MT versus nursing
Posted By: maam on 2006-10-24
In Reply to: What do you think? - Pamela
Pamela, this board may seem negative, but overall MT is not a negative profession. With the money you can make, and the ability to be at home with your kids, it is definitely worthwhile as a "transitional" job. You may find yourself 20 years down the road still doing it, as it works well with a family. Be patient, find the right company. It can be done. I see a lot of positives along with the negatives on this board; if a company is good, then the employees will let you know, if a company is bad, listen to the people telling you not to go there. When it's 10:1 against a company, something HAS to be wrong . . . Good luck
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Nursing
I certainly don't want to talk anyone out of nursing if it's their heart's desire. But I think many people don't get the full picture of what nursing can entail. You don't get that perspective in nursing school, believe me. It's a wonderful career if you can handle the politics, cost containment, insurance crap. It's hard for me to leave my job "at the office." Go for it if you really want it. But I'd chose PA school over nursing any day.
Go with nursing!
The demand for nurses is huge. The money is much better than MT and less stressful. I had the same choice you have right now and wished I'd gone ahead with nursing. Pay stinks, MTSOs don't care about us, AAMT doesn't care about us. It's all fun when you're in school. Not so much when it's time to get work and make a decent living.
from nursing to mt
I am a nurse wanting to do MT on the side. Can I take the RMT exam without taking any course work?
nursing to MT is
not such a stretch. I did some nursing and with the terminology I picked up actually found myself doing medical transcription in a Urology dept at a leading hospital, followed by Hem-Onc. Took free med terminology classes while there and self-studied and now I'm doing it full time as an IC.
Of course you do this so just go for it and lots of luck!
nursing to MT
I was never a nurse but I do go to MT without a training program (I'm not in any way recommending not to take an MT course just saying it can be done if you find a company that will train you). I had a degree in nutrition and had studied medical record administration and knew enough med terms to pass a test with a company who was willing to hire and train me. I'm still in MT 12 years later. I started with basic knowledge of med terms, good spelling, grammar and typing skills and a strong interest in medical stuff of all kinds and the rest was on-the-job learning. Good luck.
Nursing to MT
There's such a shortage of nurses that nursing is one of the top paying jobs anymore. I can't understand why someone would go from nursing to medical transcription. RN's are in great demand, and they have the easier nursing jobs from what I've seen. I've worked at a hospital part time for nine years, and full time for nine years.
Almost everything works by "supply and demand", and at present, the demand for nurses is much greater than the supply.
I am an MT going to school for nursing
When I went to school they didn't have the online courses for MT that are so wonderful today, so I got my 2-year AAS degree at the local community college. After MTing it for 10 years I bit the bullet and went back to school this year for the RN-AD program. I am working flexible hours with work from home to accommodate school and my 4 kids. I work 0.75 status and go to school full time, it is hectic, but will be worth it. Keep your head up, MTing from home is allowing me to go back to school. Not sure if I would be able to if I were punching an 8-5 clock.
You need to train for this job. Nursing alone won't cut it.
s
Heck no! Your nursing definitely helps in this job, but you still need
s
I did it. Believe it or not, in nursing school, we also were taught
legally correct medical terminology as well as the slang that a lot of medical personnel use. Believe me, more of the use of slang terms came with my working experience as a nurse. 
No it's not more in depth than nursing school. BTDT. From your
post, it would sound like it is also more in depth than medical school (sometimes you have to spell and describe medications to the doctor), but I have a feeling that's not the case either (LOL).
IC versus employee has nothing to do with either
IC is just a tax status.
There are plenty of MTs who get paid hourly.
It won't make any difference if you are an IC or an employee...you can get paid whatever method you are successful at negotiating with your client or employer.
Vista versus XP
I recently started working for another company and the computer tech is EXTREMELY knowledgeable when it comes to platforms and such. I was informed that Vista is basically another version of Windows ME which, most people know, was a HORRID version of Windows and Microsoft is planning on coming out with yet another operating system early next year.
I have also done internet research and there are posts regarding the fact that you can partition your hard drive to where you can have both XP and Vista running on the computer, however, in my opinion, that is best handled by an expert and not something that anyone should attempt on their own without extensive computer knowledge.
Right now, I would say your best bet would be to try to find a computer with XP on it as far as a laptop, or if you can hold out, stick with the dinosaur for a bit longer. Also, it may help to get registry fix programs etc, many of which are free and extremely good programs and might help to optimize the older computer in terms of speed, etc.
ACUTE Care versus other.
What defines someone to be an acute care MT as to a multi-specialty MT. What is the difference? Sorry if this is a dumb question..
Thanks!
clinic versus acute
acute care consists of patient care in the hospital from the time they are admitted until they are discharged (emergency room, history/physical, consultations, progress notes, lab/imaging data, transfers, and discharges are the most common). clinic notes are office visits (sometimes include consultations and maybe lab/imaging data). these are usually shorter dictations than the acute care.
