for those who want to gain experience.  Many of our interns actually continue to work for our clients when the internship is complete.  Email me for info.  You do have to pass a test to participate.  Email me if you are interested.  We have tons of work. Email me:  corie@meditec.com if you are interested.
Finding work for newbie
I was lucky in that my chiropractor who has been my dr for 9 years was looking for an MT during the time I was wrapping up with my schooling. He offered me his account the week after I got my certificate. Local work will probably be your best bet, word of mouth through friends of contacts in the medical community. I also made business cards out and pass them out wherever I can. For now I am getting experience doing his transcriptions, even though its 'low volume' I am working. In time I am sure I will pick up more work along the way. I have also seen that working directly for a local dr/clinic you will make more money per line versus going with a national company. I am working as an IC and love it. Good Luck. :o)
They cost an awful lot (sm)
Much more cost-effective to get your dictators to use an FTP site.
Can you get samples? And if it's truly awful, QA won't
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What an awful person I am trying to get them
away from a bad school. The bottom line is it is a BAD school. Just because people scurry around teaching themselves AFTER graduating from AHP and the likes doesn't mean they were successful because of AHP. They were successful in spite of.

I have talked to dozens of AHP students and graduates wanting me to help them and I have seen the material. To congratulate and praise them on choosing AHP is plain idiotic. If someone reads my negative comments and chooses a different school because of that, great!

Standards are raising in MT even if the pay is not. Companies want to hire people from an MT school and more often than not they want those people to come from a good one.
Except for Indian and Filipino ones. nm
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I bet they are an Indian company. The
Wordwide in their name is a big flag for that.  Also, they don't have a website.  If they want funds to start to work run. 
and they cost an awful lot. TASP's are redundant services for...
MT's who can't figure it out on their own. Why pay forever for files being sent over the Internet when you can get your own software to do it and just pay once?
I hope you lose everything you own because some DEPENDABLE Indian - sm
took your job!!
They are an Indian run company with a store front in the
US.  They give newbies a chance because experienced MTs won't work for them. 
Read the awful comments about SoftScript on the Main board! nm
.
Indian company with base here in USA..stay away..I worked for them once.
I would rather work a lemonade stand before I would work for them again. When you first get the job, you might possibly speak to an American voice. After that you will be dealing with Indian Team Leaders, Indian QA..Indian everything. Not to mention the fact that the Indian QA will tell you that you are wrong on something when you are right. Also, once I had a team leader (Indian, of course)who questioned me on whether or not I knew what headings when into a physical examination...I was transcribing surgery notes. Nonsense like this happened all the time because I would point out the error that QA would make (usually Stedman's to back me).

There are great companies out there who are strictly USA workers, and they are posting on here all the time on the job seeker's board..you just have to keep looking.

Hope that helps! Have a wonderful day!
One different place to look
is Craigslist for your own area.
JanieB, I am in the same place
you are! For about 5 wks now, doing tons of research to decide if I want to do MT, (answer:yes) study locally or online, (online) now should I choose CS or M-Tec? (don't know yet!)
I had decided on CS, but then read alot of real positives about M-Tec. The idea of an assigned teacher is appealing, plus it sounds like their course is alittle more demanding, which in the long run sounds like getting a good job more quickly!
Where are you in your decision making process?
Good luck to you! -Anne :)
What is the best place to train?

Hi there!


I am new to the group and would like to get into Medical Transcription, but there are so many trainig courses on google, and I am not sure which ones are on the up and up. If anyone has a recommendation, I would very much appreciate it! Thanks, Robyn


The best place to train is
in house at a hospital or clinic - honestly. Second best is a reputable online company but you still will need mentoring after you graduate - honestly. Best online schools in my opinion are CAI, Careerstep, Andrews.
No money, wonderful place
I don't believe you have to register to use word help.  Response time depends on the question.  Some of us can figure out what you mean in minutes and some of us take a while and/or may never come up with anything.  It's a great place, though (thanks MTStars!!!).  Highly recommend you bookmark it.  Even if you feel it might be a silly question, just ask!  I was blessed to work in-house my first two years, and I was constantly asking for help! Good luck!
Place your resume on the various job boards.
There is one here and I know other sites have free boards too.  You can also send resumes to local offices/hospitals. 
cheapest place for laptops
I am looking to buy a laptop for my job.  Where is the best and cheapest place to buy a laptop?  Also what do I need to look for in buying one used just for my job?  Speed, etc.
Being in the right place with the right skills at the right time helps too
//
Newibies need to earn a place in the MT field, just like everyone else. sm
talk about disrespect - how about wasting someone's time when you can't do the job or don't want to buy the equipment.
Sorry - posted in wrong place - disregard
.
Would the place that interned you hire you? Local out of house experience would
nm.
it will start low
I started with $200 or less every 2 weeks when I started. Currently, I make around $500+ every two weeks. That's good for me considering I am just doing this part time while taking care of my baby. Hopefully, I can bring that figure up.
Start looking now
It won't hurt to start looking now. I'd go ahead and start sending out resumes and test with any company that will allow you to test with them. One of the most important things companies need to know is that you have skills and a good base background. Actual experience in the market will come after you land that first MT job. Good luck to you.
Where did you start?
Where do newbies get their start? I have been applying everywhere, but everyone wants 2 years experience.

