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

Due Diligence: Should I get into the MT biz? Which are the BEST training sites? - CarpeDawn

Posted: Feb 09, 2012

There are SOOO MANY conflicting opinions on the MT profession, and SOOOO MANY options for training - the more I know, the more confused I seem to be.

A "training program" or an "accredited school"? Independent contractor or employee? Doctor's office or national transcription company?

I attended a very informative one-day class on the MT industry. MT is a field that I have been interested in knowing more about but have not had the time to look into. Now, I am unemployed and needing to find a job/career that will sustain me over the long haul. Working at home is also something that I have always wanted to do.

MT appears to be a good fit for me. I am a fast typist, have worked in the medical field (as a medical admin asst) for most of my 30+ year working career. I am a fast learner with an excellent work ethic. I also do well in school.

Should I do this? What would be the BEST overall plan?

okay, from a veteran at this. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are looking for a job that will sustain you over the long haul, I would respectfully suggest you consider something else. I have been at this over 35 yr and in the last 4-5 yr I have quit helping people get into the field. It is very unstable, and rapidly changing. Radiology and ER work becoming mostly automated. Many if not most places are going for some sort of voice recognition, which reduces your pay in half and increases your work effort. If you are bound and determined, I suggest you look into the Andrews school and point yourself towards employee status. Most IC work will end up anymore being too rigid with schedules (which they aren't supposed to require). If you lose your job as an IC, there is no unemployment for you and you pay all your taxes instead of the company sharing in that. Getting your foot in the door will not likely be easy in today's market. Ideally you would work in a hospital, where you could be helped along by other MTs. Many hospitals will send their MTs home to work after they become familiar with the work and procedures now. I'd say 99.9% of new MTs are NOT qualified to work at home for some time. If you start in a doctor's office, you will likely be limited to one specialty. Today, your advantage is to be able to do ALL work specialties. Second choice would be to start with a national, with emphasis on one with strict QA, who are also helpful and not critical. You will learn more that way. This is not a field you become expert in after only 1-2 years. Believe me, there is much more to it than medical knowledge and fast typing. Any more, that is the easy part. Hopefully this has been helpful. Keep in mind, most everyone would like to work at home. But if it was everything it was chalked up to be, everyone would be doing it too. Wishing you the best.

thanks sm . . . . - CarpeDawn

[ In Reply To ..]
Obviously there is more to it than medical knowledge and fast typing, or there would not be so many training sites.

If the business is falling to the wayside, WHY are there so many training sites claiming that the field is open an in need of MORE qualified MT's?

I heard that editing VR is the wave of the future. That editors will make more money - But what you are saying is that it doesn't pay very well?

Working at a hospital is out of the question! My whole reason for looking into MT is to GET OUT of the hospital setting and avoid that type of political mire, yet still be able to use my medical office background.

Really - ideally, once trained and properly apprecticed/interned, I would LIKE to work for a large transcription company as an employee and take on 1-2 docs in the same office/specialty. Is that too much to ask?

I cannot see paying all that money to go to...sm - 30+ years, now retired

[ In Reply To ..]
an accredited school only to come out and make minimum wage doing VR. The VR programs are terrible and you get paid half of what you get for straight typing.

Yes, it is too much to ask - wheres_my_job

[ In Reply To ..]
I wish I could tell you differently. Try 50-100 docs is more like it. The job you are picturing does not exist any more, in my opinion. Maybe others know differently. But from what I see, we might as well be day laborers, standing on a street corner, waiting for the truck to come by, to take us to some construction site to pour cement. It is that bad (I believe day laborers are oppressed, they need a union to not be exploited).

yes, that is too much to ask. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If you work for an MTSO, likely you will have 100s of dictators; not likely 1 or 2 (tho it is possible). Why are there so many training sites? Because they want to make money off of you to "train." However, very few prepare you at all for what you face in the real world. Yes, the story is that editors make more money. That is, a few do. The rest struggle hard and fall short of their previous wages. I'm telling you, look for another job. You can probably make more money stuffing envelopes.

Yes, it is too much to ask - Former MTSO

[ In Reply To ..]
For every opening we had, there were 400 applicants--many of them with 20-30 years of experience. A newbie does not have much of a chance these days. And it is not realistic to take on only 1-2 doctors in only one specialty. You need much more flexibility to be attractive to those who hire. I do wish you well, but my best advice is DON'T DO IT.

