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

MT Refresher courses - Cydney

Posted: Jun 09, 2013

I've been out of MT for some time now and I'm considering taking refresher courses. Career Step offers them. Anyone have anything on them? Are they worth the money? If not, do you have ideas on the best way to re-enter the MT field?

I did not know they had a refresher course - Suggestion

[ In Reply To ..]
I did not know they had a refresher course. Two thoughts about MT refreshers in general, nothing to do with any school.

First, what exactly would you need to refresh? To me, MT is like riding a bicycle. If you did it before, shouldn't you be able to do it now? What would need refreshing? Med terms that are new since the last time you did this? How long is that? More to the point, how would a school know that to know what terms to include? And how exactly is a school going to identify terms used since some random date?

If you want to refresh your skills, a better plan would be to get a set of the recordings from Health Professions Institute. Their training programs are the gold standard. They have sets of acute care dictation, ESL, radiology and imaging, and lab and path. The acute care is what you will need.

http://www.hpisum.com/medical-transcription-store/career-development/

MT as a career is not doing well, as others will tell you. I would not recommend getting back into it. EHR point and click, VR, offshoring, and mega-MTSOs have ruined it. MT incomes are dropping. It really isn't a viable choice any longer. You might get back in, but I doubt it, and if you do, you may regret it.

My suggestion would be to use your money to retrain in a different field. Coding would let you use your existing knowledge, is secure, and allows for lateral and upward moves in health information. Or, you may have something else you prefer.

Career Step offers refresher courses - Cydney

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not sure if they will offer what I feel I need in order to improve and refresh my skills.

I worked as a transcriptionist in an OBGYN office some time ago and when they moved those positions out, I opted for a different job in another office. Now, this job has an uncertain future. They've already began laying off and we may have a year.

I'm looking at this because I want to work at home and I did like transcription. I feel I need significant refresher work for several reasons. I have no acute care experience, I have forgotten much of the pharmacology and other terms, I'm not confident in my editing skills, and I'm probably as slow as a turtle when it comes to typing right now...well at least when compared to other transcriptionists.

I felt that a refresher course was probably the way to go. I'd like to spend the next few months immersing myself in refreshing transcription skills so that I could feel confident enough to do the work.

Off and on over the years I've come here to MT Stars and I always read the same thing about how terrible it is to get into transcription. It really never changes. Not to say that it isn't true. It's just repetitive.

I will take your advice about HPI. I would like to get enough practice that would keep me busy for the next few months before applying for positions.

Thank you very much for your time.

More clarity please - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
How long have you been out of MT, and what type of MT'ing did you do? If you were doing family practice only and did it for only a year, I would taken an entire, good MT course. If you were doing acute care for 15 years and have been out of it only a year, you should be able to fall back into it, except for meds and surgery equipment.

I'm not sure how a "refresher" would be useful to anyone, unless they specifically customize it to your existing experience.

Agree with all of the - above...

[ In Reply To ..]
Instead of wasting $$ on MT courses of any kind, I would just take tests and see if I could get hired anywhere first. When you see what a dismal mess this job has become anymore, you would probably regret spending any money to pursue it.

I've been out of it for a few years... - Cydney

[ In Reply To ..]
It was in an OBGYN office and I wasn't there long before they outsourced all their transcription to another company. I had thought a refresher might be enough, but after some searching I realized an entire school would be better. Medical office skills are mostly what I have and those positions are hard to come by. Transcription offers more in the way of the options I need despite the job outlook.

Career Step is one of the schools I am looking at. I wanted Andrews, but I can't afford the large down.

Anyway, thank you for the wonderful advice.

If you only have clinic OB/GYN - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
...I don't think a refresher of any kind will help, as things have changed and you won't get to "pick" what specialty to transcribe. Also, clinic work is going by the wayside.

I, too, don't recommend investing any money in this, but if you do, I would choose Andrews. You could discuss the downpayment with the director of the school. She is very easy to talk to.

Well, okay, I'm not going to try and talk you out of going into this business, it sounds like you have made up your mind to do it.

Obviously, a lot of people are in this business despite your best efforts... - Cydney

[ In Reply To ..]
I knew that I would probably need quite a bit of schooling since my experience is so limited. I don't have a problem with that.

All this "gloom and doom" about this business hasn't kept people out of it. I'm not saying that it hasn't changed or that it won't be difficult. I have no doubt that it will be.

Of course when you have new technologies, businesses will adjust to the changes and jobs will be lost or moved. We live in the reality of a global economy where work is regularly shipped out of the country.

I do believe my expectations are realistic. I'm not looking for a lot of money. I'm hoping for part-time to supplement my current job for the time being. I don't expect it to last past a year from now.

I hope to focus on acute care which is where employers look. I'm crossing my fingers that I can get not only that education, but also get experience as well.

I do think if it was as dismal as everyone here insists, then we wouldn't see company after company looking for experienced transcriptionists. I think it's a far more competitive field than most experienced transcriptionists would like...it means less work and less money for them.

It also means that anyone with little to no experience has to work that much harder to get a foot in the door. If you're not willing to work and pay your dues, IMO, then no, I would say this field is most definitely not for you.

Companies are looking - For experienced MTs because

[ In Reply To ..]
...a lot of people have up and left this field.

Good luck to you. If you can get good schooling plus acute care experience and be finished with the entire career in a year, that is quite an accomplishment.

I doubt I could do all that in a year :) nm - Cydney

[ In Reply To ..]
n/t

Sorry - Misunderstood your post

[ In Reply To ..]
I misunderstood your post, sorry. I see now that you meant your current part-time job won't last past a year.

FYI: Nobody here is attempting to be doom and gloom. We're just very concerned and don't want to see you invest money to not make money.