HELP!
Possible start...
I took the classes, graduated high in my group, etc. And I was facing the same problem; nobody wants a newbie that they have to babysit. I actually got my foot in the door through a temporary staffing agency, working in the medical clinic at the county jail. After that, I was on a role -- 1 more in-house position and now I'm an independent contractor. There are companies out there that will take a chance with a newbie (the lady that picked me up on contractor status, for example) and be very patient with them until they learn the ropes.
Don't ever give up (I've been fighting for this for 12 years now, and am finally able to say that I have 2 years under my belt)!
Where/how to start?

Hello,


I am currently looking to find a part-time at home transcription job. I have been endlessly looking at all different websites and just am not sure how to apply myself and what is real or a scam. I've been working as a full-time Certified Ophthalmic Assistant for the past 10 years as well as transcribing consult letters and in office surgical procedure reports.  Though my work experience is all Ophthalmology, I do hold an Associates Degree in Office Technology with courses that included machine transcription, medical/legal terminology, business english, etc...  I also took a refresher course last year in Medical Transcription.  It was a 59 hour course which included medical terminology, typing with daily timed testing and actual transcription from taped dictations. I would really like to expand my experience and skills but am leary on who would consider me with my lack of experience in anything other than Ophthalmology.  My speed was estimated to be 65-70 wpm but I have been trying to keep up on it with timed testing and practice. My accuracy was about 95%.  Most places seem to want higher speed. I know I can learn and get my typing up to speed and accuracy.  I am willing to do what it takes as I could really use the extra income.  Any help to go in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. I just don't know where to begin. 


 


Thank you.   


This is a good start for you (sm)
In light of the fact that you are new, this is an excellent rate of pay with a reasonable (generous, really) production requirement, even though you may not be able to meet it at first.

Add 20-25% to it for the benefits and you'll be making more on the lines of $13.08. As an on-site employee you will not have to pay self-employment tax or overhead.

When people scoff at this rate of pay, remember that everyone starting out in a new career field starts at the bottom. You have to work your way up. As an MT, your value lies in your ability to produce quantity work while maintaining high quality. Newbies aren't able to produce much while maintaining quality.

The incentive pay makes this better, and if it has good benefits, then you're doing well.

The most important thing about this job is that it will give you experience. You NEED that experience. If you can get it while being paid hourly, so much the better.

Unless someone scoffing at this can produce a job for you which pays better, do not listen to them.

If you do not have a job and you need a job, you are in no position to be turning one down because it doesn't pay top dollar. Take this job and do your best with it.




Is this a good start
I've heard Sten-Tel is a good starting company, is that true? I need to gain experience. I recently finished up an internship, but need 1-2 yr experience to be able to work in clinics or hospitals in my area. So I thought if I could work online at home PT or FT(I need to make around $400/mo to pay all my bills) for a year, then I could start applying again at the hospitals... anyone have any good leads?
start up costs
to start up, you need a medical spellchecker loaded in your PC, electronic version of Quick Look Drug Book, high speed internet and Google. You will probably need to get some version of a .wav player in order to test. And for goodness sake, you don't go buying reference books full price at Barnes & Noble's. You get them used through the classified ads on MT sites and you only buy the ones that relate to your specialty. At this rate, you'll never be out of debt.
I would start with PT. Good way to
get your speed up, familiarize yourself with macros. Easy work - no drugs or labs, usually no ESL, lots of repetition. Start with PT and then go from there.
So it's better to start out in the clinic
area rather than the hospital setting? How do you find clinics who are hiring? I look in the paper and I don't see any.
I start Jan 8.....more inside

I start with the tech call on the 8th, training on the 9th, and begin work on the 10th.  Any insight no how to start off great?  Any recommended reference books?  Are you employed with them?


Jill


Start in-house!
Meryl, I can't believe no one answered your post! If you are new, I highly recommend that you start in-house, as a lot of us did. You can get the help you need starting out. Benefits are usually good working in a hospital or doctor's office.

If you don't see any jobs in the newspaper locally, put out some feelers. I got my best job, one I have been doing for 13 years, at my daughter's oral surgeon's office. I mentioned I do transcription and asked who did theirs. Turned out the bookkeeper did it when she had time.

It is difficult to work at home just starting out due to the lack of the support you need.

Good luck, Meryl. We all wish you the best.

Start applying.
x
start stop
i do
how does a new MT start testing?
How does a new MT take tests to prove to employers she can do the work?
Start testing and see what happens ...
Good luck!!!
Want to start MT course this month
Hi -
I'm new and looking for information. I would like to start a MT course as soon as possible. I need a way to make some kind of income for my family. Right now I'm looking at Academy of Medical Transcription & Professions out of Maine and CareerStep. Would there be any recent graduates from either school that would be willing to tell me the pros / cons they found of their school? It's hard to compare and would like some input. There's some difference in money, but I really would like to take a course that is going to prepare me to start working right away after graduation. Any thoughts or advice?
Thank you for your help!
Becca (in MI)


great start...

I agree---the program gave me a great start.  I have posted many times on Focus.  If you search the forum you will see many posts.


Good Luck---Sue