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

Good School - Gr8Scot5

Posted: Oct 08, 2011

Hello - I am researching schools for MT education/training. I have seen Andrews mentioned here as a very good one. Does anyone have any knowledge of Career Steps or Future MT? I want a great education and don't want to inadvertently get on the "kiss (of death) list"! Any other contenders?

Thanks so much for your input!

Nope, no other contenders. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Read the postings here and you won't see any from Andrews grads who can't get a job. They almost have jobs waiting for them when they graduate. Their CHOICE of jobs, too, it seems.

If you're looking for a great MT education with a near-guarantee of a job, I think you'd get it with Andrews. Given all the others, it's probably the one with the best overall reputation, both before and after graduation. Excellent materials, excellent instructors with personalized attention, and no horrible online screen teaching. It's really a bargain and quite worth every penny of the cost.

This is so true...sm - andrewsgrad

[ In Reply To ..]
Truer words were never spoken. I graduated Andrews in 2006. I my choice of 3 jobs within 1 week of graduation. Then, I decided to stop transcribing for a while due to other circumstances. I started back in Nov. 2010, after not transcribing for 4 years. One of the places I tested for said I did better on their test than people who had 15 years experience. I was hired by a great company within 1 month of starting my search then. Andrews has no equal.

sorry, I "had" my choice of jobs!! Long day! nm - andrewsgrad

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Good schools - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
The ONLY two I would recommend (in this order) are:
1. Andrews.
2. M-TEC.

Those are, IMHO, the only ones I would trust. Do not, not, NOT get sucked into an inferior school. Here is an old post that I made months ago, but it has evidently helped some MT wannabes. How I wish for the people who discover that their schools are inferior that they had checked the schools out before enrolling in schools/"institutes" that are little more than the infamous matchbooks. Of course, many of these schools are on the "S list" (and I do not mean sugar here) of MTSOs all around the country. We have learned which schools produce job-ready grads (Andrews and M-TEC) and other schools that just take their money, teach them 3% of what they need to know, and waltz away. Then the MTSO gets stuck trying to train an ill-trained person because you cannot know what you do not know and these folks are nowhere ready to hit the ground running and WORK. I have NEVER seen an Andrews grad who could not produce from day one. Anyway, here is info, hope it helps. Good luck to 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!

-------------

You were very smart to ask questions and check schools out BEFORE shelling out your hard-earned dough. Good luck to you!

What seminar - Jeni

[ In Reply To ..]
1

Jeni - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I did not attend their seminars, nor will I. I would have no reason to do so. Unfortunately, I do not think you will be able to get hired on the strength of AHP (and many MTSOs do not like it because its students are so ill-prepared). The competition is too fierce, and as a business person I would think, why should I hire from a school of this caliber? I recommend either Andrews or M-TEC. AHP quite simply does not prepare its students to perform in today's market. Many, many AHP grads have come to me for advice, and I have advised them to get a more extensive MT education. Just my own two cents' worth. I have encountered other MTSOs who feel the same way, based, sadly, upon sorry experiences in the past. But do go out there and try. Mine is only one opinion. You may be able to make it and if you do, I hope you will come on here and post. Good luck, whatever you choose to do.

All you need to do is read all the posts - Maggie May

[ In Reply To ..]
on here from people who took the AHP course, US Career "Institute" (and a few others) who can't get hired, have difficulty even getting someone to let them take their employment test, and then can't pass the test because they haven't learned all the things you need to know.

Maggie May - Former Dpt. Head

[ In Reply To ..]
I just tell people who want to know about AHP to Google "AHP complaints" or "AHP scams" or "AHP Federal Trade Commission complaints." They have a stunning number of Federal complaints filed against them. Still, I always wonder why people don't research these so-called "schools" BEFORE they lose their time and money?

Good School - Gr8Scot5

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks to all who answered - it helps! Sounds like the old adage really comes into play here: You get what you pay for!

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