Yes and no. You have to kiss a lot of frogs and - sm - Zorro

[ In Reply To ..]
until you find a good fit. No job is ever perfect but it takes a while to find what works for you. The majority of jobs are with the larger MTSOs, and as you can tell they are mainly acute care and work pools with 300+ doctors, mainly ESL, and it is very hard to make any real money. BTDT. After working for about 6 different MTSOs (some big some small) I found my fit but I am one of the lucky ones sort of. I make just under $30K a year (a miracle) but I go thru a lot for that money. There are pros and cons to my job. While I do the same five docs day in and day out, I am IC and have strict 16-18 hour TAT, it is rough to do that especially when most of the dictation comes in between 3-6pm every day, so it means working late hours, and getting up early in order to pump out 90-145 mins of dictation almost daily. It can get very wearing between driving kids to activities in the afternoon and at night, making dinner, etc. Been burning thru the gas of late at a rate of 300 miles a week, crazy. Also if my docs dictate on the weekend I have to have it done by Monday morning regardless of the volume, sometimes upwards of 4-5 hours of dictation. I do not get any extra pay for this. So be careful what you wish for. I do not work every weekend but pretty darn close to it, maybe a weekend off once every 4-8 weeks. Most poeple here get the weekends off, or work a M-F, or Sun-Th or Tu-Sat schedule, but they get 2 days off at least. Lately I have been squeaking Sunday off but have just gotten lucky there. I know I won't make the money I make now working elsewhere (plus I do really like my job), while I work horrible hours (some of that is my own fault though as I am not the best wtih time management), I have the freedom to do stuff with my kids and I also have a per dium PT job outside my home which I can work around my IC job, though that can get hard too as I never know when they are gonna call me in but it nets me another $3-6K a year so I live with the inconvenience it sometimes causes. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

another chiming in... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
The reason so many training sites claim MT is an open and growing field is because tuition is frequently reimbursed by state and federal education grants. They will be paid to train you whether you benefit from the program or not.

Being able to type fast is nice, but it does not do the trick. You have to be very, very fluid with word processing capabilities, as most successful MTs employ "shortcuts" and "expanders" that enable us to virtually triple our production. You can only type so fast, so the ability to type smart is key, and it's very hard to teach those skills.

Medical experience is nice, too, but that will not enable you to be a good transcriptionist. Being able to read a medical record and understand it is light years away from being able to hear it and transcribe it. Most physicians would be unable to transcribe, and that's because no amount of medical knowledge will help you when it comes to syllable salad.

I am not trying to discourage you, but I am hoping that you will take into account the other factors I have mentioned here, as they are frequently overlooked. We often hear of people who type well and enjoy healthcare, but these prerequisites will not insure success as an MT.

Thr truth is, the MT field is changing, shrinking, and is in a total state of flux. I would not want to put my eggs in this basket until the dust settles.

I, too, have 30 years of experience in healthcare, including editing, publishing, and multispecialty clinical transcription, and I am among the newly unemployed. I had the kind of position I think you might enjoy - in a private specialty practice - not a hospital or MTSO. These jobs are being hit particularly hard because converting to speech recognition can save the practice an entire salary (i.e., my salary of the last 12 years).

From what I've seen community colleges need tdo stop teaching MT - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
They do a very poor job, which results in a lot of failure of their graduates to ever get any kind of job.

One CC here already has, another is ending its program soon. (nm) - CMT leaving da biz

[ In Reply To ..]
x

The reason community colleges MT and coding programs are so bad - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
I know some very intelligent, talented people who work for community colleges. Their programs are ineffective. Unfortunately, they have had to teach the way 'administration' tells them to teach for so long that they have picked up the bad habits as being the way things are done. They put all their focus on learning facts, but the students don't know how to do anything with all those facts. They don't have good materials. They don't have enough time to teach.

MT biz - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I have 22+ years as an MT (had my CMT, too, until I realized its negligible value.)

For what it's worth, please remember that schools are in business to attract students. My local technical college abandoned the MT program 5 years ago because they were perceptive enough to anticipate the impact of technology and the diminishing need for MTs; they wanted to turn out graduates who could earn a living wage.

