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

Is At Home Professions a good school for medical transcription? - Kim

Posted: Jan 25, 2011

Is At Home Professions a good school for medical transcription? I read that it is not AHDI certified. What does that mean?

AHP - emily84

[ In Reply To ..]
Hi Kim.
I studied through AHP and found them to have extremely good training. I type for ESL doctors now and attribute it to the tough schooling I went through with AHP. The only problem I had was that I could not find a position when I graduated b/c it is hard a difficult field to get a job in if you are entry level. I ended up taking an internship and getting a job that way. I work full time from home now and have for a year. Good luck to you!

AHP is certified - rejoyce

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At least they were last time I checked. And they are pretty tough. I'll be working with my sister when I'm done. She says it is very hard to get into this business unless you know someone.

Rejoyce - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Getting into this business does not require that "you know someone." (How silly.) It does require a good, solid education. I have never known an Andrews grad who could not get a job immediately upon graduation--many of them have offers BEFORE graduation.

Reading before jumping helps - rejoyce

[ In Reply To ..]
I had to go back and re-read my post. I don't think I ever said that the business required that you know someone. Sorry you're having a bad day and want to lash out at others. Have a good day. I think I'm finished with this board for good. Good luck everybody.

They were replying to this - X

[ In Reply To ..]
AHP is certified - rejoyce
Posted: Jan 25th, 2011 - 3:10 pm In Reply to: AHP - emily84

At least they were last time I checked. And they are pretty tough. I'll be working with my sister when I'm done. She says it is very hard to get into this business unless you know someone.

I know that there are many nasty MTs on this board, and they seem to delight in attacking everyone around them, but please don't let their negativity get to you. Also, there are a couple of other MT forums that are out there where the members don't seem to be so heinous to one another. Good luck with your schooling, and PLEASE research well before sending tuition money!

AHP - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
The school is not on the approved AHDI list is what that means. Yes they are an accredited school. In other words, it will be incredibly hard for you to get your foot in the door with a good employer. As an owner, I have never had an AHP graduate be able to pass my very simple transcription test. I have known personally 3 people that requested a refund from the school due to lack of training. I would suggest you do some more research on this board and check out some other schools. You do get what you pay for. The competition is very, very tough out there, you'll want top-notch education. See list of approved schools in link. If that doesn't work, google AHDI+approved school list.

Kim - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
IMHO, it is quite inadequate. You want a school that uses the SUM program and has lots of hours of practice dictation--as well as live instructors to guide you. Try Andrews or M-TEC. Many employers will not interview AHP grads.

As a past employer of a couple of grads from - JMHO

[ In Reply To ..]
AHP, I would advise you to seriously consider other schools, ones who use the SUM program. M-TEC and Andrews are very good schools that will prepare you for real-world MT. The cost may be higher, but "you get what you pay for" and will have a much better chance of getting a job upon graduating from these schools. Career Step is another decent school you can check out and I think a little cheaper than the other two.

JMHO - Old Pro

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JMHO, I heartily agree with you. (And I hope MT3 is reading this.) I would not hire from AHP because its grads are not adequately prepared.

Sad, but true - JMHO

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I feel real sorry for these people because they spend their money and think they can hit the ground running. I simply did not have the time to teach them what they really needed to know, and some needed to start from scratch. I think some people really are unaware of what it takes to do MT and just think (largely because of school advertising)they can slide through a course and make a lot of money from home just "typing" without much effort.

At times I considered starting my own mentor company to get these people on the right track, but never did anything about it due to not being rich myself, but I bet there is a market for it now with so many coming out of these inadequate schools, LOL.

Choose AHP - Leslie

[ In Reply To ..]
I know from experience that AHP is a good school for MT. AHP offers comprehensive curricula with one-on-one attention from instructors.

AHP writes their own curriculum. That way they can make timely content changes required to meet industry standards, respond to student needs provide quality, cost-effective text books for students. Their writers are experts in the field. In addition, AHP's courses are required to pass extremely rigourous reviews by both the State of Colorado, which requires three field expert reviews, and the Distance Education and Training Council (which requires two different field expert reviews). To ensure AHP's curriculum provides an excellent foundation for students, they wrote the content with the AHDI's guidelines in mind. While their course is not endorsed by AHDI, they have found it to be very well-received among the State and DETC reviewers.

AHP is fully accredited through the Distance Education Training Council, so the certificate students earn is recognized nationwide.

I hope this helps!

Leslie - X

[ In Reply To ..]
I have to wonder about the championing you are doing for AHP. It is widely known that breaking into this profession is difficult at best right out of school, but sadly many people end up wasting their money by giving it to schools that lack the necessary education. If the school is NOT one of the AHDI's recommended "institutions" then right or wrong their graduates will have a very difficult time even securing testing, never mind making it to the interview process. MANY MTSOs will not even allow graduates of AHP to make it to the testing phase these days. People have to educate themselves before sinking ANY money into a school that has no proven "track record." There are only 3 schools out there that turn out graduates routinely that qualify for testing. That is not to say that other schools don't have a great program, their graduates just have a far more difficult time securing employment by and large.

Still Believe - Leslie

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree, the MT field, like most fields in this economy, is challenging right now. But I believe that AHP has a proven track record of training folks for 30 years and prepares students for the MT field. I think the curriculum is comprehensive and unique compared to other schools. AHP hasn't applied for AHDI approval yet, so maybe they'll be on AHDI's list of recommended schools in the future. I agree, students need to research schools in order to find a program that's right for them.

