A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
My granddaughter has just informed me - that she is enrolling in an online transcription c
Posted: Aug 26, 2014
I AM APALLED! Clearly she has not discussed this with me until now. Her husband is in the Army, she is a new mom and wants to do something to contribute to her family. I have told her this is the wrong move to make. I have explained to her that though I have done this job for 35 years, she will be unable to find a job when she finishes her training. Personally, I believe the school is a ripoff. I don't know which one it is. I have an email for the recruiter and I would love to collect responses from all of you that I could forward to her. I have explained the whole scenario, overseas transcription, speech voice recognition, and everything. I am going to send your responses to both of them. Thanks for helping me with this.
tell her to sell Avon - or do eBay, anything
[ In Reply To ..]but this, especially don't pay a ripoff school
Grandma, you make it look too easy - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I have often thought that people think it looks so easy to make good money--they are just sure they can do it too. If you are like me, you don't complain a lot, you just work harder and make it work. We are making less money and working harder and just trying to make it to the end of our careers before the end of the job.
tell her she is better off trying coding - even though it is very hard to get a job
[ In Reply To ..]without experience. Good luck to her in whatever she does.
Question - see msg
[ In Reply To ..]I'm not clear. Did she ask you your opinion before doing this, or is this all after the fact?
She really doesn't need your permission, but I think she is silly to not take your advice.
Believe me I know she doesn't need my permisson - @ Question-See msg She is asking me before the fac
[ In Reply To ..]My intention is to send her your responses as well as what I have told her. I would also like to send your responses the school recruiter/counselor she is working with. It may look too easy to her,she has visited my office several times and I work in a hospital but I have explained to her that this is not the norm and that my job may not be here 3-4 years from now.
Why don't you just send her to this site? - Val
[ In Reply To ..]A couple minutes of reading should clarify the state of the career.
MTOs won't put up with the interruptions that come with babies. - They are not so willing to hire
[ In Reply To ..]those with working at home with babies, toddlers, etc., too many other experienced applications out there w/o those demands. One-hour TAT, in the middle of a 4-page report , bottle on the stove, kid screaming hungry and wet, and the company calls with a stat. That right there is a disservice to both the company and the baby. You think that baby cares about your job? You think that job cares about that baby?
If she goes for it, she'll lose her mind AND her money, not to mention time wasted studying this. Time that could have been put into studying something more in demand. Can she afford the time and money to start over if within a year or two she is still not working?
My advice to her would be if you're going to do it, at least be smart about it. Research! Not just this, but all occupations. Find one with hiring supply and demand in your favor, and for Pete's sake have a back up plan with anything you do, because no one knows the outcome of anything anymore. Not in this day and age. The rules are constantly changing.
Around 1975, 1980 or so, it would have been a - smart move. Not so in 2014. (SM)
[ In Reply To ..]If you think she won't listen to you, tell her MTStars is a great place to "research the ins and outs of the field", and to get a feel for what working at home as an MT is like. Then send her the MTStars link, and then sit back and see how good her research skills really are.
My own personal belief is that the field will dry up entirely before she ever graduates from her course.
It Would Be A Waste of Her a Time And Money - TransitioningOutOfMT
[ In Reply To ..]tell her to try www.sykes.com, formerly Alpine Access. They have customer service jobs from home. Or she can try http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/01/17/work-from-home-the-top-100-companies-offering-flexible-jobs-in-2014/
This is the school she is talking to - Anything that is recommended by the AHDI
[ In Reply To ..]is clearly a bad indicator
http://www.careerstep.com
Stay away from Boston Reed also - Val
[ In Reply To ..]nm
THIS IS THE EMAIL I SENT THE RECRUITER - SEE MESSAGE
[ In Reply To ..]My name is ******* and I am ********* grandmother, a medical transcriptionist at a local medical center. I have been an MT since 1979. When I started in this field, in 1979, my salary was $7.45 per hour and currently is $23.72 per hour.