Let me also state that, before MT, I was a crackerjack executive secretary, medical secretary, and medical administrative assistant for department heads at an ivy league medical school. They let me audit some classes with medical students, where I was an active participant! I created new statistical protocols which revealed medical trends nobody had ever thought about before! I had a typing speed of 120 wpm before even leaving high school. While these are great accomplishments, and things I'm proud of, they didn't prepare me in any way for MT. I was trained on the job, in an office, with everything double-checked by quality control for 2 whole years before I was allowed to work independently. Working at home wasn't technically feasible until later; but, by that time, I was proficient and able to work largely without assistance.

As you say, there may be conflicting opinions here and elsewhere. Weigh them cautiously!

Just read all the posts - 1mt

[ In Reply To ..]
on the Main Board and MModal board. Everything you read there is really what is going on. The MTs are not making stories up for the sake up writing a post. Wages are being cut, jobs are being lost to VR/SR and to foreign countries. Generally you don't have the luxury of being kept busy with one or two docs from a hospital/clinic, you are required to type for umpteen difference physicians from umpteen different facilities with umpteen different rules and specifications for every single one. If I was not in this field, I would not choose to enter it now. Been in it for 12 yrs and am trying to get out even though I, fortunately, do have enough work "right now" to keep me busy and I don't do any VR. I see what is happening and I have lost work because of advancements in technology. I don't see a secure future for myself in MT and that's why I'm trying to get out before I end up in one of these horrible situations that many MTs have found themselves in by no fault of their own. Read, read, and read some more from all the posts about jobs being lost, schools promising jobs that truly are not present any more, companies over-hiring, etc. It's all here and there is a lot of information to be found on the other boards. There of many MTs who have been in this business for a long time who can barely make minimum wage and are unable to find a different job. How easy do you think it is for a new MT to find a job? It's really getting bad!

so glad I didn't read this board - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
before I got into this field. I would have been scared off too. I have only been in it 3 years and am making well above the minimum wage that is so talked about here. Don't listen to all the negativity out there. I am not just one of the "lucky" ones who just happened to find the only job that pays well or have 1 or 2 really good doctors. I have my share of crappy doctors. My pay per line is about average. My VR pay is average too. While I do not make as much on VR, I do make much more than minimum wage with it as well.

If this is something you will be interested in I say go for it. And, horror of horrors (according to some on here, I attended CareerStep training and got a very good education that allowed me to get a good job.

It has been well worth my time and effort to get into this field. Don't let the negative Nelli's get you down.

Had I been around when people were making 80 or 90 thousand a year I might feel differently. But I wasn't. What I makes now (around 35,000) is a respectable amount to be making especially working from home without all the expenses associated with working in an office.

If you are unemployed now, what have you got to loose? You have to do something and this field fits in with your previous experience and skills. Go for it.

Thank you for speaking up - Ren

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for speaking up and sharing your experience. I just graduated end of December and am starting my first job. It didn't take long to land an employee position at all. I was very worried I'd never find one after reading all the negative talk about how hard it is. I hope the pay will be doable and it will all be worth it. When you say you make around $35,000, is that 40 hours per week as an employee? Thanks.

I work 40 hours a week as an employee - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
And I would also like to say goodbye to this board. I come here about once a week out of curiosity to see what is being talked about and if attitudes have gotten better. I can see that they haven't. I have better things to do with my time than this. Call it burying my head in the sand or whatever you want.

A comment below was made that we are typewriter repair people in 1985. Well if that is so, then maybe we just need to adapt and figure out how to repair the word processors that followed the typewriter and then the personal computers that followed them. Adapt or get out and stop trying to pull everyone else down with you.

I agree - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I SO agree with you!! Technology has come in the way of this field for many years and will continue to do so for many years. I have more work than I know what to do with, am making great money, and other people can too. I check out this job board and other job boards and the jobs are plentiful out there if people knew how to research properly. It's those who decide to settle for places such as the big nationals who get screwed over. If work is so bad, go somewhere else. I don't settle for doctors I can't understand, specs I can't figure out, and I refuse to work a schedule and I am thriving. I also don't put all my eggs in one basket working for only one company.

May I chime in? - BummedMT

[ In Reply To ..]

