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

Medical transcription school recommendations? - wwdfly

Posted: Jun 22, 2010

I am very interested in narrowing down my current work experience and specializing in one field. I have no idea on what school I should go with for a CMT diploma/certificate. Can anyone guide me or have any great experiences with a school? I am looking for an online school if they are worth paying the money. This field would be fairly new to me so I need a full course of all the necessary and required courses to be marketable to a new company for job placement. Thanks for any suggestions. sincerely, wwdfly

CONSIDERATIONS - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Seriously, if you are just starting out, my advice is to not spend time and energy on getting a CMT diploma/certificate unless you already have a position lined up for when you graduate. Even with that, it seems that the long-term future for an MT is pretty bleak.

If you really are in the love with the idea of getting into this field, consider health information technology instead of just medical transcription. Just my opinion.

As for what school, well if I could post website URLs here, I would, but do a 'google' or 'dogpile' search for "health information techology training", and you will likely get a few hits to get you started with your research, if you haven't already done so.

Good luck.

I would disagree and point out that some MTs do better than others - Nothing is easy

[ In Reply To ..]
You'll find lots of information about schools here, but the "unless you already have a position lined up" isn't really practical. Some MTs are much more successful than others. You are right to be very careful about where you get your MT education. It does make a difference. Many MTs probably should never have been accepted into MT school because they consider that Spellcheck takes the place of spelling and they can't type. If you have the right skills, you can do very well.

Typing is the least of the worries - LK

[ In Reply To ..]
Most people can pick up typing speed with practice, which you will get plenty of in any decent MT program. I think the skills that are more important and more difficult to teach are grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and language usage. If you don't have an innate ability in and basic mastery of these areas already, you should consider another field. Only the best will survive in this competitive environment, and any weakness in the areas I mentioned above is going to make it difficult to succeed.

Nothing is easy - Old MTSO

[ In Reply To ..]
You are absolutely right. Some people simply do not belong in MT. They see it as a way to get to stay home and do not consider what the profession (and yes, it is a profession) really requires. We do not all have skills for every profession. A person who is math-impaired (ahem) should not consider a career in engineering. People who cannot spell or who use poor grammar and syntax do not belong in MT. The first thing people should do is not assess their personal needs (I need to stay home with the kids, I want to stay home with hubby, I want to be able to work on the road while I travel) but rather what their skill sets are and what they bring to the table. The competition is incredible right now--newbies will be competing with folks with 20+ years of experience, so a good education (and attitude) are essential. Interestingly, I see some MTs who complain when there is no work and then the next day they complain because there is too much work. Being flexible is a great bargaining chip. I raise a toast to anyone brave enough to enter MT today. I would not do it again, given today's circumstances and the atmosphere of today's MT world. As to the CMT and AHDI,I think both are quite irrelevant.

I've been noticing exactly what you mentioned - MTs who complain if they have work or if they d - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm concerned about the work styles, ethics, and attitudes of many of the MTs. They do so much griping and complaining that I'm wondering how they ever get any work done. Oh that's right, they don't have any work or they have too much work or it isn't the kind of work they prefer.

Good grief, folks! This is work. Nobody ever promised that all work will be ideal for your own personal situation or fun. It's called work for a reason. It's great if we enjoy what we do, but if we don't, you know what? We do it because it meets our economic requirements better than anything else we have available. If we had something better, we would be out there doing it.

Can do very well? Today? What are the "right" skills? - huh?

[ In Reply To ..]
that enable you to do "very" well in these times when msopt of the companies changed to VR?

In the past they were:

Extensive use of expanders, macros and templates. This eliminates the need of being able to type 140 wpm, as some say.

Spellcheckers

Don't forget "cherry picking."

These strategies will make you do "very well."

I wouldn't agree with you that cherry picking is an acceptable strategy - On Doing Well Today

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm hoping you were not serious when you included cherry picking as a way to do well today. It is true that MTs can do very well on some VR systems. On the other hand, I know some MTs who refuse to even try and some who tried it and disliked it so much that they are convinced it won't work for them. I think it works with some systems and not others. Everything is so new that nobody knows how that's going to turn out over the next 5-10 years. Expanders are one tool that help some MTs to do very well and other MTs say it doesn't help them at all. My conclusion is that it's more about the person and their attitude and being in a place with a good system. If an MT is not willing to adapt to the changing times in all areas of our economy, not just healthcare and MT, there is probably no way for that MT to do well. It takes some effort and a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of motivation. It can be done, even in an economy that continues to stink.

lol, did you take my post - wow!

[ In Reply To ..]
literally? Haha!
It was meant "sarcastically."

VR is not that new! It has been around already a decade or longer and the only VR software that delivers what is promised by VR software vendors seems to be eScription. But even this differs from company to company.

VR is NOT the end solution in health care information technology.

But some are doing well with it - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

MT Schools - wwdfly

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you all for your advice and I have done some extensive research including reading several of the posts on the MTStars forum. I have to say after reading all the comments and complaints I don't know if this is something I want to get into just because of the "bleak" job placement and future for MTs. I have also noticed that most MTs seem very unhappy in general with their career choice. I know that grass isn't always greener on the otherside but trust me, there are problems everywhere and right now, all job security looks bleak. So with this being said...is there anyone out there that looks at the positive side of their career and could you please suggest a good school for me? Thanks :)

wwdfly - OldMTSO

[ In Reply To ..]
Probably the best step you could take right now would be to call the Andrews School and have a phone interview with Linda Andrews. I do not know her personally (only see her posts occasionally on these boards), but do know her by reputation--she is a woman of integrity and gives you your money's worth in education. Sound her out. Get her opinions. Then call M-TEC and do the same thing there. I am not sure who is at their helm. I have loved MT for over 40 years, but I can see where this ship is headed and really and honestly do feel that anything MTs and MTSOs might do at this point would be about as effective as changing deck chairs on the Titanic. The reasons for these circumstances are complicated, mostly having to do with NAFTA, CAFTA, offshoring and other essentially political concerns that really belong in a political discussion board rather than in an MT discussion. All I am saying is that the problem is far too big for an easy (or a difficult) "fix" and I do not expect to see it happen in my lifetime, if at all. There are too many MTSOs willing to sell out their MTs to foreign interests. There are too many large nationals willing to exploit their MTs. There are a few good small companies left but how long they can hang on remains a question in the balance. I really believe that the best advice I could give a young person or anyone who still has to work a few more years-- (I am pushing 70 and will retire soon)-- would be to choose something else. There are too many unknowns in the MT equation that cannot be controlled by any MT, no matter how adept he or she is. Still and all, if you want to go for it, you should have your shot at it. Try Andrews and see what they say. That will give you a solid base of information and you can take it from there. Good luck.

yes, - the positive

[ In Reply To ..]
side is that I get to work from home, and I love my job. I went to M-TEC, graduated about 3 months ago and had 2 job offers within 9 days after graduation. There are jobs out there, but you have to go to the right school!!

wwdfly - Old MTSO

[ In Reply To ..]
IMHO, it is a huge mistake to "narrow" your focus to one type of transcription at this stage. First become a great general transcriptionist, then specialize if you wish. It is kind of like saying "I want to be a heart surgeon but want to skip the rest of medical school." It doesn't quite work that way. I think you stand your best chance at getting a job (and this field has fierce competition) if you go to Andrews or M-TEC. Whatever you do, don't waste a red cent on the matchbooks.

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