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

Just finished MT training - Abby

Posted: Aug 30, 2011

I am an LPN who is currently taking classes to become an RN. I just finished my final in my MT course that I took online through US Career Institute. I stumbled upon this site when researching for an at home job for MT's. I was going to take the certificaton through AHDI thinking that would help give me a boost but I saw a post saying it was not really a big deal if you take it. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what is the best company to work from home for. I would like to work from home since I am a single mom taking care of my 3 month old son and trying to go to school also. Or any advice really would be helpful. I really don't want to get scammed. This is my last option or I have to go to work fulltime and skip going back to school for my RN so I can afford rent, food, daycare, etc..... Thanks.

Abby - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
You sound like a really ambitious person and I commend you for that. Unfortunately, the school that you have chosen is not held in high regard by many MTSOs in our industry. The best advice I can give is for you to speak to someone at either M-TEC or Andrews and see what you can do to fill in the gaps. You need to be trained on a program that uses SUM and that has real, live instructors. The competition for MT jobs these days is fierce. I wish you luck, I truly do. Perhaps a good place for you to start would be in a local physician's office. I do not think any of the nationals would be an option as they require anywhere from 3-10 (yes, 10 in one case I know of) years of experience before they will even interview you. If I were in your position, I would try to get on doing MT for a local physician and try to network from there. Good luck!

Just finished MT training, too. - Amanda

[ In Reply To ..]
I just finished with the US Career Institute as well and am having a bit of a difficult time finding a job. US Career Institute said to try networking through local doctors offices. Good luck to you.

Abby and Amanda - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
You might want to ask U.S. Career Institute why they are not helping with placement. And you might want to also ask them what percentage of their grads are placed. They should be helping you both. Good luck to you.

US Career Inst does Not place new grads. - Amanda

[ In Reply To ..]
I asked them if they place grads in jobs and they said they do not. That's when I knew I may not have picked the best school to go to, but I was already enrolled at that point. The school has graduation counselors who will look over your resume and give you job searching techniques, etc. I just hope one of the resumes I send to a doctor's office works out. I know I probably will not get hired by an MT company.

Amanda - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I am taking the liberty of re-posting something I posted several months ago. Perhaps this will give some perspective on where MT education is today. Although you have already gone through a "school", I think you may need to augment what you learned. Anyway, here it is for what it's worth:

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!

I am so sorry that happened to you. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Personally, I think that's an awful idea. It might have been an okay idea years ago, but local doctors don't hire many MTs. You might be able to get another type of clerical job with a doctor's office, but you aren't likely to find a good MT job that way.

I respectfully disagree - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Is she going to find a red hot acute care job that will pay high cpl? Not in a doctor's office. BUT, she can may be able to get her foot in the door, do some clinic notes, etc. If she can make an adequate salary (she won't get rich but likely can get a living wage with perks), it is worth a try. There are several clinics here that still have in-house MTs. They are usually smaller groups with 3-7 docs, etc. Of course, the job would also include filing and some of the like, but at least it would be a foot in the door.

Agreed. I think you just said it better than I did. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
That's close to what I was trying to say. You probably won't get a 100% nothing but MT kind of job with most local doctor's offices, but you might get a job that includes a few other duties. Of course there are also clinics like you mentioned. Those require heavy-duty MT skills if they are busy and have very many doctors. I've done that and wouldn't necessarily suggest it for a first job, unless you were one of several MTs working in that clinic.

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