This is the first time I'm posting on this particular subject, as it seems to be so relevant to so many these days. I find myself out of work for the first time in 35 years in this business. I've been a subscriber to this site for years but was always dismayed at the large number of sarcastic/spiteful posters, and stuck to helping out on the Word Board.

I've done every type of transcription, every specialty, every setting (tucked away in the basement of medical centers, doctors' offices, etc.), and had been nicely settled at home as an IC with my own accounts and for wonderful small MTSOs. I didn't have to go looking; the work always found me. I would help out on weekends or any other crunch time, as having a flexible schedule to me also means accommodating the MTSO when needed.

Never wanting to depend on one account or company for income, I also had a steady and thriving workload from several places, until a few months ago, when, coincidentally within weeks of each other, every single account (clinics and hospitals) moved over to EPIC, some of it with only a few days' notice. Shocked only begins to describe how I felt. I was within a few years of retiring and hoped to not have to do any more job searching.

The people I've come to know in this business are also hurting from lack of work, or are nervous they will have the same thing happen - however it happens - point-and-click EMR or off-shoring. I've seen enough posts on MTSTARS now to agree that EPIC is decreasing the demand for our services quicker than anyone may have thought possible and, well, off-shoring has been happening for years and I doubt it will stop.

Not one of the places I have applied to has answered me. I admit I need to learn how to do better research for smaller MTSOs, as I had worked for years for one of the nationals as an employee and prefer to remain an IC. But once something like this happens to you, it makes one gun shy to invest time learning a new platform, doctors and account specs, always being mindful that this new account may be the next one to decide that transcription is no longer in the facility's budget and, poof, the work is gone.

I do enjoy reading that there are MTs that are still happy, making good money and love their work. It gives one hope in an otherwise dismal outlook for this industry.

wow. I am so sorry for you. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
My story sounded similar to yours, 37 yr in the business, every aspect, every speciality, etc. After your post and several others lately, I am beginning to feel like I am sinking in quicksand, wondering if I'll be one of the next casualties in this industry. It is getting harder every day to stay optimistic.

I agree - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Don't think that because I've thriving now doesn't mean I haven't experienced the same as you. I lost my job to Epic or a form just like it. I have lost a few jobs to speech recognition. However, that doesn't mean every single facility and every single doctor are going that route. To sit there and bash this field as if it is going underwater and will cease to exist in the future is ridiculous. I would love to know how all of you acted when the computer was invented and everything was moving to computers. There are still tons of jobs advertised each and every day, there are private doctors in private facilities who don't want to switch, etc. Some people just rely on these boards to get them through the day and for jobs to apply for without looking elsewhere for jobs. I always get a response when I apply for a job so maybe you need to make your resume a little more reader friendly...I don't know what the answer is, but for everyone to discourage someone who wants to try this out on their own and telling them to run is sad. I know many of you went from making 80 to 90,000 a year down to 35,000 or 20,000 a year and it's peanuts, but guess what? In today's market, 20 to 35,000 is pretty standard for a job and even better when you don't have commuting expenses. I get that wages have decreased, I do, but for those who don't know the difference, should at least be given the opportunity to try it out.

BummedMT - Lucky Girl

[ In Reply To ..]
Have you tried Landmark? I am happy there.

Thanks for your replies - BummedMT

[ In Reply To ..]

Good points made by all. There was about 100 of us that this happened to at the same time between these several accounts that went to EPIC. At first I just had to get over the shock of the unexpected end. Worked on the ol' resume. I should clarify I only applied to a few places, but then needed to take care of a medical issue with surgery that was put off too long while working so much, so will have some more time to keep looking during the recovery. Seemed to be the smart thing to do while I had the time.

I am fortunate that my husband has a stable job and good health insurance, and we are fairly conservative with spending and don't have any debt other than our home. The sting of the loss of income is hard, but somewhat less than some other MTs going through the same thing.

I am curious, and maybe a little confused, about Landmark. MTs seem to really like working for them, but then see several posts now and then that they run out of work too much? I have probably missed some posts about them over time, so if this has been explained further in any of the posts, can you enlighten me?

