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


Recommended online certification programs? - Jennifer


Posted: Nov 04, 2010

Hello---I am a stay at home mom that is interested in becoming a Medical Transcriptionist. I am looking for any recommendations on an online certification or training program. There are so many out there, and I am leery of being scammed or overpaying or completing a course that is not recognized, etc.

Does anyone have any recommendations for me? I definitely need it to be online, from home, and would prefer a shorter timeframe. I already have a Bachelor's degree (in an unrelated field), and do not need a degree....just the training/certification to work in this field.

Any help/advice is much appreciated!

I would look for something else - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
I would look for a different job. MT is not going in the right direction, jobs are hard to comeby, newbies have an even tougher time finding work, and the pay is minimal.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

I second that - mb

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree with the previous poster. Do not get into this field. I would say at least 50% of us are sitting here all day with no work.

Agree. It's no longer worth it. - Lane

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I would suggest looking for a different career - MT is a dying field

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been an MT for many years and it used to be a good job. But with the direction MT has been going for the past 5 +/- years, I honestly wouldn't recommend MT to my worst enemy.

Between offshoring more and more of our MT work over to India, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc., on top of VR/ASR (voice recognition/automatic speech recognition), and EMR (electronic medical records), MT is a dying field.

Many of us who are still in MT are making less than half the salary that we used to, and many of us are sitting for hours each day with no work. So our companies tell us to "flex" our time and then we end up working nights and weekends to try to make up for the work that wasn't there during the day. Personally, I am currently at my computer for about 12-14 hours a day in order to try to get in 8 hours worth of work.

I know that these MT schools make it sound great, make $50,000 a year working from home, working whatever hours you choose. But that's just not reality. Maybe it was true 10 years ago, but the reality today is that a lot of MTs are barely making minimum wage.

I agree with your assessment (sm) - Long time MT

[ In Reply To ..]
The advertisements make it look like everybody is making $40-50K a year, and that's a long way from the truth. Also, if you are looking for certification, be aware that none of the schools can "certify" you - only testing by AHDI, the professional organization, is considered valid certification. I think some of these on line courses lead people to believe that passing their test qualifies you to call yourself certified. It does not.

Jennifer, what they say is true. The last post, - Barely Surviving

[ In Reply To ..]
I could have written myself, and I think too many of us have that experience as well. I am making a little over minimum wage now where as a few years back it was around $25/hour. My skills have not changed but the environment of MT has.

The companies use the term flex when they really mean jump through hoops to get your puny pay.

We are just trying to save you from our grief. We are stuck in this, many of us older and the reality is that older workers have a harder time getting jobs. At least that has been my experience. MT jobs are available because they love to have the skill level that they can pay you peanuts for, but anything else? Forget it.

I agree completely - countrygirlMT

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been doing this for 26 years. I make 40% less than I made 11 years ago working more hours. I echo the sitting at the computer, no jobs available (thus I work 2 jobs), working 12 hour days, flexing your schedule, weekends, just to make a living. The off shoring, the voice recognition, the electronic medical record, all are causing this profession to go down the tubes!
Not to mention - MY2c
[ In Reply To ..]
it is just really really hard to learn MT from scratch with no help. Very easy to get discouraged and give up, especially after you take the course and realize no one will hire you. And if they did hire you, you would not make enough $$$ to make it worth while for a long time (at least a year, probably longer).

Hmmmmm - Jennifer

[ In Reply To ..]
Well, thank you all for your honesty. I am not sure I should abandon it though, given my situation. I have been offered a job already through a friend, I just need to get the training. I do not need to make a ton of money, but in this economy, I am just looking to bring in SOME money to contribute to my husband's earnings. I am not looking for a full time job or a full time salary, just the opportunity to make money by spending a few hours in the morning or afternoon or at night in between my kids' school and activities working. There doesn't seem to be very many other jobs that are as tailored to that schedule as MT. I have looked into medical billing, but that seems to be a lot more tied to the telephone, talking to insurance companies, etc.
I am not 100% certain I will pursue it, but I am interested in it. If I did decide to do so, can anyone give me an idea of the length/cost of a training course, and then the requirements to take the exam to become certified???
Thank you!!

