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MT schools & job hours

Posted By: N. Taylor on 2005-08-25
In Reply to:

Does anyone know anything about an online school called Future MTs?  Also, when working at home is it possible to get jobs that allow you to work whatever hours you want or is it mainly shift work?


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Forget "approved" schools. AAMT set the criteria, then approved schools that didn't meet i
Stick with Andrews or M-Tec (both of which happen to be "approved") but forget about any others, they are not worth it.
Hours for MTs
Working from home is really no different than working in an office or hospital as far as the hours are concerned. The only difference is that you are on your own and must be able to perform the same duties. Would you apply to a company or hospital and ask them if you can pick you own hours? Probably not. As a home MT, you can choose what shift you prefer, if available, but it is still a work environment, and you are expected to be there, in the chair, doing the work the same as if you were in a hospital or office setting. That is why you see shifts/hours advertised. Companies need to know that the work will be completed and returned to the client in a timely fashion to the client's satisfaction. It's still a JOB, even if you are at home.
Hours
Michelle, if you are an independent contractor, you can generally set your own hours/days/shift; however, if you are an employee, you must work the hours/days/shifts your employer wants you to work. Of course, as an employee you get benefits, too.

Also, IMHO, VLC is a better program than AHP.
Hours
I work at home and I decide what hours I work as long as my work is back within 24 hours. That doesn't mean I can goof off all day and not do my work, I have to discipline myself and have scheduled times to work. You do have freedom, and thats why I love it, but you do have to work also.
I don't look at the hours
I look at the line count because productivity in this kind of job is based on the line count. Also, as you gain experience your hours spent on an account will decrease, that is if you retain the same volume over time.

Based on other experienced MTs, they usually do not keep just one account, so if you have time in your hands, try to get another account to make up for the slow periods.
Also looking for PT 20 hours. Please sm

If you take that job and they still have open positions, could you please share with me the company?  I have been looking for PT IC work like you mentioned.  Thank you!


hours?
So how many hours of work do approximately get in per day? And how many hours of sleep do you get at night?
Do you really set your own hours?
I have heard that MT's (working from home) set their own hours to work... and then I have also heard that you have specific set hours that you work. Which one is right? Or do you have a deadline that you must get your work in by?

Thanks for clearing up the confusion!
Hours / MT training

Has anyone here done at home professions MT course? Is it legit?


Also why do the job posting have set  days and hours MT's have to work. I thought if you worked at home you could pick your own hours? Can someone clarify this for me


Thanks


350 lines in 8 hours?
That really isn't much. You should be spending time when you aren't working studying *grammar* and such. I am a newbie, have been at this since January, and can get at least 150 lph. So far I am able to get about 9,000 lines per pay period...that's 10 days. Not trying to bash you or anything, but it sounds like you really need some practice. Websites like www.rxlist.com are great for drug names as well.
My work hours...
I have a 3 y/o and an 8 m/o, both girls. They go to a 5 hour, 4 day a week program. This allows me a 4 1/2 hour block to go to the clinic, pick up tapes, and go back home and type uninterrupted for awhile. I pick them up and I don't work again until they go to bed at approximately 8:00 pm, then I work until I'm done, usually around 11:00 or 11:30. I sleep until 5:00 am, when I get up and do it all again. My oldest gets up on her own about 6-6:30 am and the youngest gets up whenever her tummy wakes her.

I have only had this job for just over a month now, and I love it. My old job was a full on work in the office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week job. So I almost feel like I'm on vacation now with the flexibility that I so desired all along.

I hope you can work something out for you and your kids where you can all be rested and happy.

Take care.
What hours/days are you available. sm
Please email me with your the above info and where you received your education.
You need to break more often than every 2 hours

straight.  That won't be good for your body and you'll burn out easy.


Again, most places will allow you the time to get comfortable with your dictators.  Don't try to be too fast and make mistakes because that won't be worth it at all to either you or your new employer.  That shows sloppiness.  JMO.