Fifteen years ago I would have recommend this field of study for *****, but definitely not now. I have been employed, in my current position, for 22 years and I know that is does not have any more than 3-4 years left. Medical Transcription has almost become obsolete due to voice recognition technology, the electronic medical record, and overseas transcription. I think it is a gross disservice for any company to take money from students and promise them this is an opportunity for employment a career growth. I am hoping that Daisha will listen to me and take my advice. Click on the first link below for some insight into how current career medical transcriptionists are doing right now. Click on the second link and see what the Department of Labor has to say about the job outlook. Furthermore take a look at âTen Myths about Medical Transcriptionist.â Also you should know that any school that has the recommendation of Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), formerly AAMT is not at all respected by most professional medical transcriptionists. I am going to advise Daisha to take courses at the local community college and work with a counsellor to determine what is best for her. Her husband is active duty military and since they will be paying for her educations she has lots of options. I hope she is not swayed by the âgift of an IPADâ because if she studies MT at your school, she will pay dearly for that IPAD.
http://forum.mtstars.com/560459.html
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-transcriptionists.htm
Job Outlook
Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow 8 percent from 2012 to 2022, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The growing volume of healthcare services is expected to continue to increase demand for transcription services. However, employment growth will be limited due to increased productivity stemming from technological advances.
Ten Myths about Medical Transcription
By Anne Martinez from Medical Transcription For Dummies
Thereâs a lot of misinformation floating around about the ins and outs of a medical transcription career. Some of it comes from honest misconceptions; the rest comes from training companies that want your money.
Medical transcription (MT) is interesting and challenging. You can train from home and work from practically anywhere you can get an Internet connection. There are opportunities to work nontraditional hours, part-time or full-time, as an employee or as self-employed independent contractor. MT has a lot going for it. It isnât, however, a free ticket to prosperity with no strings attached.
Medical transcriptionists make $50,000 a year working from home
This particularly alluring myth frequently appears in advertisements promising to take you from zero to medical transcriptionist in a matter of months â just come to our free seminar to find out how! Donât believe it, and donât sign up for training (or even attend a seminar) from any company that makes such a claim.
Are there medical transcriptionists who make $50,000 a year? Yes, but theyâre few and far between. A quick trip to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website reveals that the average annual salary for a full-time medical transcriptionist is closer to $34,000.
Medical transcriptionists can work and take care of the kids at the same time
If youâre picturing yourself tapping away at the keyboard while your little darling plays quietly at your feet, pinch yourself and wake up! Thereâs no way you can transcribe medical reports and take care of children at the same time.
MT work requires intense concentration and undivided attention, two things that arenât compatible with supervising little ones (or much of anything else). If you have young children at home, youâll need to arrange for childcare during your work hours or work while theyâre sleeping.
Medical transcriptionists just need to type really fast
The ability to type at warp speed is a great asset, but it isnât an automatic ticket to success as an medical transcriptionist. The things that really make the difference are largely mental:
⢠An inquisitive mind and love of language so you can learn (and keep learning) all those medical terms
⢠An independent, pressure-resistant mindset
⢠The ability and motivation to concentrate intently for extended periods of time
Medical transcriptionists need little or no training
Unless you have formal medical transcription training, your résumé will never make it into the âto interviewâ stack. The training must be from a recognized, reputable source, such as a community college program or well-established medical transcription school. Otherwise, youâre toast.
Plan on spending a bare minimum of nine months preparing for your new career. Youâll study anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, formatting of the different report types, and many more skills you may not anticipate needing but definitely will. When you graduate, youâll have that crucial formal training to include on your résumé and the know-how to do the job.
Speech recognition technology will make medical transcriptionists obsolete
Speech recognition technology (SRT) is in widespread use as a way (in theory) for medical facilities to cut transcription costs. Working medical transcriptionists refer to it as âspeech wreck,â because the results sometimes have more in common with a multicar pileup than a quality healthcare document. Under ideal dictation conditions, SRT can do a decent job, but it takes very little to send things awry.
Despite its substantial shortcomings, SRT seems to be here to stay. Because the results of SRT are unreliable and require constant supervision, it now figures into what medical transcriptionists do on a daily basis. Speech recognition has added a fresh twist to the ever-evolving MT profession, not made it obsolete.
