My suggestion: Call Linda from Andrews & Kathy or Susan from M-TEC, explain your concern for their
Posted By: nm on 2005-08-26
In Reply to: Still Deciding: M-Tec v. Andrews - wondering
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Kathy, any keyboard suggestions?
Kathy, do you have any suggestions as far as finger/hand positioning/keyboard kinetics for editing. Obviously, it is quite different from transcribing a dictation that has not gone through a voice recognition system. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Would you be Linda T. or Linda N?
Also, REAL schools don't have to pay commission to anyone to hawk their courses.
Thank you. My only concern is that...(sm)
it would take too much time to complete the program and start earning some money. It is scary to be living on your savings. I will look into that option though.
Question for Linda
I posted a question here that the was deleted. I understand why it was deleted but Linda answered it before it was deleted. Linda could you please email me the link.
Thank you.
The question appeared to concern
the number of lines per hour, not the number of characters per line. If that was, indeed, the OP's question, then 80-90 lines per hour is very doable. I generally average about 300 lph when I'm really focused and have done as much as 350 with an easy dictator for whom I have lots of shortcuts. It will, of course, vary with the length of the line involved.
The 65-character line is common for some facilities, but certainly not all. I charge by the gross line (any line with typing on it, even only one word). For one of my clients, the longest line for any of their formats is 55 characters. It just depends on the client.
Susan
thank you I will definitely look into the scholarships for need.
susan
I may just stop at RT.
is this susan?
I just want to know if you are doing fine. We changed our email addie and I'm not sure if I sent you a notice about the change. If you are indeed Susan, I pray that you are not in the path of the storm. Your friend from GA.
Could someone explain this to me..
How do Nationals work? Do you clock in? Guarenteed certain amount of work? Have to work so many hours? When is work usually availble for you?
I'm just wondering because I started work for this lady who hired me to work on a new acct she was going to be getting. I still haven't seen any work from that account although she has sent some my way.
Which is better to work for do you think (National or small company)?
thanks for the advice.
can someone please explain to me...
can someone please explain how I'm supposed to find work!!! I graduated in Novemeber and apparently my school didn't train me well AT ALL! I really don't want to pay another thousand dollars to go back to school for another 5-6 months! What am I supposed to do? Everyone wants experienced MT's but I have no way of getting that experience!!!!
Excuse me, but please could you explain
to me how an Medical Transcriptionist is going to 'train' or 'get schooled' for doing EMR?
Isn't this the doctors' or nurses' job?
I am really waiting for your reply!
I understand how you feel susan
I am also a RN in Montana and I starting school though MTec. I a very excited about this career change. Hospital nursing was why to stressful for me. It seemed like when I finally felt comfortable caring for the amount of patient I had they would increase the patient load and increase the paper work. I never felt finished everyday with I returned home from work I would think about things I forgot to do or didn't have time to do them. I was very frustrating from me. I just just recently took an office job at little non profit company. I love the job and the patients, I took a $7.00 per hour pay cut to work there, it was totaly worth it. Althought I would really like to work from home and leave the politics at the office. I plan on working part time to gain enough experience, to make enough money to be able to leave my current position.
I spoke w/ Susan Francis at M-Tec
Hi Ladies,
I want to thank each of you for all of your comments. I know now that working a full-time job AND going to M-Tec is going to be challenging but not impossible.
Also, Susan Francis was kind enough to leave her phone number, so I gave her a call. She answered all my questions and didn't sugar coat a thing. I have been looking for "something" to call my own for many years. I think that if I apply myself, medical transcription is a trade that can be very rewarding. I just wish I had started sooner!
Can you explain what you're looking for? No idea! nm
s
Oops--- meant to add...explain your concerns & go with the one you feel most comfortable with.
x
Thank you for the suggestion! (nm)
Any suggestion
I am a new MT, who transcribed for 5 months with an experienced MT of 15 years. Who now is seeking new employment because the hospital she worked for has gone to offshore. How should I lable my experience? Looking for work, I am finding it hard, because I don't have 2 years experience. I transcribed for ortho doctors.
my suggestion
It can be hard to get your foot in the door, or back in the door. How about this:
Contact local doc offices about filling in for their MTs this summer -- covering for vacations. Even if the MT works in-office perhaps they would let you take it home. Maybe even do this sort of thing until baby #2 arrives and then try applying with the WAH companies. You would have some more names on your resume, perhaps some new specialties you would have experience with at that point. I would also advise that you get some good reference books if you will be doing stuff that is new to you.
Good luck. It can be tough.
I want to thank you for your suggestion...
It is greatly appreciated. I live in a really rural area, and the closest hospital clinics are 20-50 miles and have no openings. The closest specialty office is 90 miles away. I did find a job through this board, and am happily a working IC MT now.
I appreciate the advise though, any bit of knowledge from an experienced MT is so wonderful to receive! 
