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Studying for MT and I have questions - Bunny


Posted: Oct 19, 2010

I recently found this career from my Aunt.  She works at a doctor's office and told me that her friend recently quit doing it because she no longer needed the extra work or money.  From research on the internet, I found an at home course to get certified to be a Medical Transcriptionist.  I just spent $1,100 for this at home course and I get to keep the Medical Transcription Third Edition book along with the Infinity Foot Control.  The woman my Aunt knows was taking classes to be an RN (registered nurse) at the time and was doing the dictations at home.  She claimed she made about $25 an hour and she worked 4-6 hours a day for 6 days a week.  She was not a Certified MT.

My questions would be:  Could I still make the same as she did even though I will be certified, but not working in a doctor's office as a separate job?  What other courses did everyone else take to be certified?  Would you all trade your MT jobs for different job?  If you would want to trade your job for different one, why?

 

Thanks, 

Bunny

I doubt you will be certified from that at-home course - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
You probably will receive a certificate that says you completed the class, but certification only comes through AHDI and it is at a cost. I do not believe someone fresh out of school could even pass that test. It is extremely hard and MTs with years of experience have a hard time with it.

Also, I sincerely doubt there are jobs out there making 25 an hour any more. I have been doing this 14 years and 5 years ago was well over that, but with offshoring of our work and the speech recognition, my pay is around 13 now.

I bet starting out, if you can find someone to hire you without experience, you would make around 7 to 8 an hour.

Sorry to sound harsh, not trying to make you regret your decision, just trying to help you to see the reality in it.

Certified Medical Transcription v Certificate in Medical Transcription - BIG difference

[ In Reply To ..]
When you take a course and receive a CERTIFICATE you have a certificate in medical transcription. You are not a CERTIFIED medical transcriptionist.

Only one governing body can bestow that credential and that is AHDI.

So hopefully you are not presenting yourself as a CERTIFIED MT but rather as an MT with a CERTIFICATE.

And the likelihood of you getting a job making $25/hr working at home is low at this time given the market is flooded with lots of experienced MTs looking for positions due to changes in techology.

Did the course you take also teach you to be a medical editor? That's a skill you'll be more likely to use than straight transcribing.

And I traded in my MT job, got a Master's degree, but for health reasons, I'm back doing MT and being quite successful at it. But I'm very experienced and can do any specialty with a lifetime of learning behind me.

There was a time when the claims your aunt's friend were true, but those days are mostly in the rear view for many MTs at this time.

I'd recommend having a solid and I mean ROCK solid A&P base, experience listening to several dialects and transcribing them, and then making sure you get trained in medical editing.

"Certificate of Completion" and Certified MT are two different things... - NoCalMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Perhaps you are unclear as to what it means to be a certified MT (CMT)? Most MTs first pass a good MT course, then (if they wish) go on to study and pass the RMT exam, and then it's pretty much a prerequisite to have at least 2 yrs. experience in the field before even attempting the CMT exam, which is quite difficult by all accounts.

I'm guessing that the course you are taking is probably saying you will receive a "certificate of completion" once you graduate the course; but this would be a completely separate entity from the AHDI CMT exam and certification.

May I ask the name of the at-home course you are taking? This would help clarify the situation a bit.

CMT- RMT and Certification all different - rtanzi

[ In Reply To ..]
Right out of school you can take the exam to become an RMT. To be a CMT you need experience first. All you have fresh out of school, says you have taken a class. You could take a webinar with AHDI and find out more about RMT and CMT. GOOD LUCK

rtanzi - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Why waste your time with the CMT at all? All is does is enrich AHDI, the organization that supports offshoring and only exists to enrich itself at the expense of MTs.

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