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

Medical transcription schools CareerStep, Andrews & M-Tec - lisa

Posted: Jan 19, 2010

3 schools were recommended, CareerStep, Andrews & M-Tec, not sure which one to go with. The tuition goes from $1875-$4975, I am curious why such a huge difference and what is the normal time frame for training. Some say a 4 month program, a 6 month program & a 9 month program. Any info is appreciated! Can anyone recommend one of these schools over the other?

MT Schools - Jess

[ In Reply To ..]
You may want to look at Fayetteville Technical Community College. They have a partnership with Career Step and the costs is much cheaper while getting the same package as Career Steps Platinum. They offer it in 2 parts for $175.00 each and the certificate you receive is from Career Step since you are using their program. Each part is 16 weeks each. You can find all the information on the FTCC website. Good luck to you!

Jess - Luna

[ In Reply To ..]
This looks very interesting. Is the FTCC course in any way not as good as enrolling directly with Career Step?

Fayetteville Technical Community College - Nan

[ In Reply To ..]
Could you tell me a bit more about this?
It sounds like a great deal considering how many MT services seem to partner with Career Step and will not hire unless a person has graduated from Career Step. I went to www.faytechcc.edu and could not find anything relating to medical transcription.

Thanks

FTCC - Luna

[ In Reply To ..]
I found the website at http://www.ftccmedonline.com/

MT Schools - eagles_fan

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm currently taking the Andrews course, and I highly recommend it. I'm in the final module of the course. I already had several years of MT experience before I started the course. I wanted to increase my skills and knowledge and become a better MT.

I can work on the course at home when it's convenient for me. I don't need to be online at any specific time.

The course is designed for people with no MT experience, so it starts from scratch and covers everything you need to know.

The tuition includes CDs to transcribe and several reference books.

The first 2 modules of the course include quizzes on medical terminology in various specialties.

In all 3 modules of the course, you will do a lot of transcribing in various specialties.

One CD is devoted to dictation by people whose native language is not English.

The course emphasizes grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

In the final module, the course introduces you to a text expander.

The school has message boards where teachers and students can communicate with each other. You can also email the school with any questions.

The teachers and students are very helpful and supportive. The teachers give very clear feedback when they grade your assignments.

The course is self-paced, but there are deadlines to complete each assignment.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck.

MT Schools - lisa

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes thank you so much that does help! How long is the program at Andrews?

MT Schools - eagles_fan

[ In Reply To ..]
As I stated, the course is self-paced. According to the Andrews Web site, "It takes most students about one year to complete the program, although some take a little longer." I started the course in January 2009, and I expect to finish in February or maybe March.

I want to emphasize something. Don't rush through the course! Your goal should not be to finish the course as fast as you can. Your goal should be to learn everything as thoroughly as possible and get the best grades you can get. Take as much time as you need while still meeting your deadlines.

andrews - kimba2

[ In Reply To ..]
Just one thing about Andrew's. It is a great program, however you have to test to get into it. It's not terribly hard or anything, but your typing and basic grammar MUST be up to a certain level, just FYI :)As far as how fast it'll take you, just depends on you. transcription is not as easy as it seems, it's fun, but kinda hard. Point being you MUST get in the practice. My school told me strait up, if you aren't transcribing at a 98% accuracy by time I graduate, you WON'T get hired. Also, really look into this field and see if it's truly worth investing in. If I knew then what I know now, I personally might have not moved forward with it. Best of luck!!

Andrews - Martina

[ In Reply To ..]
Not quite true. Andrews graduated one student who still does not know how to touch type, so typing is not an issue.

Best Bet on Schools - Martina

[ In Reply To ..]
Of the three schools you mentioned, all of them give decent education. However, there is one school that is far superior to them all, and that school is MTEC.

Let it be known that I am not an MTEC graduate. I did graduate from Andrews, and I found that while you can get a halfway decent education, there are a lot of issues with Andrews that are not commonly or publicly discussed that makes Andrews one school to avoid.

Investigate the curriculum and also investigate the books issued by all the schools. You'll find out quickly that MTEC offers the best deal by far. Also, the fact that MTEC is owned by Webmedx, a well-known and highly sought after MTSO should be a prime consideration in selecting MTEC nowadays. Any edge in landing that first job is worth it.

There are no live online classes, per se, with Andrews as you would have with MTEC. You are essentially discouraged from networking; don't talk to other students (why?). There is no feedback on your lessons. You only have to send them in to their secretary to have them check that they've been done. The only feedback you'll get is on the assessments, and sometimes the only place to learn a specific issue is on the assessment; therefore, you will be penalized in your grades for not knowing what you do not know and should have been taught BEFORE being tested on. Not a good scenario and certainly not a fair one. The only contact you'll have with instructors is via email, and the responses can range from informative to condescending, "teaching" you to avoid contact with them.

MTEC is the best bet for an online school. Period.

Best Bet on Schools - eagles_fan

[ In Reply To ..]
"There are no live online classes, per se, with Andrews as you would have with MTEC."

Do the live online classes require you to participate at specific times? To me, that would be a bad thing. One of the things I like about Andrews is that I can work when it's convenient for me without a set schedule.

"You are essentially discouraged from networking; don't talk to other students (why?)."

I have never been discouraged from networking. I have never been told not to talk to other students. The school has message boards specifically for students to communicate with each other.