I do apologize to the original poster to have drifted off of her topic. I don't believe in bashing anyone or any business - not everyone is suited for this line of work, so some will be successful where others have not been. It fit me perfectly. I averaged $45-50,000 in the last several years even with line rates decreasing, which is still great to me, but that was working 6 days/week and that type of production and income comes after years of experience, not having to do much research of words/terms, having an "ear" for mumblers, ESLs, chewers, and hearing through static, machinery noise, chatty people talking right next to the dictator (my pet peeve) - at times a good MT wil know what they are going to say even before they say it.

If every dictator spoke correctly and enunciated, and away from other people and equipment, if sound files were perfect, if platforms wouldn't crash/freeze while working, etc., it would definitely be an easier job, but that's not the reality. Being versatile in all specialties and types of dictators is important - getting 1 or 2 dictators not likely in a large medical setting, but may be possible in a smaller group practice. Not one of my personal doctors uses transcriptionists anymore and seem to be proud to tell me that - ugh! They have all gone to an electronic point-and-click EMR.

Just something to think about while you decide if you want to take on the necessary education. But good luck to you if you decide you'd like to try. And yes, I feel there are way too many places that are falsely advertising and misleading potential students, so you are wise to learn as much up front as you can before investing any money.

Sorry this became longer than I planned. Everyone have a good weekend.

LOL - IgnoranceIsBliss

[ In Reply To ..]
So, you are "glad" you didn't do adequate research in order to have all available info in order to make a sound decision? Are you "proud" of it too? LMAO!

Come back in 5 years and tell us about your employment status, your working conditions, and your pay.

So glad and Due dilligence - 1mt

[ In Reply To ..]
Enlightening post just added to the Company board entitled "Frustrated." Please check it out. These are the hard and sad facts of what is taking place in the MT field. We are losing money year after year, not increasing our salaries. It is sad but true. It may not have happened to some of us yet, but we still need to be very cautious about our future.

Respectfully, kindly, your head is buried in the sand - $58K MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I made a hair under $60K last year and only a bit less than that the year before. **And even I am getting out.** I am all too aware of the fact that if (when) this job goes the way of the horse and buggy that I, too, will be forced to scrap for 0.04 and, lately, even 0.03 cpl.

To the OP: I beg of you. Don't do this. Turn back now. The only thing lucrative remaining about this shell of a career is in the training of clueless noobies who have no idea what is transpiring throughout this industry. If VR doesn't get you, then India will. If India doesn't get you, then EPIC will. There's nowhere left to hide. By sheer luck, I've managed to dodge VR and India, but EPIC is going to take me and my colleagues out. Some have worked here for more than 20 years.

EPIC IS in the works all around us; it's just that the services don't realize it yet as it takes almost a year to put into place and the hospitals need all the worker drone bees up until the very minute they flip the switch.

Due Diligence - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I would not recommend that you do this. I am retired from MT after 40+ years as a MT/MTSO. Others have found this post helpful, so I will repost it for you:
Several people have asked me if I think MT is still a viable career. Coincidentally, today as I was cleaning out some files, I found notes from a seminar I gave and thought I would summarize a few of the thoughts, hoping they might be of value to someone out there. (Moderator, if you don't feel this is appropriate, please just delete the post.) First, there are three "myths" to consider: 1. The myth that medical transcription is easy money. Many of the not so reliable schools push this idea and use it to exploit people. It makes me really disheartened that many people who do not have much money to begin with get taken in by this. Shame on the schools who do this! 2. The second myth is that it does not matter where you go to school; you can get a good medical transcription education anywhere. Again, another myth. The old saying that "you get what you pay for" really applies. When I am counseling people face to face, I always advise that the two things they MUST have from any program are the SUM program and real, live instructors. 3. The third myth is that you can always learn "the old fashioned way--on the job." That was true up until perhaps the end of the 70s; it is surely not true now. The marketplace and its structure (and pace) have changed too radically. When interviewing schools, ask questions: 1. Where are your graduates working? Can you give me the names of 2-3 grads who would be willing to share their experience with me? 2. How long has the school been in business? Is it a private entity? A sole proprietorship? Who are the principals? How are your instructors chosen? 3. Do your financial homework. Call the BBB and the Department of Business Regulation for the locality in which the school is registered. Have there been complaints? Have the complaints been satisfactorily resolved? 4. What form of financial aid do you offer? 5. How accessible are your instructors and by what means? E-mail only? Are telephone calls permitted/encouraged? 6. Does your school use authentic physician dictation such as in The SUM program? Or does it merely use scripts read by actors? 7. What type of follow-up does your school offer? Can I "retake" any portions of the course with which I have difficulty? How many tries do I have to pass the final? 8. What kind of placement program do you have? What percentage of your grads get placed? (There should not be a fee for placement.) 9. Utilize the wisdom of the "old salts"--ancient MTs like yours truly who have been in this business for decades. Most older MTs are happy to help newbies. Many people helped me when I was starting out, and in gratitude, I try to help people just starting. Those are just some thoughts that I culled from the seminar I did. I hope something in here helps someone. Have a great week!