Electronic health records will eliminate the need for medical transcriptionists
This is only true in the minds and marketing materials of people who sell EHR software. Somewhere along the way, the idea of digitizing medical information seems to have become equated with transforming the recording of healthcare details into an entirely point-and-click process, but itâs increasingly evident that it canât be done.
Some elements of healthcare documentation are enhanced by restricting input via check boxes and drop-down lists, but for some things, fill in the blanks just doesnât cut it. Healthcare providers need a way to incorporate narrative observations, opinions, and conclusions â in other words, dictation.
Most medical transcription work is being outsourced overseas
Everything else seems to be going to cheaper, offshore workforces â why not medical transcription? After all, who can afford to pass up a chance to save some green? Medical transcription began going abroad in the 1990s, and more was headed that way, but then things changed.
In 2010, changes in federal laws related to protecting patient health information made compliance with federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules an even higher priority for medical transcription companies and healthcare facilities. In order to achieve tighter control over patient information, itâs being kept closer to home.
Getting certified is the best way to break into medical transcription
Any advertisement that entices you to âbecome a certified medical transcriptionistâ is feeding you a line of hogwash. You donât need a certification or a license to become a medical transcriptionist. There is a Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) credential, but itâs not an entry-level kind of thing, and no training program can give it to you.
You may opt to earn it eventually, but youâll need at least two years of experience under your belt first. Even then, youâll have to pass a rigorous exam that will test your medical knowledge and transcription skills across multiple medical specialties.
Medical transcription is low-stress work
You may think medical transcription is a low-pressure job. How hard can it be to listen to what somebody says and type it up in a report? A lot harder than you can ever imagine until youâve actually done it. Youâll be astounded by what comes across your headphones â guaranteed!
For starters, medical dictation often arrives amply stocked with background noise and interruptions â and donât forget the crackers (dictators seem to frequently have a mouthful of them). It includes words you havenât ever heard before and have no idea how to spell, especially at first. Many times, a thick foreign accent will be slathered on top. So, letâs just say the clarity isnât always the best. . . .
Real men donât become medical transcriptionists
Okay, maybe nobody says that, but you may get that impression when researching the field. The current crop of medical transcriptionists is overwhelmingly female, but men and women are equally capable of becoming excellent medical transcriptionists.
Itâs not any harder for a man to break into the field than it is for a woman. As more men seek out work they can do from home or on a flexible schedule, theyâre discovering medical transcription. Medical transcriptionist employers care how many reports you can produce, how fast, and how accurately.
Reply - Waiting for the dislikes
[ In Reply To ..]8% job growth in 10 years is not shabby, actually and your salary is not a negative thing if you are trying to point out the negatives as to why your granddaughter should not do this. I think that job outlook is overly optimistic, though; if there is any growth, it probably will not be in the United States. I am familiar with this school and know that it is all on-line, canned text and self directed study with little instructor feedback, their coding program is the same way. Any school that has to give people I-Pads to get them to enroll, I think that speaks for itself. The other things that you pointed out in the myths ("Medical Transcription for Dummies"-- Could you not quote a more respected publication?) are somewhat contradictory in places. The people who run the program your granddaughter is considering have done their research, and none of this is probably new to them, they probably have a number of former MTs on their faculty. In regard to AHDI, it is true that they are not very well liked. Unfortunately, they are the credentialing body for MT and they publish the Book of Style, which is pretty much the transcription "bible" among employers and QA staff. I'm not sure, but AHDI may also approve curricula for schools. A lot of people blame them for outsourcing and offshoring, I don't know the reasons behind that. I was a CMT, grandfathered in and then passed the exam. I dropped my membership and certification pretty early on, though, because it never seemed to matter much to my employers. All that being said, I would not recommend transcription to anyone, regardless of the program, it's just too hard to find a job that pays anything, and it does take a long time to work one's way up to speed. I had the same MT job for 18 years, it ended 2 years ago. I hope your job lasts 3 or 4 more years, but sorry to say I think you are being optimistic. I know people are going to disagree, but I think I'd probably think twice about coding as well as some, but not all of that is outsourced these days; I never thought my facility would do that, but they announced today that some of it is being sent out and will not be kept local. Also, it is pretty much the same story with coding; difficult to get started, and while it does pay well, for many it takes years to reach that level. It's also difficulty to learn and master, probably more so than transcription. Please do not share my response with Career Step, I don't think you should be doing that without people's permission.