To AJ - editing versus transcription
Hi AJ - Have they requested that you switch to VR editing yet? Do you know anything more about how they are handling transcription versus editing? Thanks!!!!
Teens versus adults
All of this thread reminds me very much of the conversations that happened between my teenagers and my husband and I.
They insisted they were adults, they had the maturity, they knew what they were getting into, they were right, etc. My husband and I knew better; we were adults who had already been teenagers and been there, done that.
Were we hateful and rude by not giving them full rein and encouraging them to act like adults when they weren't? NO!
We did the responsible thing: We told them as fairly and truthfully as possible that while it might seem they know what they are talking about, their insistence about it showed their immaturity. It would not be fair of us, as parents, to not be up front with them, etc.
And so the story goes here. We have young ones in this profession and those who have matured in it. We simply know because we have worked for years in this industry, seeing the ups and downs of it, worked inhouse and worked at home, and already raised our children. We already know what you're facing and what you WILL face.
Lisa, however, is that teen and so are you, Dreamer, who is insistent that she knows everything already. She makes demands and thinks her way is the only way. Not so. Not so at all.
Per Line versus Per Report
In a 7-hour day I can type 2000 lines or 200 reports. Most companies expect 1200 lines during a full-time shift, so that probably would equate to 120 reports if you are going by the 1200 lpd standard. Another way to look at it...the average "decent" (not exceptional) MT should be able to type 20 minutes of diction in 60 minutes. I don't proof after typing, I proof while I am typing. Hope this helps.
contracting versus employee
Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of contracting versus employee? I have plenty of time throughout the day, but my husband works from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. This is a large chunk in the middle of shifts. Is contracting setting the amount you will do for the day? Like I would be able to work 6 hours but at split times throughout the day? Any help on this would be appreciated.
Template versus document
The poster above is right, but there are definite advantages to using a template. The biggest one is that you don't run the risk of saving over your basic document when you've made changes/additions to it in creating a new document. You have to remember to change the name of the file when you save it or it overwrites your prior document. With a template, this isn't an issue. If you want to save out a basic document as a template, just remember when you save it to change the file type ("save as type") with the drop-down menu to "Document template (*.dot)." You'll be able to pull it back up when you create a new file by chosing the "on my computer" option under "Templates" in the task pane. Hope this helps!
MT versus working at Wal-Mart
I have been an MT for 16 years. Twice I've taken time off (over a year at a time), because of being burned out.
Working as an MT at home is much better than working at Wal-Mart, or any other retail-type job. I have much more flexibility in the hours I work. I can be at home with my children, so that I can take care of their needs. I've never had to have babysitters for my kids. Now that they're all in school, it is easier, and I can still schedule my work time around their hours. How in the world would working at Wal-Mart be better than that?? And even though the amount of pay I've been offered recently is less than my best job 5 years ago, I am still making 3 times as much as a Wal-Mart employee!
I never went to school for training. I am just an excellent speller with good typing and grammar skills, and I learn quickly. I worked at my college health center for one year because of the above skills. I didn't work after that for a time. Three years later, I started sending out resumes to a bunch of local MTSOs and, after several months, one asked me to come test. My persistence paid off. I did very well on the testing and was hired. I struggled those first couple of years. Because I worked hard to learn new specialties, the MTSO was always asking me to take on a new one. I probably worked a lot of hours for low pay as I learned each new specialty (I guess you COULD say I paid for my training! Lol!), and I shed a LOT of tears as I worked in the wee hours of the morning (because I didn't work until after my kids were in bed). However, I am grateful to her for that experience. I did eventually move on into acute care and did fine because of the opportunities she gave me.
I still think MT is a good opportunity for people who just want to be able to be home with their kids and/or have a flexible schedule that allows them to run a forgotten lunch to school, go to a child's afterschool game, etc. How many workplace jobs offer that?? It's still worth it to me!
NOW versus KNOW - Learn the difference as you will need to KNOW it at some point.
Trust me, you don't scare us. As experienced professionals, we know what happens to MTs with delusions of grandeur; they are in for a very rude awakening, to say the very least.
local hospital versus national
Hi,
I was with a national company and, like you, only did about 1200 lines per day at 7.5 cpl with 18 months in. I felt like I was never going to make the big bucks!
In May, I resigned from the national co. and went to work locally. After a short 1-month in-house training, I am working from home again. This hospital has some great normals to use and yesterday, I did 2200 lines!!!!!
Finding a good fit is the hardest part. Thankfully, I think I have found mine!!!!! Just keep in mind that there are other options out there. GOOD LUCK!!!!
Shorthand versus Instant text
Looking for a great word Expander to work with. I am clueless at this point as to what is out there and how they even work. I have had ShortHand and Instant Text suggested to me, but not sure which one will be better.
Thanks for your help.
Hearing actual dictation files versus professionally read ones was a major plus
s
No it is a typo, to versus do, is a typo.
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