"There is no feedback on your lessons. You only have to send them in to their secretary to have them check that they've been done. The only feedback you'll get is on the assessments, and sometimes the only place to learn a specific issue is on the assessment; therefore, you will be penalized in your grades for not knowing what you do not know and should have been taught BEFORE being tested on. Not a good scenario and certainly not a fair one."

I agree. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Andrews, this is how it works. The transcription portion of the course consists of "practices" and "assessments." When you do the practices, you type a lot of reports. Then you proofread your transcript against the "transcript key," which is the transcript provided on the CD. The problem is the key does not always agree with the style of Andrews. In other words, just because you make your transcript conform to the key does not necessarily mean it will be correct according to Andrews. The school tells you their style takes priority over the key. I think it would be more helpful if the practices could be examined by a teacher and returned to the student with corrections but not graded. When you do the assessments, you type a few reports, and there is no key. Assessments are graded. I think Martina has a good point.

"The only contact you'll have with instructors is via email, and the responses can range from informative to condescending, 'teaching' you to avoid contact with them."

The only contact I _need_ with my instructors is email. I don't need to speak to them in person or by telephone. There was only 1 time when I needed to email a teacher with a question, and I received a very prompt and very helpful reply.

M-Tec's online classes just to clarify - In case you wondered

[ In Reply To ..]
"Do the live online classes require you to participate at specific times? To me, that would be a bad thing. One of the things I like about Andrews is that I can work when it's convenient for me without a set schedule."

Their online classes are at set times but they are NOT mandatory. The class about all different kinds of MT topics is on Monday nights and the technology class is alternating Wed and Thur afternoons. If you miss a class that you were interested in you can go and read the whole lecture online as they post the class chat later on the student learning center.

"I think it would be more helpful if the practices could be examined by a teacher and returned to the student with corrections but not graded. (Talking about Andrews)"

At M-Tec you do submit some practice dictations here and there for review (ungraded) and my instructor gives me footnotes on all of my errors and questions that have to be returned to her so the instructor in fact knows that you researched the errors and know the right way, she also is helpful by giving pointers and tips for weak areas, and says encouraging words when the work is good. So it's nice that some reports are looked over and addressed directly without being put towards the GPA before your actual tests.

How do you know MTEC is so much better?. - deb

[ In Reply To ..]
If you graduated from Andrews, how do you know so much about MTEC? And if it's so much better, why didn't you take the MTEC course?

No, M-TEC is no longer the best . . . when it was - sold by Susan and Kathy it

[ In Reply To ..]
immediately began going down the drain. The time to complete the program has been shortened by half, and the cost has been drastically increased to $5000!!!

Plus, now many MTSOs will no longer waive their 2-year experience requirement for M-TEC grads.

The program is not what it once was. Andrews is now number one without question.

No one can make this judgement until Grads from the new program - Join the workforce...

[ In Reply To ..]
So let's all stop making assumptions. Andrew's may be cheaper and students have a longer time to complete the course but NO ONE knows if the quality of the grads is no longer good because of the new program. These grads might be just as educated and find jobs, or they might not but no one knows this unless they have the psychic ability to see the future. I think people need to stop with the hating on M-Tec until they know for sure it doesn't produce properly educated grads, and again NO ONE will know this until a bunch of these new program grads join the workforce or begin to test for jobs.

I don't think it's "hating on M-Tec" to tell what has - happened to the program

[ In Reply To ..]
Unfortunately, it is true that many MTSOs will no longer waive the experience requirement. It's just a fact. Not hate involved. In fact, personally I find what has happened to M-TEC to be very sad.

M-TEC? Not anymore, read the latest posts...nm - .

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

knowing what you do not know - ggmt

[ In Reply To ..]
You said at Andrews "you will be penalized in your grades for not knowing what you do not know and should have been taught BEFORE being tested on". Well, I'm an M-Tec grad and I can tell you it happens there, too. The answer keys for our practice were often incorrect, and no one checks your practices. When I caught a mistake, I would email my teacher, who either ignored me or said "It's just practice, it doesn't matter!" Then on every single test I took I missed at least one thing because I did what I learned in the practices and only later found out it was wrong.

M-Tec may once have been a good school. Personally, I had a horrible time there, couldn't get help from half the people I contacted, I barely finished, and despite a decent GPA no one in the MT field cares what I went to M-Tec.

I say this constantly, but I mean it: I advise anyone looking to go to M-Tec to get into the MT field to try another occupation. I mean it.

wow, that's gross, most probably true - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Yes, completely true. The sad thing is . . . - Another M-TEC grad

[ In Reply To ..]
no one seems to care that the keys are wrong. As the other poster mentioned, you only find out when you get marked down on a test. Plus, M-TEC staff and instructors seem to care even less now that the school has been sold, the program lenght decreased and the price raised up outrageously.

Plus the companies that once valued M-TEC grads and even waived experience requirements for them are now requiring the same of them as everyone else. New grads are crying for jobs . . . and not getting them.

The word on the "MT streets" is that M-TEC will soon go under - unfortunately not soon enough, and way too many unsuspecting people will fork over a cool $5000 and never be able to get a job.

I'm glad to hear someone else - ggmt

[ In Reply To ..]
say the same thing. That said, I'm NOT glad you went through the same problems I did at M-Tec! Wouldn't wish it on anyone. Unfortunately, all of us had to deal with the keys and other issues.

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