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

wanting to become an MT - Rowena

Posted: May 18, 2015

Hello MT'S out there

HELP HELP HELP!

Im wanting to become like you, an Mt and preferrably to work from home.

I'm trying to find out about about schools/training: accredited, financial aid, online.

I'd be interested to know how, who, and what to go about it.

If I'm able to go by financial aid, i want to pick the right school/training.

I would hate to just pick a school and find out its not the right one and would be wasing the financial aid money.

I google and i'm sooooo overwealmed.

Could someone please answer these questions or point me in the right direction.

I'm in St Louis, Mo. Where do i begin? Any tips or ideas to help me.

I just want to get started and be like you gals....

Thanks

Overwalmed and Confused

Rowena D.

New MT - Gail

[ In Reply To ..]
You could try your local community college or an online school such as Career Step that seems to be pretty well recommended. Andrews is a good online school-might be a little bit more expensive than some other online schools, but they're highly recommended, and they have payment plans.

No, no, no! - MT3

[ In Reply To ..]
Please, do not recommend Career Step. People deserve real instructors, not answer keys. As to it being cheaper, you get what you pay for. And I agree with the others--don't do it at all!

Run, Rowena, Run! - If you want to be like me

[ In Reply To ..]
you will be bankrupt! MT is a train that has left the station! Read the other boards on this forum!!

MT - No

[ In Reply To ..]
Some 30 years ago, I would say go for it - not today. I was trained on-site in a hospital by women who had been doing it for years. I was also paid for this training. I was already an excellent speller/typist but it did take me a good three years to really feel comfortable doing it. Every medical word/procedure/medication/ disease/body part/suture/needle, etc.; if I didn't know it, I researched it and memorized it. Then the pay was good with excellent benefits. Now you are nothing more than a "robot" with an inability to even think while doing your job. Plus down the road most probably with all the thumb movement, you will end up with carpal tunnel. Also, all the perks, excellent pay and benefits to speak of no longer exist. I tell young people today to go into nursing; even becoming an LPN - a one-year course - so you can at least get a decent paying job with benefits. Nursing is one thing the so-called technology geniuses have not been able to "robotize."

wanting to become mt - jane

[ In Reply To ..]
i wanted to do this in 1993, lo and behold i got my wish. a great job for about 20 years, then the emr came calling complete with financial incentive and i got booted out. perhaps because i had been on sick leave for a bit over 3 months but i was not able to do much of anything. imho you should not pursue this but maybe coding or lpn, transcription going down the hill to nowhere.

No you don't--see convenience store - posting on gab board

[ In Reply To ..]
or, you can have my job, and I'll go work at the convenience store!

Say no to MT - Backwoods Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
DEFINITELY pick another job other than MT. It's dying. I say job and not career because MT is no longer a career, but merely a stepping stone. The pay is horrible and the metrics nearly, if not impossible to reach. Treatment at any MTSO is horrible. Be prepared to be a doormat. There is a reason why MT is not taught in schools hardly anymore. If you are lucky enough to find an in-house position, do not become secure in it as it can be outsourced at any time. Just go on the Nuance board or MModal board on this site.

Coding might be a good step for you since you can work at home. Also, a lot of jobs in IT (computers) are or can be work from home. I am currently in school transitioning to IT (security specifically). Website design, security specialists, even help desk personnel are in high demand and the pay is decent. It's a heck of a lot more than what you would make working at home for N or MM.

In the end, whatever you decide is up to you. If you are going to go back to school and get financial aid, make sure it is something you can build upon and does not leave you high and dry should it leave. Choose another field other than MT.

Rowena - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Rowena, that train left the station about 10 years ago. When I retired as an MT/MTSO three years ago, we got about 500 applications for every one opening advertised. Many of these applications came from MTs with lots of experience, from schools like Andrews (the best school out there), and with 20 or so years of experience and impeccable references. Even they could not find jobs. It's over. OVER. Please do not waste your money and time. You really and truly have nothing to gain by pursuing this as a career. It is over and done. I am sorry to put it so bluntly, but I do not want to see another young person (or an older one either, for that matter) waste one more dollar on these greedy, unscrupulous schools that will take all of your money and not give you anything back in return. You are free to do what you like, but please consider what I--and the other people on here--say.

Highly suggest you don't do it - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I HIGHLY suggest you find a different career. I graduated in September, top of my class, became credentialed as RHDS, and what am I doing today? Nothing. No job. I've tried, but no luck. I refuse to try Nuance and MModal b/c of all the comments on here about them. I refuse to get paid .05 cpl (cents per line). I refuse to be treated badly like a lot of people on here talk about. Honestly, find something else that intrests you. I say that in the nicest way possible.

Rowena...seems you've posted here before - Long-time MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm 99.9% sure of it. You'd be given at least some credit if you didn't misspell wasting...AND overwhelmed, twice. This profession is CTD. If you actually live in India, as I suspect, Nuance will suit you fine until the rest of us pull the plug. Financial aid to learn medical transcription in 2015, REALLY?!

I agree...Run as fast as you can!!!! - Winchester

[ In Reply To ..]
Having been in medical transcription for 20 years and seeing its demise, I would say run as fast as you can! I was thinking I would retire from it, but it is disappearing and going downhill. It used to be a wonderful career when I worked in the hospitals and offices and at first when I started working at home. Due to speech recognition (which is supposed to make our jobs easier), our pay has been slashed in half or cut by more than half, and we have to erase everything and start from scratch for most of the speech recognition out there because it is so horribly bad. Work is being sent to other countries. MT jobs are not stable. You could work for a company for years, and your job could disappear with little or no notice. There is little to no recognition for your knowledge or hard work with most companies. Jobs in hospitals and offices are disappearing due to speech recognition and outsourcing. I wish you good luck in whatever you do but would advise against medical transcription.

Wait, was that overwealmed or overwalmed? nm - littledabbledooya

[ In Reply To ..]
xo

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