I have 16 years of acute care experience and could no longer make any money in this biz (I'm talking barely minimum wage), so my decision was to get out.

I'd like to talk to you a year from now and see - how you did

[ In Reply To ..]
I honestly believe you are a little delusional, but hey, shoot for the stars. After a year, please do come back and post about how competitive and lucrative this field is.

I had no idea I was going on about all the money I'd make. nm - Cydney

[ In Reply To ..]
LOL.

never said you were - how you did

[ In Reply To ..]
Don't put words in my mouth. I just said I would like to hear from you in a year from now and see how competitive and lucrative it is then.

I think - She Thinks

[ In Reply To ..]
Whatever little money she makes will be worth whatever money and headaches she put into it.

I did not hear that she has any delusions about being lucrative. I think she doesn't realize the climb up and the headaches, only to come out with piddly wages.

I think she thinks - also

[ In Reply To ..]
I think she thinks that part-time jobs are available. She doesn't realize that national MTSOs don't hire part-timers like they used to.

She also doesn't realize that MTs now spend a lot of time being available for work and checking for work, but not getting any.

I guess she'll find out soon enough. You would want to help people avoid that, but when they accuse you of trying to eliminate them as the competition, hey, let them learn the hard way.

If she worked in a doctor's office, she should be familiar with the coding and billing aspects of it, enough that some specific training would give her something she could, in fact, do part time.

Cydney - You appear to be a hard

[ In Reply To ..]
worker and it has been my experience that there is no stopping anybody who is determined to make something work. I hope it all works out for you. If anyone can do it, you should be able to. However, any current MT will tell you that crossing your fingers in hopes of getting the education and experience might not be enough of a reality check. Many MTs are leaving this field because of low wages not to mention it can be a stressful job. You should expect to work weekends, holidays and/or evenings and work outside of your schedule (flex hours) if work is sporadic. Nevertheless, after you get re-educated, see if you can find work in a clinic, office or hospital that is willing to take on a newbie. That would probably be your best chance of gaining experience and then you can branch out to working from home. Wishing you all the best...

I do think if it was as dismal as everyone here insists, then we wouldn't see company after com - mt4toolong

[ In Reply To ..]
Companies are continually hiring BECAUSE MTS keep finding better jobs for decent pay. You are welcome to work this crappy job - have fun earning 4 cents a line.

That is what I am - Trying to explain

[ In Reply To ..]
Just because there are always ads for a given field, it doesn't mean it is an okay field to go into. It could mean there's a high turn-over rate. People coming in with rose-colored glasses, then the rose fades, and they get out.

There was also a very heavy surge of MTs getting out over the past 7 or so years, when ASR hit us in the face. I got out about a year ago, but I had a good run of it before then. I don't think anyone has a "good run of it" anymore. By "good run of it" I mean long-term.

They were probably advertising - (see msg)

[ In Reply To ..]
...staterooms on the Titanic as long as even 6 inches of it remained above water.

Doesn't mean a sensible person would have paid money for one.

To: They were probably advertising - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Very wisely stated! People need to evaluate the situation as it IS, not as they wish it to be.

Why the same companies are always advertising - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Some reasons these companies are always looking for employees:

1) Clunky platforms.
2) No flexibility in schedules.
3) No benefits.
4) Overnight shifts.
5) Every weekend.
6) Every holiday.
7) Such low cpl that experienced MTs know they wouldn't make a good paycheck on what they are offering.
8) Stressful QA scoring.
9) Rigid schedules.
10) Clocking in and out even to take a bathroom break.
11) Only counting time that your hands are touching the keyboard, NOT researching, which is a big part of our work. This results in much longer work days than 8 hours.
12) Running out of work daily even though you are required to sit out your shift. No work = no money = sitting at your computer for hours making $0.

Those are just some of the reasons. This is not to discourage you, but to let you know how much this field has changed. Also, the fact that those hiring newbies will be offering the lowest pay scale of them all, and part-time is now very rarely offered.

This post kind of boggles my mind. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Why invest any money, let alone thousands of dollars, to get a job that pays minimum wage, which is exactly what a newbie would make.

In the first place, being an MT is hard and it takes YEARS to get your ear trained to hear with 99% accuracy (99.6% if you work at MModal-haha).

To disregard the overwhelming opinion on this site (and elsewhere) that the MT biz is gasping its last breath for US MTs borders on delusional.

Cydney - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
You know the old saying--free advice is worth what you pay for it, so feel free to ignore me. However, I have been in MT for 40 years (both as an MT and an MTSO) and I think you would be making a much better choice to go with Andrews. If you are to succeed with this at all, you need LIVE instructors (not an answer key) and the SUM program. Even so, it is iffy. When I quit (a year and a half ago), there were 400 applications for every job! That means you will be competing against seasoned MTs who know every specialty inside out. Of course, the choice is yours, but, given the state of the MT world today, and the competition being what it is, a good assessment of the situation is in order. Personally, if I were needing to hire an MT today (or 20 or 30), I would look for the Andrews education. My best advice would be for you to find some other field. That would be my advice to anyone in your situation. Whatever you decide to do, good luck. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Career Step - MTLady

[ In Reply To ..]
Yep, Career step has them, but look around before you decide on one.

Mt Refresher Cydney - Daisy

[ In Reply To ..]
Can you not just try to apply and test with some of the companies and see how you do. I am sure it will come back to you in no time. You may not need a refresher course. I think the tests alone would be a refresher course. Some of them are pretty brutal. LOL. Good Luck. The test sites will also lead to the schools the companies prefer to accept applicants from. Inscribe Transcription has their own school.

Daisy - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Does Inscribe's school use the SUM program?

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