Hours you worked

Starting as an IC, did that mean you were able to determine the hours you worked in a day?  For example, I would like to work early morning part-time and finish in later evening and night.  Is that something that was common to do as an IC, or do you have to give them a detail of the hours you are working?


anywhere from 3-4 hours for me (6 if it is horrible)- nm
xxx
Make your own hours?
absolutely not.. that's a myth..
I work off hours and have no daycare
I start my shift at 8 p.m. after I tuck my kids into bed to avoid feeling guilty having to work and watch them. I have a job where I have to have a set schedule though, but I have found that this works well for my family. We don't have any daycare and I get all day with my kids. I work 38 hours a week with my working 9 hours on Sunday to make up for shorter shifts during the week and Saturdays off. I have a friend with 2 little ones at home as well and she does great and is a high performer! I hope everything works out for you, keep the positive attitude!
Shouldn't take more than 2 hours, depending on
such factors as sound quality, if ESL, or how many words you have to look up.   If it is a new account starting with 30 minutes is good until you get a hang of the account, but you'll never make a living off of that and most companies require more than that. 
did it in 9 months of about 35 or so hours a week
Worked HARD those hours too! :-)
Forgot to say I work about 5 hours a day.
I have many years of experience.  If you are a newbie, and it sounds like you are, then you are going to turn out fewer reports and it will take you longer to proof than it will someone else with more experience.   Most companies require you to be able to produce 150 lph, though often radiology is paid per report and I don't know what requirements are for that. 
Night Hours for New Grads?

Hi,


Are new graduates from MT programs like M-Tec or CS offered night hours, any evening p/t or f/t jobs?


Thanks


You will get rusty on MT with those hours. No MT company will take you seriously sm
if you work those few hours a week and have that on a resume.
Plan on 4 hours - especially if you're

