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

Needing info on CTR career - hypertyper

Posted: Jul 19, 2012

Hello,

I have been checking out the whole CTR thing and there being a demand in this field. Can anyone tell me if this is a rewarding job? Just hoping I could get some insight into this field and appreciate anyone that can comment.

Sorry, I haven't been following... - ...what is CTR? (s/m)

[ In Reply To ..]
Sorry, maybe this is a dense question. I'll look over the previous posts and see if I see that mentioned already; but in case I don't, what is CTR? :-)

was wondering that myself nm - downtime

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nm

cancer tumor registrar - transitioning MT

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xxx

Thanks, TransitioningMT... - ...that was straining my brain! :-D (nm)

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...

Certified Tumor Registrar, Natonal Cancer Registrars Association - More research suggested

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Look for information on the NCRA website. The AHIMA website has a very good explanation and summary that lays out the requirements clearly.
Also look at www dot ctrexam dot org.

To work as a CTR you will need to be certified. To qualify for that you will need to meet the requirements of the NCRA. An associate degree is required. You can either take an associates degree program in cancer registrar, or if you already have a degree you can do a certificate program in cancer registrar. A 160-hour work experience in a cancer registry that has a CTR is also required.

There is a list of accredited programs on the NCRA website. There are 5 college programs offering the associates degree program and 5 which have certificate programs. AHIMA has a certificate program which would work if you had an associates degree already and were already working, because it does not include the internship.

Cancer registrars have far fewer job opportunities than coders since there are far fewer cancer registry programs. Do not do this unless you have jobs available in your area and you like the pay. It is very close to coding in pay, but it tops out sooner.

Pay close attention to the subjects taught for CTR. Statistics and epidemiology are tested on the exam.

This is a good field, but please be sure you uderstand the job and the requirements. Do not fall for stories that you can do this at schools other than those accredited by the NCRA or that you do not need to be certified. Accredited registries can no longer have uncertified registrars.

pay vs coders - questioning

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I am curious where you find that a CTR tops off in pay lower than a coder. There is an element of exclusiveness in this craft because of the smaller number and importance in keeping national statistics, etc.

Wish that were so - sm

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I find that in salary surveys.

Coders and cancer registrars make the same into the mid-40s, then CTRs stop because there are few higher jobs for them. Coders, on the other hand, can continue into compliance, documentation review, etc, and keep going. They are already IN HIM, so taking a different job in that field is easy. They can easily get more education and move up because they are IN the field already. No starting over.

CTRs mostly work outside of HIM, so outside moves require more starting over. They can get more education, but moving up in HIM or informatics or compliance is not as easy. They are not recognized as being in the field.

Coders also can work for contract companies and can do their own consulting, which pays very well.

Smaller numbers do not affect pay unless there is a shortage. CTRs are few, but that is because there are few jobs. There is no shortage to speak of. The reason there are only 5 colleges teaching it is not because it is so exclusive but because there is only enough demand to support 5.

There is a severe shortage of credentialed coders. Coding jobs go unfilled because of this. About 30% in fact. THAT drives up pay.

The importance of keeping statistics is very noble, but it does not mean a hill of beans. What does matter is that reimbursement is dependent upon optimal coding. Money talks.

Thanks for fantastically informative posts. If there were - more CTR jobs I would already be one. NM

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Thanks for being so informative and helpful - hypertyper

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You really explained things nicely and I have a much better picture now. Thanks so much. Will research some more and probably still lean towards health informatics of some kind. A thanks to sm too for explaining the coding thing so well. I am still kind of cautious because I have heard such horror stories about getting your foot in the door.

Thanks again

Getting feet in the door - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Can you think of ANY job field in which it is EASY to get a foot in the door?

I do not understand the idea that it is or should be easy. I guess because we know that colleges graduate people every year, we think all those people just swoosh right into jobs, but it does not happen that way. A lot of them never do get jobs. The cream of the crop get the jobs, but the rest struggle. From law to accounting to computer science, people have trouble. Especially now that there is such high unemployment.

One problem with career-changers is the expectation that they should go from the top of one field to the top of the new one. They often do not realize that they may have to start over at the bottom. This can make things look worse. You have to be willing to take any job to get a foot in the door.

Another problem is that you have to expend a lot of effort to get any job now. My organization often has 3000 applications for a position. Applications and interviewing skills are extremely important now. As much as we do not like it, we have to look and act the part, whatever that might be.

What you see as a horror story in coding looks different to me. I know hundreds of working coders who somehow managed to get a foot in the door. They are credentialed, are very good at what they do, and have approprate ethics, appearance, and behavior. Every one of them has to find a first job.

I also see job applications and know people who studied something they think was coding yet who cannot get a job. I know what underlies the alleged horror stories . . . undertraining, inadequate credentials, no credentials, horrible work history, criminal backgrounds, bad credit, alcohol and drug abuse, bad interviewing, silly and illiterate resumes, not following directions, oppositional and aggressive behavior, bad breath, body odor, unprofessional appearance, unprofessional behavior, and flunking the employment test.

For healthcare jobs, you have to meet the needs and expectations of healthcare employers. If they have a dress code that stipulates business dress, closed shoes, nylons, short nails and no fakes, no perfume, no visible tattoos or piercings, you need to already be that way at your interview.

What is getting a lot of applicants now is poor English literacy, drug testing, and smoking. Healthcare is death on tobacco. If the organization is tobacco-free, do not expect to be hired if you smoke. You smell, and they can pick it up a mile away. They are not going to pay you to sneak out for a smoke every hour, raise their insurance rates, ruin the furniture, and nauseate the patients.

Conside the lady who was complaining bitterly that she could not get a coding job because she had "no experience." She had no credentials. What she did have was a morose, unhappy, whining disposition complete with a permanent frown, hippie jeans and an old flower-child top, dirty sneakers, a massive bag stuffed full of papers, a fat little calendar book bursting with papers and held together with rubberbands, straight graying hair down to her waist, long nails with visible dirt and peeling polish, visibly rotting teeth, and a smell that was a cross between dog food and manure fertilizer. Do you think her problem was that she did not have experience?????

Somebody else at an interview was happy to announce that she owed 39,000 in loans from a billing and coding course at a career college. She had no credentials and 2-inch nails, a resume that contained a description of her course as a degree, and a complete lack of understanding about the job. She expected to be trained on the job and was very curious about smoking breaks. . What do you think her problem was???

Thanks for laying it on the line. And for the tip to bathe before interviewing. - Funny AND informative AND encouraging. :) NM

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