Please see inside for some helpful answers. - MT Fairy Job Mother

[ In Reply To ..]
Don't let naysayers cheat you out of your own pursuits. Regardless of the career, you will always find people who project the same negativity toward it and write it out of the future. It simply isn't happening like that. It is changing but that is the reason many are so unhappy - they don't like change. Training as an MT now, you will find this upcoming phase as your baseline, just as the more experienced MTs found typewriters and the dawn of the main frame and PC as theirs.

Spend all you can (money and energy) on your education: It will be your foundation. You will still have much to learn on the job but you must have that foundation first.

Go through an AHDI-recognized program. The top 3 distance learning programs are (in no particular order) M-TEC, Andrews and Career Step. You should thoroughly investigate the website for each one, formulate a list of questions and ask the recruiters from all 3 of these schools the same questions - compare your answers. I think M-TEC even has a student community you can join without being in their program.

Once you complete your education, your school should assist you with job leads or companies that prefer their graduates (providing you have a high GPA).

Consider taking the RMT (Registered Medical Transcriptionist) credentialing exam upon graduation. Once you are comfortable in your job with at least 2 or 3 years of experience, challenge yourself with the CMT (Certified Medical Transcriptionist) exam. These credentials/exams are offered by the most widely recognized association for the MT career: AHDI (Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity) which is on the Internet at ahdionline.org.

Remember, you don't know who any of these posters are, what their perspectives are in other areas of their life, nor where they get their information from.

Recognize the difference between opinions and facts. Make your decision based on FACTS that you diligently research (think associations, government entities).

It will take you time to get to top money and you will have to be at the top of your game for it but you CAN have a wonderful career still yet in this field.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you want.

MT Fairy Job Mother

Helpful answers - Jennifer

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you so much for your advice! I really appreciate it. You have given me some good information to go on, I will be researching everything you have given me.

Helpful feedback - Glinda the Good MT Witch

[ In Reply To ..]
Jennifer,
The Job Fairy offers good advice to someone IN GENERAL entering this field.

However, when I read your second response about already having a job, not needing to make tons of money, just want to do it here and there between kids' activities, I have a bit of a different answer.

When I hired, I called people in your category "Johnny Moms" because they only wanted to be able to work when Johnny was napping or doing this or doing that.

Since we don't know what kind of job your friend has offered, this might not apply, but MOST often, you have to give the person you're transcribing for a schedule and MOST often they don't really care if Johnny has soccer practice.

I still love this profession and while I don't go around drumming up recruits anymore, I think if you have an excellent grasp of the language, know how to research, have ABOVE AVERAGE typing skills, with the proper education you can still do well in this field.

Good luck! I, too, would encourage you to NOT look for the cheapest school because MOST often (wink) you get exactly what you pay for!
Good grief. She has the right to do as much or as - little as she wants for any reason she wants.
[ In Reply To ..]
Get over yourself.

If she wants to just work 10 hours a week, that's her business.

It's a job, for crying out loud. It's not rocket science and it's not a specialized field. LOL It's not even a SERIOUS job!

Eye roll.
Not a serious job??? - What??
[ In Reply To ..]
If you don't think this is a "serious" job, then why do you do it?

For flexible-hour, part-time work for extra money, - McDonalds is a far better choice.

[ In Reply To ..]

Excellent Advice! - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
You will definitely be cheating yourself out of any chance of success if you go for the shortest and fastest course you can find. Then you really need to evaluate your own work/study situation. If you don't have serious time to devote to your studies and to your work afterward, don't do it. If you have so many distractions, interruptions, and other things going on in your life that your studies will not be a priority, don't do it. Too many people get into this kind of work thinking it will be something easy they can do while the children are napping. It doesn't work that way. It's serious work. Otherwise, you may find that it's the ideal career field for you. Nothing is perfect, especially in today's economy, but it may work for you better than anything else. Just don't' go the short, fast, cheap route thinking that will get you where you want to be.

