A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Quitting school - PK

Posted: Mar 06, 2010

I am taking MT at Career Step, but I am unable to understand these doctors even if I slow down or speed up. I think I am going to quit because how can you transcribe if you can not understand. Can anyone give me some input?

get used to it, this is how it is when you will be a working MT - MT school

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nm

But we're just typists - doncha know

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This just goes to illustrate how much we must know in order to do this job. But we are still considered just typists and replaceable with a cardboard cutout from third world countries.

Sadly, those are probably easy ones - no ear? Time to leave

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Either you have an "ear" for accents or you don't. It won't get any better; it will only get worse. The truth is, even if you practice these docs until you can understand them, they'll just keep giving you harder ones, because the more skilled you get the more hard ESL you will receive. I type some doctors that even QA admits they can't understand and have to send through blanks. They are everywhere - the easy docs get sent overseas or to VR or to train new people on the account, the seasoned american MTs are stuck typing the bad ESL. I've asked your question before to QA and they inform me "its your JOB as an MT to type it". Don't like the job? Time to cut your losses.

Don't quit - Rainbo

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I say do not quit. I just completed Career Step and am a working MT now. There were times when I wanted to give up, but I pushed forward and am happier than I have been in a long time.

I'm realizing that the 800 or so files that we had to type for Career Step are not the norm and are some of the hardest reports you'll probably face. Just keep pushing forward and don't give up on yourself. You'll get there.

Quitting - PK

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What did you do when you could not understand what the Doctor was saying?

If you have a key then look it over while playing - sm -

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the voice file. If you don't have an answer key, then move onto another one since you are just doing practice work. You can always go back to the one or ones giving you trouble later.

It is likely that - Glenda

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you are not understanding what the doctor is saying because you do not know what it is he/she is supposed to be saying. You do not yet have sufficient training or a body of experience to draw from to answer the question "what should I be hearing here?" Sometimes, the only way you can understand is to know what to expect in that particular context.

It takes time, training, and listening to many, many dictations to know what terms are appropriate in specific contexts when the speaker's dictation is not crystal clear. If you quit now, you will certainly never develop the "ear" you need or the depth of knowledge you need to be able to make sense of that random collection of syllables or even to know where the syllables separate into words.

Sometimes, you just have to know what it is before you can hear it. That comes from good training and experience.

This is the best reply to your post. I was trying to figure out how to say it... pls sm - CaliDeb

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I actually think you either have an ear or you don't. But even if you have one and you don't understand what it is you are supposed to be hearing, it just won't make sense. Maybe even put the tapes away for a while and go back to the terminoloty and anatomy. Really really learn the suffixes and prefixes. Flashcards! Really! I read someone made fun of them here on this board, but you can bet everybody from the physician to the radiologist tech to the lab pathologist to the MT used flash cards to learn that stuff.

Once you get how to put the sounds, terms, and meanings together it will come so much easier. There is a point though, where you might realize you just don't have an ear, and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

How did I know I have an ear? My mom was born with a cleft palate and is deaf in one ear and is from Long Island! So I had experience figuring out what people said from the womb pretty much!

Good luck.

school - mt

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if there isn't any way to get your money back, I'd finished it out. Otherwise, I'd get the heck out of there and do something else with your time.

Quitting school - workingmt

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I'm curious, but didn't you know what medical transcription was before you enrolled in the course? No offense, but I get the impression that some people are enrolling in MT school before they really know what it's all about because they want to work at home. It does get easier as time goes on, so hang in there if you have already invested the time and money.

you have to develop an ear with every dictator on every new job - you are hired for. experience makes it come faste

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.