The best overall plan - would be to do something else

[ In Reply To ..]
Transcription is dying. We're like cashiers who used to punch in the prices on those big loud cash registers before there were scanners.

My advice: find something else. Otherwise, you're buying a ticket for a cruise on the Titanic.

We are the typewriter repair person...and it's 1985. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Hello? Anyone in there? Why on earth would - crazyMT

[ In Reply To ..]
you want to get into MT when you have experience as an admin asst??!! Please stay with what you know and run for you life from this job! I've been an MT for 10+ years and I'm heading for the hills. This job SUCKS and I NEVER recommend it to anyone and have told many people not to go to school for it because it's such a lousy job. Anyone wanting to get into this field needs their head examined. JMHO!

Similar Messages:

May 18, 2010

Good morning all! I'm starting a new account which is an OB/GYN clinic and also will entail a good deal of prenatal anomalies and investigations as well. Does anyone here have any particular favorite websites they use as an informative guide for terms, abbreviations, etc., related to this field? If so, would you be so kind as to share any links? Thanks so much in advance for any valuable information you're willing to share. Have a great Tuesday! ...

Oct 12, 2009

Can someone help me with puting laboratory values in the right order? Or maybe a web site that is helpful. Thank you ...

Oct 18, 2010

I have been working through a company as an IC and now have an opportunity to gain a local account, but I need an FTP site that I can receive wav files and send reports back, does anyone have any suggestions? The last time I did local accounts they were still using tapes, LOL! ...

Jun 10, 2011

I just switched over to typing pathology reports, are there any good sites that you recommend to help with learning some of the words and phrases. ...

Nov 16, 2009

Thanks for all the useful comments and equiptment tips. I am waiting for my internship. Want to keep my skills sharp. What on-line sites would you all recommend for daily MT dictation pracrtice? I am currently redoing over and over my course materials. Also what does one do to improve on grammar and punctuation skills? Thanks. from Vermont, Diane ...

Dec 11, 2009

I seem to be having a problem with getting the lab data in the right sentence structure can anyone help me out with this problem. Thank you in advance. ...

May 08, 2012

Does anyone know of sites for dental/maxillofacial procedures or terms? ...

May 21, 2012

Can't get into beyond text or the MLS site. Any problems known? ...

Mar 01, 2013

Does anyone else on this board have an issue with companies not posting all of the information needed for people to apply? On a different board I found a job that I was interested in that and I wanted to apply for it but some of the information ( i.e. years of experience, types of programs used etc) were not there. Should I stay away from companies that do this? ...

Jan 27, 2014

not come up and says you can access the server. ...

Oct 03, 2014

I'm currently in CareerStep and hoping to be done with my training in the next month or so. I'm trying to get a jump on companies I might want to apply for, and I'm not sure if I'm really getting anywhere. Many of the companies on GlassDoor are geting barely 2 out of 5 stars! CareerStep partners with a bunch of schools as well and I can only get information on about half of them off of Glassdoor. So any recommendations OR companies to stay away from would be great! ...

Dec 09, 2014

It has been my experience that any time a company requests that you go to their testing site to complete a test, it seems to be a waste of time in screening candidates. The audio files are extremely hard to hear and half the time the audio skips. There should be a better way to screen applicants than by using these testing sites. It is a no-win situation. You spend two hours doing their screening and trying to transcribe reports that are not the work type that they are ev ...

Feb 12, 2015

We ran out of TAT last week and I guess our supervisor missed out on some bonus because of it. Tightening down on schedules/hours/procedures for not showing up for work or showing up late were reiterated to us. Guess some took it seriously cause now the work is slim. Had been getting stressed with having to flex or use up PTO, today I spent the last hour on gardening web sites and looking through seed catalogs. Feel relaxed now and ready to prepare a little lunch and then check back ...