OK then, and good luck to you - MT field is dying

[ In Reply To ..]
I didn't post above only to discourage you. I posted it because it is the honest truth. MT **is** a dying field. Yes, it will probably be around for at least a number of years to come. But it is rapidly evolving into a minimum wage data entry type of position, albeit one where they will still require a vast amount of medical knowledge.

I started out years ago on typewriters and I loved it when we made the switch over to computers. I do love the new technology and I love new change, in and of itself. However, with EMR, VR/ASR and offshoring, every time I turn around, they are DEcreasing the amount of money they are willing to pay for this type of work. And believe me, as VR/ASR increases, and more and more work is being sent off our shores, the pay in this field will continue to DEcrease.

I totally understand your situation and what you're trying to do, but I also thought that you needed to understand that MT is a dying/drastically changing industry. It's not the rosy picture anymore that these MT schools are painting it to be. JMHO

TRUE! I could no more recommend that someone - learn MT, than I would recommend learning - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
shorthand, Teletype or Addressograph operator classes.

Changing Doesn't Mean "Dying" - From what I am seeing

[ In Reply To ..]
Things constantly change, in any career field. Medical transcription is no different. Technology changes everything, sometimes for the better and sometimes causing even greater problems. We have a mix. The jobs 10 years from now will no doubt be different. From what I am seeing and hearing, those with questionable skills are going to be out completely. The work is going to have to be taken more seriously than some of taken it in the past, it's going to be hard work, which is new for some MTs although I have always found it to be interesting but hard work, and many people who are doing it now are not going to make the cut.

My 2 cents... - LisaMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Jennifer, for the job offer through a friend that you mentioned, all you probably need is solid training through a good, AHDI-recognized school, which MT Fairy Job Mother listed in her post. Unless the friend/employer is requiring that you get your RMT and/or CMT, it is not a prerequisite to working in this field.

Good luck!

My 4 cents - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
I've read all the postings regarding your solicitation for some advice and thought I'd add my 4 cents. I'm an old MT, with over 40 years in the business, still going strong doing something I love.

Basically there are a few prerequisites for being an MT. You need to be a fast accurate typist, a naturally excellent speller, have an excellent memory for literally millions of medical minutia, the ability to work with little or no supervision, and, to work from home, discipline and solitude. If you are lacking in any of these areas, you will not do well, that's just a fact.

For your training, if you can swing it and have access to a local community college, go there to get the education you need. The curriculum will be more thorough and you won't pay an arm and a leg for it. You might have to devote a school year for it, but it's better than some "accelerated 3 month course" that will only take your money and not give you what you actually need to do the job you say is waiting for you.

When you complete your training and start your job, don't get discouraged if you feel like you really don't know anything. It's part of the process. You learn in a vacuum and then you have to go out in the real world and apply what you learned, only to discover you've learned just the tip of the iceberg. When I first started out after graduating from my "medical secretary" course, my first job was at a US Navy teaching hospital where we transcribed everything, every medical specialty known to mankind and it took almost 9-10 months before I felt a glimmer of confidence in what I was doing and then, "click", everything sort of fell into place. So if you really want to do this, again, don't get discouraged when you first start out.

About being certified, as another poster indicated, it's not a prerequisite. I'm not and it's never held me back; in 40 years I've had only 4 employers and have always worked in-house. Also, be very grateful that you have a job waiting for you. If you've learned anything from MTStars, you should have learned that most employers want nothing to do with "newbies".

If you really want to make this your career, and make no mistake, it is exactly that, a career, be aware that the other posters are correct in their assessment of the once lucrative MT field. It's drastically changing because of all the reasons they stated. You may have a job now, but because of technology and off-shoring, you may not have one in the future, so be prepared not to have a job. I'm thankful I got in the field on the ground floor and also thankful I have only five more years before I retire.
Good luck to you Jennifer. Hope you will be happy with your career choice.

online programs - Dee

[ In Reply To ..]
M-TEC (www.mtecinc.com) and andrews schools are the best ones!


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