If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. - deb

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I graduated from CS, and yes, those reports are hard. So are many of the doctors I've had to transcribe since then. I certainly wouldn't give up if this is what you want to do (I doubt you can get a refund). Do the best you can, and go over every report afterwards and learn everything you can from it. Study up on anatomy, the more you are familiar with what the doctor is talking about, the more likely you will be able to understand what he is saying.

endurance... - sm

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I am wondering how many times you listen to a word, a phrase when you don't understand? I don't think I had a natural ear for this work, but I persisted. Sometimes I'd listen 50 times to a word. I'd train my brain to relax. It would be stressful not to understand and then it made things worse. By "wearing that foot pedal out," and listening so many times, I realized when I wasn't trying, I could hear it. So like I said, I taught myself to relax. I also found when I couldn't hear a word, to erase the word before it, as often if the tense or something wasn't right, it would mess up my ability to hear the word in question. If this is what you want to do, you must have to work very hard in the beginning. Persistence can pay off.

many are not encouragers, - endurance is by a 35-year MT

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Not everyone learns at the same rate, or even the same way. There have been times as a seasoned MT, I thought maybe I lost my ability. But you hang in there, when you hit an obstacle (accent or whatever), you persist until you overcome. Same like in other aspects of life. e/m if you wish.

One has to know when to quit, like everything in life. - nm

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and this only the PERSON can know.

Good advice here, relaxing is key and not freaking - sm - HLINVA

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yourself out about it. I have a good ear for the most part but I have a couple fast talkers that even stump me from time to time. I find if I just blank it and go back after I am done 9/10 times I can get the blank, also of course there is the possibility he will say it again, hopefully clearly, in the dictation. I have another Dr. that butchers certain words and drug names, luckily I have a clue of what he is trying to say and make him look like a genius---LOL.

listen to a word 50 times? This you can only afford - 50 times?

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to do when you are in training.
Under time- and production-pressure, being employed, and having to deliver your line minimum in TAT, who can afford to listen 50 times to a word?
I listen 5 times to a word, then I leave a blank , for the QA.

I really hope that technology experts will come up soon with a BETTER method to document doctors' medical reports, because until now it SUCKS, VR included.

The only ones who profitted till now are the software vendors and the big natuionals.

One has to know when to let go.

Quitting school - pauline

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Right now the MT field is not too good. If you decide not to do the MT course, what about learning medical billing. There is a bid demand for that right now it seems. I have been an MT for 30 years and I used to make good money working at a local hospital plus a PT job too. Lost both of those to outsource companies. Now I make half the money I used to, but I like medical transcription and the economy is rough right now so I am just staying put. I am 60 now and I do not want to go back to school unless I have to so I am hanging on until retirement. I hope I can hold on until then.

Quitting school - pauline

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I meant to say this: There is a big demand for that right now it seems. Sorry about the typo. I really do get good QA scores. It has been one of those days.

keep trying, it gets easier - ggmt

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I was the same way when I started school. It took weeks before I really got the hang of it. To be honest, it will take you a LONG time to be able to hear what is said every time. I'm a newbie (graduated 4 months ago, started work 2 months ago) and just took a test for a company where I struggled to hear plenty of words. School helped me learn how to research to find words, medical terms, gave me tons of examples to look over, etc.

All that said, I think MT is a really difficult job to get into. You already paid your money so I won't tell you to not enroll. Now that you're enrolled, don't quit.

Hang in there - sadiebug523

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It gets easier. But you will always have docs you can't understand. Always. That's just the way it is. When I was training what I would do is just type the report, leave a blank right away if I didn't understand it and when I listened to the audio again I was able to fill in the blanks. What you have to understand is that your "ear" will come only with experience. I cried for 2 straight weeks at my first job after school. It was so hard but after a few months it got easier. You are not alone in having a hard time with dictators. Every MT no matter what their experience is going to have a doctor they cannot do. I have a fairly easy time with Indian doctors. After 4 years as an MT I still have difficulty with Hispanic doctors. Just can't do 'em. I muddle through but it is not pretty. Hang in there and like some other posters said you may want to consider taking some billing courses or coading courses. It will make you more valuable to potential employers. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

school - lee

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I noticed in your post you said you recently graduated, do you mind me asking where you went to school? I have a couple online schools I am looking into & trying to get as many opinions on schools as possible.

Thank you!!

Quitting transcription school - Ex-MT

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Just quit! I am telling you that you can spend your time better learning something more interesting and more profitable at school than bullsh_t transcription. If you continue on to finish the lame transcription training, you have no idea what you are headed for once you get out. I chose to work as an MT years ago, because at that time it pain more than medical assisting -- no more. You will be lucky to earn a livable wage in a reasonable amount of hours with reasonable work requirements. You will be competing with third-world countries, third-world standards, and third-world wages, etc. Think about it. . .

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