One suggestion would be... (SM)
 work on-site. If you try to gain employment at home, then ask for sample dictations of the "hard to transcribe" physicians. Not all hard to decipher are ESLs. Do not expect to make a lot of money at first, it won't come until you've had quite a bit of experience. You have to "get your feet wet" so to speak. Try to apply with smaller companies who are willing to train and work with you. Larger nationals are looking for quick typists with lots of knowledge, so this is usually not a good fit for newbies. If you have completed a course, then you are actually one up on people that have not because you've had formal training. Now, all you need to do is apply it. Think about the part of the body, think about the type of report, think about the physician's specialty. Look for hints such as syndromes, diseases, maneuvers, etc., and do your search under those terms instead of trying to find a word by the first sound. Think anatomically! Also, loosen up, relax and back listen if need be. Sometimes, the physician will repeat his "hard to learn language" in the Impression and final statements of his/her report. Ask for samples, samples, samples! You can never have enough of those. Hang in there, and it will get better.
My suggestion is
My suggestion would be to send your resume anyway, and take their tests. It's a great way to get a feel for what they expect. Most places will at least allow you take the test, and sometimes that will lead to a job - even if you don't have the 2 years experience. They'll see that you are able to pass the test and maybe give you a chance. It may take many failed attempts, but don't give up. Just keep taking the tests and one will eventually pan out!
A suggestion
Potential MTs typically do a lot of research to determine if this is really something they want to do. The decision often hinges on the need for a portable and/or home-based career.
If you are a respiratory tech, you will already know a good bit of the background material required for MT. You have, after all, taken courses like anatomy and physiology, and you are already familiar with patient care, medical records, and so forth. In that respect, you know that you enjoy the general field.
If you have not already done so, stop by the HIM (medical records) department in your hospital. Ask the director or some other supervisor if they can let you listen to some dictation. Since you already work in the hospital with access to patient records, they may agree to this. They can often let you listen by dialing into the dictation system over the phone, and they don't have to let you hear the patient identification. If they have in-house MTs, visit them to see what they do. They may have some training material you can listen to.
If you are just looking for a job change, stop by and visit their coders. Have them explain what they do and how they do it. With your background, coding might be something you would enjoy. It requires superior skills with respect to attention to detail and reading comprehension--you have to be able to understand medical writing and be almost hyper-focused on quality--but does not require the knack for excellent writing and the keyboard skills. Coding is a continual challenge, with a requirement to keep up with constant change. If you enjoy solving problems and investigating solutions, coding might appeal to you.
Same suggestion plus . . .
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.
Another suggestion
Have you tried contacting the local doctors and hospitals and offering to be a "sub" MT? In case one of theirs gets sick or they get to much overflow? It may be a way to get your foot in the door and get some experience!
Suggestion
Look them up on the job board here and at www.mtchat.com. Read the postings there. When you do that, you should be able to figure out which ones are "major" and which ones are not.
Also, you might want to stop posting on the internet about this using your real name with the information that you have only 6 months experience. If you do not, you might as well not bother applying at all, because every recruiter will be able to search for your name on the internet and find out that you have no experience and had to post all over the place just to find names of companies to apply to. What you're saying here now will NEVER go away.
A suggestion
If you want someone to hire you, you will have to look and sound as though you are a desirable candidate for the job. Your course should have communicated to you that this work requires exceptionally good writing ability. Good spelling and grammar go with that.
Your posts are filled with poor English, grammatical errors, and misspellings. If your school did not tell you that your abilities in this area need improvement, they did you a disservice.
Take time NOW to work on those areas. If you can get to the point that your writing looks literate, someone might hire you. If you cannot see, or won't admit, that you need to improve, you should not expect to succeed in medical transcription.
Here is your post with some corrections: "I know what you mean. I, too, graduated from an MT program in November, 2008, and have had no luck finding anything yet. Everyone wants 2+ years of experience, but how can anyone gain experience if no one will hire them? I'm getting so mad!
Well, good luck to you, too,"
Suggestion
AHDI put something out called "Getting Your Foot in the Door." I looked at it a little bit, and it seemed to have a lot of really helpful information for how to get started in the MT business.
I would call them (sm)
I'm sure they could direct you to the person who interviewed you or trained you. I have read about things like this happening here on these boards even to the experienced MT's. I can't see how a phone call would hurt anything. Just shows you want to work, IMO. Good luck.
what a great suggestion
I never thought about expanding medications, but what a great idea. Many of them, especially in the ER, are almost always given in the same dosages.
Online Course suggestion
Hi,
Can you please suggest me online MT course which is not expensive.