Dec 20, 2009

I was thinking of something the other day: We all have our favorite web sites which we have found on our own, whether it be for surgical web sites, chemo drugs, bacterial finder, orthopedic test words, neuro words, etc. How about we post said web sites here with a short description as to what they are for. It would be a good way to help each other out Anyone agree? Thanks! ...

May 14, 2010

Does anyone have a good website where if you can only make out part of the name of a drug it will research everthing with that part. I used to have one ages ago that all it needed was at least 3 letters, but have since lost it. Now a year or so later I am trying to find it again. Any help is appreicated. ...

Apr 07, 2011

I am SO excited. I just received a call from a local hospital for an interview tomorrow for an full-time inhouse transcriptionist radiology position. I am not sure yet if they pay by the line or the hour; I hope it is hourly then I would know exactly what my pay will be instead of by the line since you never know from one pay period to the next how muych it will be. Believe me, this is rare as I live in the middle of nowhere and 3 hospitals that are within driving distanc ...

Apr 27, 2012

Hi all. I'm wondering what sites are your favorite for drug researching? The main issue right now is a sentence that has me wondering. It says: "The patient has no known allergy for the s/l listed." I've never heard it put that way before. He must be talking about the meds the patient usually takes, but, if he's been taking them, of course he has no allergies to them! This is a separate sentence as I have it in caps. Do you need anything else? I have tried looking up anything tha ...

Oct 07, 2013

Hello out there. Are there any medical coding and billing sites like this one. Any information on websites or where to look would be greatly appreciated. ...

May 01, 2014

I need to update my resume. Does anyone know of any internet sites that offer templates that are free or does anyone recommend any sites. ...

Feb 23, 2011

I am not sure what's going on of late, but I don't seem to get relevant search results when I use G. I search for a medical word, but get results from sites that have nothing to do with medicine. I end up questioning the credibility of these search results and have to research more. Needless to say, I've been losing money spending so much more time researching words. Sometimes, I just wonder if I could have access to a medical search engine to cut out the non-medical stuff. Anyone ...

Mar 07, 2012

Anybody know? ...

Oct 10, 2009

I am considering an online school to learn Medical Transcription. What does the future look like for upcoming MT's? With all the medical changes coming, would this be a career to consider? Thanks for any help! Debbie ...

Nov 15, 2009

I am a mom of 3 boys with a lot of secretarial experience. I have taken several college courses recently including Anatomy&Physiology, Medical Terminology, Medical Transcription and Advanced but cannot find a job. Everyone looks for experience. I am in the process of applying to Everett Community College for their certificate. I would love opinions from current MTs regarding your opinion on beginning this career. Is it still a good option? I hear so many differing opinions on the future. Do ...

Nov 17, 2009

How long does training takes? How long do they give you to get up to speed, meaning getting your required lines in. Do they pay a shift differential? ...

Jan 25, 2010

Anyone know how long you are supposed to get training pay? Came back to company for some extra $$ and thought I was told this is a 90 day thing, but 2nd paycheck was on production pay though I am still 100% QA? Anyone have any suggestions on this? I am so confused now. ...

Aug 04, 2010

hello... I'm looking for opinions and advice from MTs as to where I should get my MT training. Where do most MT companies like their MTs to have their MT training? Thank you ...

Jan 29, 2011

I am still in training, but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on the software and or equipment I could go ahead and purchase to help me get through my training more smoothly. My dictation at this time is on a CD disk and wondered if a foot petal would help me at this point. Thanks, bettyboop ...

Mar 21, 2011

Has anyone tried to train someone else to be an MT on their own, without the courses? I am a CMT and have 18 years experience - I have a couple family members that would like to learn to become an MT but cannot afford the course. I am considering trying to train them myself - any suggestions? ...

Jun 12, 2011

What is the latest on the training for no pay? Is is still going to happen? Did it happen or did TT decided to do the right thing and pay for MTs time? ...

Aug 17, 2011

Has anyone here taken CNA training, leading to LVN, maybe an RN some day. I am taking an accounting class, but after doing medical transcription for so many years iit is not very stimulating. ...