2 registered
(CathyA4, 1 invisible)
and 12 anonymous users online.
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#105574 - 07/30/08 01:14 PM
New MT with lots of Medical Experience
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Rosebud
New Member
Registered: 07/30/08
Posts: 3
Loc: Oregon
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Hello,
I am almost completed with my MT program online (I used US career Inst.  I really didn't know they were bad at all). The upside to it is I have a ton of medical experience so I'm flying through the course. I was a Medical Assistant for over 2 years and an EMT for a few years I've been in medical courses since I was in high school. So a lot of all this is second had to me. I guess my question is, how hard will it be for me to find a job. I know I might not be an experienced MT but I have a lot of experience in what MT's transcribe. Any advice?
_________________________
Kelly
Mother of beautiful baby Cara 11-13-07
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#105593 - 07/30/08 02:40 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: Rosebud]
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bippy
Member
Registered: 11/01/06
Posts: 456
Loc: Summerland.
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Well, terminology should be easy for you as well as things like labs and medications. That's only part of it though. You want to make sure you get the context right and get a really good grammar book and study that before testing. Also I believe many of the online companies use the Book of Style so you'd want to get one of those; I'd probably go with 2nd edition right now.
Edited by bippy (07/30/08 02:41 PM)
_________________________
Love my new house!
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#105595 - 07/30/08 03:06 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: bippy]
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LTR
Member
Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 101
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Bippy is right. I had a lot of medical experience, too. I even taught medical terminology at a major university and was a physical therapist in my past life. When I started M-TEC, I had no idea how much more there was to know (and how much I did not know!!). Even with my background and completing M-TEC with a 98% average, I was blown away by the real world of ESL doctors. Best of luck in your job search.
Also, judging from your use of punctuation in your post, I would recommend the 3rd edition of the Book of Style rather than the 2nd ed. because it has very comprehensive coverage of punctuation and grammar. All the medical knowledge in the world will not help you know where to put a period or a comma. On the other hand, you could get by with the 2nd ed. if you have a very thorough grammar and punctuation reference to supplement it as Bippy suggested. You will need to know that kind of information backwards and forwards.
Wishing you well.Lynda
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#105596 - 07/30/08 03:12 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: bippy]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2679
Loc: Vicksburg, MS
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Probably, your best road to gaining experience will be with a local hospital, medical group, clinic, or doctor's office. Most online companies that want 2 years acute care experience will not waive that, even just to test. Acute care experience means all four of the basic hospital work types - H&Ps, Consults, Operative Reports, and Dischrge Summaries.
You do not want to get 'locked in' with a specific specialty at this point in your career. While concentrating on one specialty, like radiology, would mean you could get really good at that type more quickly, it will effectively lock you out of acute care transcription.
Yes, the path you are on is bendy and rough, almost completely due to your choice in school. It is unfortunate, but it is what it is. There is no magic wand to fix it. If you are simply unable to find a job, any job, you will need to take a hard look at completing a course of study that will pretty much guarantee that that two years of experience is waived so that you can test and work for a company at a decent line rate. Avoid externships like a plague. Avoid paying any company for software they require you to use to work for them. Do NOT work for free, for any length of time at all.
_________________________
tropsicle
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#105608 - 07/30/08 05:03 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: tropsicleAfter]
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Rosebud
New Member
Registered: 07/30/08
Posts: 3
Loc: Oregon
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Thanks for all the advice especially about the book. I wish I had known that the school I chose was not a good choice but I'll have to make due. The school says that they help place their graduates in jobs so hopefully it wont be a long search.
I'm currently a stay at home mom of a wonderful 8 month old little girl. I just can't imagine putting her in child care and letting other people raise her. Unfortunately our financial cushion has dwindled and I need to start helping supplement our income. I'm not looking for anything full time at this point but right now anything would help greatly. That is why I started this adventure into MT, also because I wanted to stay close the medical field which is my passion. So I do really welcome any advice and/or suggestions.