Thanks & Regards
suggestion to job hunting
Hi, I would like to also suggestion checking your local hospital postings, stop by their HIM department to introduce yourself, go to your local doctors' offices and drop of resumes for PT or prn work. Even if you are offered low pay, grab it to start with, it would count as experience on your resume. Maybe if put ad in local newspaper. Good luck and congratulations!  mb
suggestion to job hunting
Hi, I would like to also suggest checking your local hospital postings, stop by their HIM department to introduce yourself, go to your local doctors' offices and drop off resumes for PT or prn work. Even if you are offered low pay, grab it to start with, it would count as experience on your resume. Maybe even put ad in local newspaper. Good luck and congratulations! mb
Excellent Suggestion
It's funny that I just read this. I just applied to a company for an editing position and offered to work for them for 2 weeks sans pay to get my foot in the door and so that they could evaluate my performance. I just finished up an externship of 8 weeks with a company based in Utah and loved it although that wasn't nearly enough time to get "experience". I would be very willing to work sans pay for a few weeks (I've already done 8 of them, lol) to be considered for a job. I also have most of the stuff already needed to get right to work. I have the foot pedal, reference books, spellchecker and computer. Any chance I could have to get the experience needed to get me started works for me. I live in a very very small town and all the places here (clinics and offices) all send their work to a company in Indianapolis (3hrs away from me) so of course there is no chance of me getting work with them that would be in house.
The same you seem to have to call people
stupid and fat and ugly and lazy and, and, and...! LOL
that's a very personal call --
no one can make it for you. There are good jobs to be had. But it is true the industry is changing as well. Did you ever have the varied transcription knowledge? Not sure if i would want to go back to school either. But then, there aren't many decent jobs you can do at home either. Maybe you can find a company that will work with your current knowledge while cross-training in other specialities, without having to go back to school. As far as what you see on the posts, that can be very helpful, but don't let it discourage you. I am sure there are many many MTs that are happy and never even look at these boards. Just decide what you want and go for it. Just don't think there's only one way to go about it. With all the changes, i still think there is a future for us.
call me lucky then, nm
nm
I've got a week or so before I call...
...them back and accept, but if they're hiring more, I'll post it. My advice is to just apply like crazy! I applied even to places that said they wanted full-time MTs. Why not? You never know. Maybe they'll have that little "extra" work and will keep you in mind, or you might just hit them at the right time and place. Good luck to you!
even I have a couple of people I call.....sm
I'm in this business many years, almost 3 decades, and I STILL have a couple of people, one especially, who I call when I have an MT question or if I want them to listen over the phone....it's networking and it's great and if you find a REAL good mt or cmt, well, then you've got GREAT help. Sometimes 4 ears are better than 2. I even have my daughter listen if she is here (albeit she is not in the medical field except 5 years so far *S*)
Best of luck!!
Yeah, it's a tough call (SM)
 Like you said, it depends on the person. Regardless, there's a big learning curve for getting it right in this career. I hope for the best for the OP!
Call them or send them your resume
sounds like you don't have much of a choice - or if you are employee - take your unemployment and start your own job search
Call their office to see which one they would recommend for you :) nm
x
Now that's what I call a response to a question!
Finally, someone who answers a question instead of nit-picking apart someone's question because they didn't use correct grammar or punctuation. Bravo to you for offering up some good, helpful advice!
staffing schools is what I call them
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
Your school can help you - Call Career Step
Schools help with job placement.
I'd call. If you've already signed a contract they know
who you are or it will be easy enough to find out. Remember this, no matter what and in every life situation, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
IThey might have hired you for a new account. Call! sm
You didn't mention the name of the company. It could be they have a new account and it's not off the ground yet. It was a month after I was hired before I actually started working. That was two years ago and I'm seldom out of work. I'm still on that same account.
This is a wakeup call for those with inadequate skills
As technology allegedly improves and new medical procedures and techniques are created, we all have to keep our skills up. Those who have not are having a tough time keeping job these days. They may want to blame it on the changes, but it isn't the changes, it's their lack of skills. We finally have come to the place in this industry that people can't just listen and type what the doctor says. Anyone who got into this business with less-than-excellent skills is now getting a wakeup call. I think that's what this poster is telling us. She has had a wakeup call and she has seen other unqualified MTs getting a wakeup call. Those who are prepared and continue to build on their skills have a present and a future in this industry.
When QA points out error on a report, will you call
x
you have to call the hospital/clinic line to connect with the dictation machine on their end
so you get a dial tone, that means it is working. Next you dial the number of the dictation system, and it says something like "welcome to bla-bla hospital. Please enter your user ID followed by the pound sign." Then you enter your ID and it starts giving you work in your queue or asks for job type or whatever.
Thanks! Turns out they forgot to send me the info containing the phone number to call!! Got it now.
Thanks again.
Andrews vs. M-Tec...
Is M-Tec every bit as good as Andrews as far as:
1. Preparing a person to enter the MT field
and
2. Almost guaranteeing a job for a student upon graduation. (Realizing, of course, that this depends on the individual.) But all else equal, does graduating from M-Tec virtually guarantee that many companies will waive the normal 2-year experience requirement and allow a new graduate to test?
Thanks
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