After speaking with her - She has agreed to go to a university
[ In Reply To ..]in our city and work with a guidance counselor to determine her interest. Somehow I thought this was a public forum. I didn't specifically send your message per se, just a link to let the recruiter know what is going on. Thanks for critiquing my message but the only one I needed to convince was my granddaughter and talking with grandma was enough for her.
It is public - Waiting for the dislikes
[ In Reply To ..]But I don't want my responses sent to strangers or recruiters from schools without my permission. If they want to read my replies, let them come here. I don't know if there is a way for others to obtain e-mail addresses from this forum, but I certainly don't need have my inbox slammed with spam. Trust me, the recruiter knows what is going on without anyone having to tell them. It is only common sense that what we share here, should stay here.
why so worried? sm - anon
[ In Reply To ..]There is no getting your email through this site, we all know that, and there's no spam to be gotten here. Protesting a little too much?
"Trust me, the recruiter knows what is going on without anyone having to tell them."
We know they know the score out here. Do they know we know? Now there's a question.
They are taking advantage of the naivety of these wide-eyed hopefuls out there, and it's as close to fraud as you can get w/o breaking the law. Perhaps we all should send our best wishes to that.
Here is the response from the recruiter - Here is the response to the email
[ In Reply To ..]Hello *******,
Please be aware that ***** is not paying for this course, the MyCAA grant will be covering the cost. Also, a free iPad is not offered to government students. We have a 92% placement rate for our MTE students. I am terribly sorry about your experience with this profession, but Career Step is nationally recognized for our Medical Transcription program and have been since the early 90âs.
However, if ****** would like to attend college I completely respect her decision.
I will be following up with ***** as I have enjoyed working with her and will not discontinue my contact with her unless she wishes for me to do so. Thank you for contacting me and expressing your concerns. Unfortunately I believe you may have been misinformed in regards to how the course is funded and about the incentives being offered.
Thank you.
Well there it is, grant money funders need to be - informed they are being legally robbed. NM
[ In Reply To ..]what a racket. Ladies - we need to change sides here and break some bad. Seems they're in bed with the government.
How's that for a Catch-22? Same people that demanded AND funded the use of EMR and VR (or Medicare won't pay), same people in high favor of global enterprise (India, meet USA; USA, say hello to India), and same people enforcing HIPPA standards, one of which is cutting back administrative (that's us, medical office workers) costs - thereby putting MTs out of business in three totally different, but very related ways - is funding schools through military wives' grants to become one.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, I'm sitting here shaking my head.
I think that was their intent all along. - Disgusting PARASITES.
[ In Reply To ..]*
I belive the government doesn't realize this. School should - never have been granted to receive funding.
[ In Reply To ..]the government maketh and the government taketh away. Thank you ObamaCare, and up yours, too.
I think they DO have a 92 percent placement rate ... - me
[ In Reply To ..]...because most students don't even graduate.
I went to Career Step and they really aren't as bad as people think. It's not a scam. You get out of it what you put in. But people right out of school will be making minimum wage. I know I did.
Exactly, because most students never graduate. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Just to add, a 92% placement rate is not so hot. You don't know what they are placed in, to begin with.
It also means that almost 10% (1 in every 10) who DO graduate cannot get a job.
Their CEO once told a reporter that only 10% of the students who get jobs are still in them after 3 months.
Actually - Waiting for the dislikes
[ In Reply To ..]Someone did get my email through this site when they were doing their recent "site maintenance" and I received a bunch of spam. If someone wants your email bad enough, trust me they'll find a way to get it.
