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

Newly graduated MT..and scared - Worried new grad

Posted: May 04, 2011

So the second week of April I got my graduation certificate in the mail from At-Home Profession's Medical Transcription Program. I am excited, I am ready for some MT work. I have been applying to places online and have sent out introduction letters to 20 different clinics and doctors offices with my information and business cards. Most places that are looking for MT's on this website require at least 1 year of experience and I can understand that. I am a newbie and no one likes to carry and teach when they are able to hire someone with many years of experience...I get that. I also understand that my schooling probably wasn't the best out there. I am very disapointed and worried because of this. I follow up on the letters and found out that since the major switch to electronic files, these places no longer use MT's. No biggie, there are hundreds of more doctors in my city, much less the cities around here. I just feel like I've been shorted a little bit because of the information I have been finding on this website. I know I should have looked harder and longer for a transcription school when I first started becoming interested in this field. I know that I need patience and that a job isn't going to come to me. I just am a little frustrated and I guess I needed to vent and/or needed some encouraging feedback. Sorry moderator if this post is not something that is appropriate, this is my first time posting anything on here. Thank you anyone for reading this for your time.

Worried new grad - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Please try not to be worried, but instead channel that emotion into something proactive for yourself. I think you have been shorted not a little bit but a whole lot because of the school you chose. Many MTSOs will not hire from AHP. However, that can be remedied. My best advice (and I have been in MT for over 40 years, including as an MTSO) is to augment your education so that you can be competitive. There is already a lot of info in this forum about AHP, so I will not say it again. The positives I can say for your situation are that you CAN augment your education to get up to speed, and you sound really motivated. Many, many AHP grads have had to do some augmentation. (No, you shouldn't have to, but due to the curriculum, it will probably be necessary.) I would suggest you work with the SUM program, as that is really the gold standard for MT training. Perhaps you can network with some of the other new grads on this site. Many of them are augmenting their educations for various reasons, and they are likely to have excellent ideas and suggestions. There are many people here who have excellent suggestions and are willing to share. Above all, do NOT give up! I have seen people make it against unbelievable odds--you can, too. Good luck to you.

thank you for your words - worried new grad

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you Old Pro for your words. I've noticed you giving advice to young/new MT's and I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to write to me. I am interested in this SUM program that you're talking about, but I'm sure it costs more money. If it will help me in the long run though, I would be willing to give it a go. Networking with other MT's is a very good idea, I just don't really know where to start...cause I don't want to spam the New MTs forum. But I guess all I can do is ask for help on here. So....help? Lol. In reply to the other post on here, I have talked with my school and they pretty much told me the things that I already knew. They told me to get my name out there, and I am trying to do that. They told me to send introduction letters and to send out business cards, which I have done a little bit, and plan on sending more out to other offices and clinics. They told me to get connected and find a local MT to get in close contacts with, which I am trying to through my mom who is a local nurse at a fairly large hospital in a nearby town. I've done all that they have suggested to me, and I know that I need to keep plugging away at it and that I need to keep trying and keep applying to places, and I am. I'm on Career Builder almost everyday looking for new MT jobs and applying to them, and while I haven't been turned down because of the school I received my training through just yet, it's just kind of scary knowing that the training I have received isn't up to snuff. Well, back to applying to places I guess, lol.

Worried new grad - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you. I really like helping younger/newer MTs. Back in the day when I was starting, many people helped me, so I try to pay it back this way. If I may say so, it does not sound like your school's idea of helping you get job and my idea of it are remotely the same. Do they not have any kind of a placement program? In the meantime, I think the most important thing to do is augment your AHP training so that when you land a job, you will be firm in what you know. Don't give up! It may take a while (this nasty economy isn't helping anyone!) and I think that those who persevere can make it. Chin up!

Have you talked to your school to ask for help? - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I'm in the very same situation as you... - Kaitemae

[ In Reply To ..]
I read your post and it was as if I could have written the very same one. I also received my certificate from AHP a few weeks ago. I had already planned to take my RMT prior to job searching...then when I did...I was hit like a TON of bricks! I realized how little I truly knew. I have been studying the BOS3 and the RMT exam guide, but with the helpful advice of Old Pro on this site, I went ahead and ordered the Career Development Series for the SUM program. It costs $400, but I know if I don't do it, I won't be prepared for the RMT exam. I don't want to pay $150 to fail a test and have to wait 6 months to be able to test again.
If I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me.

Will you come back and let us know how you did on the RMT exam? - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

RMT exam - Kaitemae

[ In Reply To ..]
Sure. I am feeling a little better about it since I took the sample exam that came with the study guide. I did fairly well on it. I know that the questions won't be the same, but at least I have a better idea of the level of knowledge that will be expected. I'm going to go ahead and set a date in June to take the exam. I'll let you know :)

Good! I hope you do very well on it. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

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