Accreditation (not Approval) has to do with financial aid but not quality of education - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
People get confused about exactly what accreditation means. It means that a school has applied and been approved to receive financial assistance. It means that the accrediting organization has checked their finances. It does not mean that they have checked the quality of education. The AHDI Approval process was originally intended to bring up the level of quality of education, so it does check instructor qualification, course content, etc. At one time their requirements were greater, you actually had to have instructors for example, but it's the only organization that actually grades the school at all. It doesn't do a good job of it, but it's better than nothing.

Accreditation includes education quality - Leslie

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Accreditation from the DETC includes checking the quality of eduction. All course materials are submitted to the DETC for approval (http://detc.org/accreditationprocess.html), which is part of being an accredited distance education school.

I know people on the teams who look at those materials - Quality is not a priority but $ is

[ In Reply To ..]
I got to know several people who are on the teams that evaluate those materials. They spend their time going over the finances. They are well qualified to do that. It's a good thing they weren't asked to evaluate the quality of education the students were getting though, because they wouldn't have been able to do that. They are business people, not teachers and not one of them had a degree or credentials that would prepare them to evaluate the quality of a program.

No, DON'T choose AHP - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
While you may find it well received by reviewers and the certificate is recognized nationwide, show me how many AHP grads get jobs comparable with M-TEC, Andrews, or Career Step. And why don't they use SUM? It is the gold standard. Sorry, but I would not hire AHP grads because they would require too much hand-holding. There is a reason AHDI does not approve them.

Agree to Disagree - Leslie

[ In Reply To ..]
AHP has not applied to be AHDI approved at this time.

I think the MT field, like many other professions in this economy, is challenging no matter what school you attend. AHP doesn't use SUM because they have their own curriculum, including their own dictation. AHP's dictation features ESL physicians to give students experience with many different accents.

Leslie, are you a representative for AHP? - Just curious

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Writer, not AHP rep - Leslie

[ In Reply To ..]
No, I'm not an AHP representative, but I've helped AHP write/revise MT curricula. I've also compared their curricula to other schools and believe in the school and their MT program.

How did you compare their curricula to other schools? Did you enroll in other schools? - Just Wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
The only way to compare would be if you were a graduate of each of the schools you were comparing. Is that what you mean?

AHDI doesn't release info on who applies/fails so how would any of us know? - There is no way to know

[ In Reply To ..]
That's nothing that any of us know or even should know. That's between a school and an organization. They don't have to tell us when they apply or if they do or don't pass.

Well, in my experience hiring some AHP grads, - JMHO

[ In Reply To ..]
their curriculum falls short in providing the training needed for real-world MT as compared to grads from Andrews, M-Tec, and even Career Step. Is the dictation used by AHP from real-world physician dictation or someone paid to read a script? This makes a hugh difference. Also, I found that these grads were sorely lacking in research skills, as well as pharmacologic and laboratory knowledge.

In my opinion, the SUM program is the best out there. Maybe there is a reason AHP has not applied for AHDI approval...think about it. Not in the best interest of its students in my opinion since grads from AHDI-approved schools have a much better chance of obtaining employment and a much better chance of passing employment tests. Three of the four AHP grads could not pass my test, but I hired them anyway to give them a chance and none of the four lasted a month.

AHP = Success! - Kelly

[ In Reply To ..]
I took the MT course from At-Home Professions and have been working steadily and successfully from home ever since I graduated, which was over 11 years ago. I am continuously rewarded by my supervisors for having outstanding production and accuracy. I believe AHP is getting a bad rap from those who either didn't apply themselves to their studies or expected a job to fall right into their lap with little or no effort. It doesn't happen that way with any career! If a student flunks out or can't find a job after graduating from say, Purdue, Stanford, or Duke University, is the college to blame? Nope. The responsibility lies within the student. The AHP MT course is outstanding, and I thank my lucky stars every day that I took the course!

AHP - Pauly

[ In Reply To ..]
I graduated from AHP July of 2010 and have not been able to land a job/position as of yet. I have applied to MANY places already. These posts I am seeing are a bit disturbing and am now wondering if I have infact taken the right course. I am now wondering if I need to continue my education for MT? I so enjoyed my class and would love to get a job doing so. Any suggestions on continuing my education??????

Pauly - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I would contact both Andrews and M-TEC. Make sure any school you go to uses SUM. AHP is generally not the best choice.

Successful AHP Graduate - Jayna

[ In Reply To ..]
I took the AHP MT course over 6 years ago. I was able to gain employment within a couple of months of completing it. It took persistence to get a position, not because I was not as well trained because I took the course through AHP and not the others talked about on here, but because most employers are asking for at least 2 years of experience now before they will hire you, and that has nothing to do with the level of education you get in ANY of these courses. After I had been at my first position a few months I asked them about the quality of my work. They told me they felt I must have received a very good education because my work was very good. I had NO previous medical education on any level before starting this career path, so what I was able to do was because of what I learned through AHP. I have been at my current position for over 5 years now (much longer than the other post about people lasting only 4 months), and I am required to maintain above 98% accuracy, which I am able to achieve on a regular basis. For the money and time invested to start a career, I feel this was a very good investment for me and anyone who wants to take the course seriously and work hard to be able to work at home!

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