cheapie MT courses
Posted By: Phyllis on 2006-08-21
In Reply to: Cheapie Correspondence Courses - Christina
Some, not all, seasoned MTs are not very helpful. They can be very discouraging and try to convince new MTs that unless they get their training from some expensive school like M-Tec or the Andrews School that they won't find a job; I wanted to train with one of the aforementioned schools but just could not afford it. Most of my MT training was on the job. In later years, I took a Medical Terminology course. Currently, I am enrolled in a formal training program, because I would like to become an RMT and eventually a CMT. This is how I found a recent MT job: 1) posted my resume on MT daily; 2) posted my resume on Transcription Matters; 3) company contacted me and made me an offer without my even testing with them; all this occurred within little over a week's time. I only have 4 solid years of MT experience (specializing in Urology, Rehabilitative Medicine, and Psychiatry). Hallejulah!
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Cheapie Correspondence Courses
Hi everyone,
I really need some advice. I've looked into all sorts of different MT training courses - all I want (and need in the amazing job market in which I live) is a basic course to learn Medical Terminology and basic MT skills.
With this in mind - would taking a course like Stratford Career Institute's course, or ICS Canada's course help me get an entry level MT job? From there, would I be able to train on the job and take additional courses to gain more skills?
I am fortunate to live in a market where there are too many of these jobs and not enough workers. I even heard from one person that with just Medical Terminology you can sometimes get an MT job.
But, I thought at least one of these courses would teach me the very basics. Opinions?
Thanks,
Christina
Why do we have to take more courses
Why should we have to take more courses when we just graduated to get hired somewhere. That doesn't make any sense. Are there any companies hiring new graduates without this retarded request?
best on-line courses?
Hi all,
I'd like to take an on-line MT course; can anyone recommend one over any others? I plan on doing an internship for experience when I'm done for a while so I can get an actual paid position. How hard will it be to start working from home as I have a 20 month old that I want to stay at home with.
Thanks!
To compare courses ...
Why don't you check out Andrews and MTec's websites to get an idea of how much actual dictation you should have had to transcribe. Radiology is mostly anatomy, so if you had thorough training in anatomy and physiology along with concentration on acute care, you had proper training for radiology, IMO.
Just like home MT courses, not all SM
community college courses/programs are created equally.
I respectfully disagree with you about community college graduates receiving a sub-par education. Some maybe, but definitely not all.
I attended an EXCELLENT program at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. The program director is a CMT. We had 2 semesters of medical terminology, 2 semesters of anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, a medical calculations class, a medical ethics class, 3 semesters of medical coding, 5 semesters of medical transcription (we transcribed the beginning and advanced SUM tapes two times each), business communication (intense grammar course), a 360-hour externship at a local hospital or MT service, along with all of the general education courses needed to receive an associate's degree.
So, while some CC programs may not put out qualified transcriptionists, others do an excellent job of preparing their students to succeed. I tested with and was hired by Medquist the month before I graduated, and I started the Monday after graduation. Granted I was a newbie and was slow and made some silly mistakes (as all newbies do), but I had a solid education, which made a huge difference.
So if you are trying to decide which program to attend, make sure you do your homework (whether you are choosing a home correspondence course or choosing to attend a community college program). Find out what classes are taught, which transcription tapes they use, whether or not they help with job placement, who is running their program, etc. Knowledge is power! :) Good luck to all of you who are struggling with this important decision. 
Warmly,
Chickadee
Cheap MT courses
A course from M-Tech or Andrews may or may not get you a job right after completion, but that's not the only way to get into the field. I took the good advice of some very helpful MTs from this board and shopped around my area for a job. With my meager PCDI education that I studied over about a year and spent $795 for, I was able to get a position at my local hospital ($15/hour!!). I will be in-house for a while, and then I will have the option of working from home. You do what will work best for you, but I didn't have an extra three grand lying around to train for a job when I could pay out less money and then get paid to better my skills.
NO courses can offer certification
Just to clarify, there are no courses which can offer "certification" in medical transcription, so there aren't any "certification courses."
If you want certification, you have to take the AAMT certification examination, which, if you pass, will grant the CMT certification.
Other than that, you can take a course which will give you a "certificate of completion." And that is only worth the price of a piece of paper. Having that piece of paper is not what will get you a job.
What gets you a job is the ability to transcribe well enough that an employer doesn't have to train you all over again.
And then you have to keep it, so the transcription skills you pick up in school had better be top-notch or you'll be wishing you had just gotten a job at MacDonald's.
I'm assuming you didn't take courses from one of the better
schools as they help with job placement. Have you looked into companies offering menitoring programs. I would love to mentor a newbie, but I get paid to produce lines.
They are legit, just not good. To take their courses you have to have
8th grade education, which should tell you they aren't that great right there. My teen son took one of their courses (not MT). It was very poorly written, if you flunk a test you can take it again and they will pass you, even if you flunk it again. There were lots of errors in it too.
I would look into a different program to take or try to find a menitoring program. It is difficult for people who have gone to some of the better schools to get jobs. Penn Foster does not have a good reputation so it will be much more difficult for you to get a job. I would try to find something local where you could work in-house for at least 2 years to get some experience.
MT schools are in the BUSINESS of selling MT courses.
Of course they are going to paint a rosy picture of this career.
Allied is not a very good course, and the MT companies know it. That's why they say they require 2 years' experience. (But they will waive that for grads of the better schools.)
Career step and Meditec-sister courses-sm
I understand these are two in the same course ran by sisters. One charges much more than the other. What makes Career Step any better than Meditec if the Meditec course is basically what Career Step is using to begin with, and the Meditec lady wrote the course?
People selling MT courses certainly aren't going to warn you
"Don't take my MT course, it's ***edited by Moderator*** and you won't be able to get a job afterwards." It's up to the person interested in becoming an MT to do some research about the job before plunking down money for training. If they do, they will learn that in order to be able to get a decent job, they need the kind of training provided at Andrews School or M-TEC, and not to try to save money on "cheaper" schools.
It's sad that people don't find out more about these courses before they slap down money
x
The courses worth taking are M-Tec and Andrews. Their graduates
are usually able to get jobs without 2 years of experience that is normally required. Is if worth it? Do you have small children, a husband, do you want a social life - then no it isn't worth it. If you just want to do this PT, in addition to a FT job, it might be okay for a short time, but it gets harder and harder to make a living as an MT. A lot of companies use offshore MTs, they get the good work and the crap gets left for us, or it all goes and we get stuck editing it for pennies and you end up working for minimum wage. You'll also burn out in a short time trying to do both.
if there is just you and you don't care to have a life then it would be okay and if you have a knack for it you can make some decent money. If you are a respiratory tech in a hospital talk to people in your department. Maybe you can start out doing work-related transcription without having to go to school and you can get a small taste of what it is like to see if you really want to pursue it.
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