Hours of work went into compiling this
You'd be surprised how long this took me, actually, and I've already sold quite a few. For each company, I got all the information needed for you to see at a glance--company name, URL link direct to their employment pages, mailing address, phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses and names of CEOs and Presidents and HR departments, how long they've been in business, whether they hire part time or fulltime, if they're currently hiring or constantly recruiting, what the requirements are, any certifications needed, and each business has been searched through the BBB and it includes links to their BBB rating page. I also included any links to forum posts or ripoffreport.com posts to help you make a researched decision when applying for jobs. If you were to do this yourself, trust me--it would take weeks! LOL I figured I'd share the knowledge and information with others--why have all that time go to waste when others could use the product of my labors! :) From the people that have already purchased it, I have received feedback telling me how much information was in it and how easy it has been for them to find and apply for jobs. You can't get any better feedback than from those who have purchased it! :) Thanks guys, and good luck on your job searches!
That is one of the reasons I refuse to work set hours and ...sm
a set number of lines. I dont have to add to my husbands paycheck, but I do like to help out if I can. I had an awsome, high paying job as an office manager at a physicians office. I quit to be home with my kids and working at home allows me to do that and still earn some money. There are enough companies out there that you do not need to feel pressure to put in a zillion lines everday or sit in front of your computer hours and hours one end. When my little one is in school full time I will put in more lines and time, but right now I work at home, on my terms, doing my number of lines. My boss is great about that. She knows I will be on for a few hours and will turn in about 800-1000 lines a day. I have never had my work suffer because I have to stop and spend time with my kids. That is the GREATEST thing about working at home. The flexibilty to spend time playing, reading, having lunch, and yes even laundry during my day while working is the ideal situation. I am sorry if you cannot do that and still find time for your children. My kids do not suffer and neither does my work.
I work 38 hours a week, here is my schedule
I did reply to your post below as well and hope I didn't not offend you. Here is my schedule, it works great for me and for my family. I get Friday nights, all day and night Saturday off, and am still able to attend church with my family on Sunday morning before having to work.
Sun. noon-9pm.
Mon. 8pm-1am
Tues. 8pm-1am
Wed. 6pm-1am
Thur. 8pm-midnight
Fri. 10am-6pm
I have to be up at 6:30 in the morning getting the older kids ready and off to school, but my little ones pretty much sleep through the night and I often catch a little nap with them during the day if I need one. I feel like I have the best of both worlds........stay home mom with my kids, and working and bringing in income. My DH only works a half day on Fridays so he is home before I start my shift at 10. Maybe you could ask for a trial period of a work schedule and make changes where you seem fit with your supervisor. I used to work a split shift, early a.m. and then again later at night, but found that to be quite draining and it made the days seem very long, but that is just me. Good luck, you will find what works best for you. :)
Lots of stress and long hours doing MT especially - sm
when you are first starting out. If you have to live on this, then in the beginning it is not a good choice. But if you are married and have a spouse income to live on and yours is just supplemental then that will work. When I first started 5 years ago I made $5K the first year, granted that was PT but I worked FT hours basically. I still work PT but practically FT, 30+ hours a week. I made about $16k this in 2006. Now I am not a fast typist (100-160 lph depending on dictator), and I find it hard to sit here and type for a solid 6 hours so I get easily distracted and goof off instead of working or else I am sure I could do $20K+ easy as I have more good than bad dictators. But some companies have mostly ESL and it is very hard to make money that way especially starting out. So many factors factor into to your income, your ability and typing speed, the ease of dictators, and if you can be dedicated and not get distracted. Obviously the more you can dedicate yourself and work consistently the more money you can make, just depends on your personal goals. Good Luck.
Or not so much stress or long hours, decent pay
I totally understand what you're saying, but being an MT varies so much based on what you bring to the job, where you work, and what kind of account you have that it's pretty tough to predict how any particular person will do. I'm very happy with my job. I find it to be the least stressful job I've ever had, love the predictable hours, and made 34K this last year working strictly a 40-hour week. This is after 1-1/2 years as an MT. I found the first 6 to 9 months terribly stressful because of the high learning curve, but once I settled into my account the stress level dropped considerably. I'm still working the same hospital account I started on, but also work other accounts as necessary. I work for a company that many people on this board say they can't make any money working for; it must have a lot to do with the stability I've had on my account that I am able to make reasonably decent money.
That company that asked you what days/hours
As an independent contractor, a company cannot dictate your days/hours unless they "employ" you.  Glad it works for you!  However, the IRS does not see it that way.  You are providing a service whether it is transcribing or building a brick wall.  They can guide you with what tools to use, how they want the job accomplished, and for that matter in regards to time constraints, but they cannot have you punch a time clock.  With that said, I also IC for a company that requires 24-hour turnaround, which I am willing to accept as "part of the business".  In this business, the vast majority of companies gain these accounts for you and I to work on by providing 24-hour turnaround.  Most companies will train you on their equipment if you do not have experience.  They will provide samples of reports if you are not meeting QA and also provide input to bring your QA score up to par.  I make my own hours in that I will not say to this company, I'll work, for example, 9a-5p, because there may be days when I cannot do that due to the fact that I have other commitments whether it be with my children or with the fact that I have my own accounts that I need to tend to, which quite frankly is not their business to know.  You are providing a service, which just happens to be transcription.  If this company is getting away with setting your schedule, then you should most definitely be an employee.  That is your choice, however, to allow them to dictate that to you.  Most companies do not pay, as you already know, for your benefits.  Bottom line really is you are a subcontractor.  The MTSO is the contractor actually, and then you subcontract for the contractor.    Thank goodness the company I work for knows the difference. 
DeVenture MIGHT offer only hours required, but not
s
7 years with national - 30 hours per week -
a little over 16 thousand - Good luck making 25 thousand plus - not easy at all to make especially if you type a lot of ESL.
59 hours doesn't come close to teaching
you even the basics.  You could apply to do only ophthalmology.  Typing speed isn't that important, but 95% accuracy isn't good enough for most companies.  It might be enough to pass their test, but QA usually requires 98+%.  You might want to look into a menitoring program.
Focus hires newbies and she can probably pick her hours
nm
MT schools
Thank you for the advice. I have been researching M-Tec and have decided that it seems to be the best choice. Wish me luck.
schools
Can anyone give me any info on Laird's School of Medical Transcription.
MT Schools

 Hi


  I am looking to train in this field and have looked into the Career Step Program.  There are soo many programs out there and I'm not sure which one to choose.  Looking for opinons on which programs are some of the best.  Its an awful lot of money and I certainly don't want to chose the wrong one.


MT schools

I am researching MT schools to see which one is best. I am having trouble figuring out who will give me the best training. I am a medicla biller (18 years) and would like to work from home. I thought about PCDI and VLC but I am not sure.  I don't want to spend a lot of time and money on a school who is not recognized in the MT industry.  Also most of these schools start the medical terminology and anatomy, that's great for someone who's new to the medical field, but what about those who know terminology like the back of our hand.  Can anyone recommend an online or correspondence school?


Thanks!   