Worried - Waiting for the dislikes
[ In Reply To ..]Well, here's a different spin on those schools - I could spend money to learn long haul truck driving or auto mechanics. I know I would suck at both of those things, but hey the school promised a free I-Pad and job placement; that makes just about as much sense as wanting to be an MT because grandma does it and you can stay at home with your babies. Career Step does have a good reputation and nothing they do constitutes fraud; Andrews also still has an MT program and they are considered to be an excellent school. No one twists anyone's arm to get them to sign on the dotted line and if the school teaches the program they are doing their job. If the student can't get a job or make money it is not the school's fault. People do need to research and make informed decisions, that is why people like the OP are helpful, it's always good to have a family member in one's corner.
You Can Make Money And Get A Job - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]You can make a little bit of money and get a job as an MT with no experience necessary but only online schooling. You can also make a little bit of money at McDonald's with no experience necessary and no schooling.
If that was enough - sm - Waiting for the dislikes
[ In Reply To ..]Why did you come here and try to get everyone else involved? If you didn't want my opinion you shouldn't have asked for it.
No Job Growth In U.S. - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]I read that labor bureau information page on MT job description, growth, and income about 3 years ago prior to enrolling and becoming an MT. It didn't sound bad to me at all, but now that I am an MT, I don't see how the information could be accurate. I would be satisfied if I were making $34,000 yearly working at home, if it were true. And the 8% job growth, growing at average rate for professions in general, how can that be? It makes it sound like there's a future in this "career." I think you probably hit the nail on the head when you say that the job growth must be for overseas, namely, India. There's no way I would even consider this a career, but more of an odd job that you would give up when a more preferred job is available. If the labor bureau page info had been more accurate saying that more and morejobs are going overseas and thus a lot of U.S. MTs are getting paid less at rock bottom about minimal wage, I don't think I would have trained in this field or given it a second thought.
"respected publication" !! ha - It told the truth
[ In Reply To ..]which is more than AHIMA/AAMT does now.
Respected publication. - Waiting for the dislikes
[ In Reply To ..]AHIMA has nothing to do with medical transcription; it is AHDI. It's a sad state of affairs when "Medical Transcription for Dummies" is considered a definitive reference.
No sadder state than - "Medical Transcription" itself
[ In Reply To ..]NM
Ridiculously Low Pay - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]I'm not sure whether it's gross or net pay when they state income? That is, if they say the average MT is expected to make $34,000 a year? All I know is that I make about $16,000 a year net pay (pay deposited in bank account) a year working full-time at Nuance. You can only expect to make under $20,000 a year at an MTSO, which is where most of the hiring is these days.
See - message
[ In Reply To ..]YIKES! Hoping your granddaughter will go another way. There was an intern who came to our office yesterday to decide whether or not she wanted to be a transcriptionist. When my supervisor introduced her to me, smiling and everything, I wanted to yell, "DON'T DO IT! DON'T GET INTO MT!" I hope that intern goes back to school for something else altogether and decides NOT to become an MT.
Thank you all for you opinions and help - I thought it would present a stronger and more inf
[ In Reply To ..]position if my granddaughter could here from people other than me. After listening to me and seeing what you all have been saying on this site, she did make an informed decision. I am proud of her. She isn't clear what her interests are. She needs to have a course she can study online because she and her husband will eventually go over seas to Italy for an assignment. She wants to financially contribute to her young family but she has no post high school education. I've been trying to convince her that she needs a college education, so that is what she is going to do. I don't understand what all the discourse was from "waiting for dislikes," but thanks to all of you. We have saved a young lady from making a huge career mistake.
GOOD NEWS - She went on an interview today
[ In Reply To ..](I was surprised an interview on a holiday) with Walmart and she has been hired as cashier. She just wants to contribute to her family while her husband is active duty Army. She will take classes at the community college. When she finds out what his assignment will be she may or may not have to quit. I'm proud of her.
BEST NEWS EVER - Ny granddaughter did take
[ In Reply To ..]The cashier position at Walmart. In the interim her husband has finished basic training, he is now doing his AIT (advanced individual training) for his position in the Army. They have learned his first duty station will be in Hawaii. They will have base housing and they are so excited. We are too it gives us a reason to visit Hawaii. We are so proud of them.
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