MT schools
Thanks for the information, I will keep this in mind:)

thank you, thank you!!
Schools
Just wondering which schools are best.  I checked out a few.  Does anyone know anything about Meditec?  Is it a good online course?
Schools.
Thanks for the advice. I will check into both of those schools. I presently work in the Administration Office of a hospital, and on occasion when a doctor quits the hospital I have had to type Discharge Summaries, etc. for him/her when they finally return to catch up on what they did not complete. I have yet to figure out why they quit without having all their charts complete--however, they realize there's more time allowed for DS than H&P's, Op Notes, etc. So, besides taking extra terminology courses and practicing with Absolute Experience tapes, I have done a little "real life" transcription.


schools
"career step" is highly recommended, and the gal with whom i've been e-mailing is very helpful. i was an MT in my past life, am now and RN (could you guess from the ID?), and seriously thinking of doing both. i suspect that if i go the course route, it will be via career step. good luck!
Schools
The best schools are M-Tec or Andrews. The next best is Career Step. You will need to go to one of those to brush up on your English skills and learn everything else you'll need in this industry. For instance, your first two sentences should have been just one sentence, and the little things are very important in this field if you want to compete. If that is too picky and boring for you, you won't enjoy going to school or working as an MT.
Re schools - please SM
The top 3 are Andrews, MTec, and Career Step. Companies are more willing to hire new graduates of these schools and some have partnerships with CareerStep, in fact.

You can search the archives here for posts regarding schools and get more information.

In addition, ask the school what placement assistance they offer and who hires their graduates. Don't take their word for it, either - call the companies they say will hire you and ask them if they hire grads from that program.
MT schools
I recently heard only graduates from Andrews and MTEC were getting the newbie jobs out there. Well let me tell you what I did, I graduated from HTC Education now called Brighton College and I was educated with a SUM based program. I also took Medical Coding at the same time. I called the director of MTEC to inquire about the program they offer and discovered it was not any better, still the same based SUM program that I took. The tuition cost were about 250 dollars higher but given inflation over the last year that is relatively a mute point. So I paid the same as their students do. I invested 10,000.00 in my tuition and references and computer, just to be as highly educated as an MTEC graduate and so I asked the MTEC director what their job placement was. I was told that their job placement was at 98%. Well Newbie MTs let me tell you this is purely political on the part of the AAMT and those two schools and by the way when I was looking into schools for MT I went to the AAMT and found Brighton College/formerly HTC Education and it was at the AAMT website at that time my school was also recommended by the AAMT so why am I not able to get hired as Newbie. As far as I am concerned and the research that I have done on this subject it is all a lot bull! Just hang in their work for the peanuts, get internships, do anything you can to get the experience it will happen.
Schools
As a recruiter, I can tell you firsthand that Andrews School trains the very best transcriptionists. I will look at their graduates before I look at any others.
schools

Ok, I have looked at the different schools, and am good at working on my own.  I am 9 credits away from being a Registered Health Information Tech. So I have Medical Terminology, Anatomoy and Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, already among my knowledge base.  I just don't have the $3000 to put into a transcription course that I know is going to just reiterate most of what I already know.  I want to know if Career Step would be adequate enough for me to be Hirable as a transcriptionist?


Thanks for any input that you might be able to give me!


 


re: Schools
Thank You!
Schools??

I'm an MT-wannabe and I have a few questions:


What are the "Top 3" schools?


Are tech schools really that much better than online schools?


Does anyone know anything about Penn Foster online?  They're nationally and regionally accredited.  Does this make them a "better" online school?


I appreciate any and all feedback on this.  TIA!


MT Schools
I just want to let everyone and anyone that is looking for a good MT school not to go the TechSkills. When I started with the school there were several things that I was not told up front which could have affected me later. I wanted to pass this information on because I wish someone had informed me. Please pass this information to anyone looking for a MT school. Have a good day!!!
Schools

I posted above about schools but I thought I would address you directly. I went to two different schools. My first was Professional Career Development back in 2000 I finished. Had a hard time finding work like others and decided to take a refresher course at TechSkills. I have completed that course and received my certificate but it was more that I expected and more than what I was told. So if you as me do not pick TechSkills. Hope this helps!!


Look at other schools...

I am attending At-home right now.  Almost done in fact but there are way better schools out there.  I attended college first to earn a degree for medical office which would have included med. transcription.  Unfortunatly, I had to move and dropped out. 


I do have a job right now working at home and have two main accounts.  My point is that I had a college education before I started At home.  I would have prefered to finish in school but due to a complicated pregnancy and lack of income due to having to leave my job I could barely afford At home.


There are many many other that are better.  Many will help place you.  At home gives you a book on how to start out but that is about it.