_________________________
Kelly
Mother of beautiful baby Cara 11-13-07
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#105616 - 07/30/08 05:24 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: Rosebud]
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14tonks
Member
Registered: 10/25/01
Posts: 6974
Loc: Only 3rd world country in US
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I'm afraid Tropsicle pretty much covered it--if you wanted a sure path to a work-at-home MT job, you picked the wrong school. Your choices at this point basically boil down to trying to find an on-premises private practice office job of some kind, trying to talk your way into one of the few remaining in-house hospital jobs until you learn what you need, trying to find a local MT still doing tapes who is willing to totally mentor you because her potential employee pool is so limited, or getting a better education. His advice on what kind of "opportunities" not to take just because you are desperate to get a foot in the door, any door, was spot on as well.
Having a lot of experience in what MTs transcribe will get you an EMT job. Only having a lot of experience in transcribing and the knowledge base to do it properly will get you a job doing acute care MT from home.
Also, if your posts are representative of your language skills, you need to take Bippy's and LTR's well-meant advice to heart and brush up on those. If they're not, then you need to proof your posts with a little more care. Yes, this is just an online forum, and yes, we live in the age of totally illiterate text messaging. However, if I were in the position of having for some reason to take on someone for total MT mentoring, I would pick someone out of the hundreds and hundreds of would-be MTs in your position whose online persona appeared to at least be able to spell and punctuate correctly. When no one knows anything about you but what you present in a few online posts, it pays to take special care with those posts.
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#105667 - 07/31/08 12:27 AM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: 14tonks]
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inkyfingers2
Member
Registered: 03/25/03
Posts: 612
Loc: southern California
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Yeah, what they said. ^^^
I have email interviewed a number of MTs (note the non-possessive form) over the past 4 years in my search for vacation coverage and backup help, and not one passed the crucial first-contact-email-without-grammar-and-spelling-errors test.
I advise practicing good habits when posting here because of the similarities to emailing and because it is what distinguishes this forum from others that will not be mentioned.
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inkyfingers
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#105827 - 07/31/08 09:45 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: inkyfingers2]
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Redpen
Member
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 969
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I second the recommendation regarding studying the BOS. That alone will bring you up to a better level.
If you have any areas in which you are not optimally prepared, get a PLAN together to tackle them. There are some self-assessment tests available on the AHDI website. The cost would be worth it to help you see where you need to focus your energies.
The recommendations for careful attention to writing are on-target, as well. It is unusual to find someone whose writing in transcribed documents is good while their personal writing is not. It's a good idea to include that area in the PLAN to bring your abilities up to standards. Just studying might not be enough, since we often do not see our own habitual errors.
Denizens of this group are more likely to mention grammar and spelling issues, but you would get more help if you invited it. I'm thinking that one way to invite that help would be to put an invitation on every post. Just edit your signature to include it. Perhaps you could use something like "Yes, PLEASE tell me about any writing errors you notice in my posts! I'm trying to improve!"
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Redpen
(The Andrews School)
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#105835 - 07/31/08 11:16 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: Redpen]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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Ah, I want to say thank you for correcting my naivete. You see, I was under the (obviously mistaken) impression that this group existed to help support fellow MTs. But given the above comments, I now see that this was an erroneous assumption on my part.
All I can think to say is: With friends like you, who needs enemies?
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#105836 - 07/31/08 11:22 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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MattsKat
Member
Registered: 11/28/04
Posts: 2864
Loc: Here and Now...USA
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Ah, I want to say thank you for correcting my naivete. You see, I was under the (obviously mistaken) impression that this group existed to help support fellow MTs. But given the above comments, I now see that this was an erroneous assumption on my part.
All I can think to say is: With friends like you, who needs enemies?
Wordcraftr: What th' heck are you talking about? 
_________________________
Those who can laugh at themselves shall never cease to be amused.
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#105886 - 08/01/08 04:24 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: MattsKat]
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bippy
Member
Registered: 11/01/06
Posts: 456
Loc: Summerland.
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Word--Rosebud got excellent support here. For FREE she got the knowledge that comes from years and years of combined experience in the MT field. I think if she takes that advice, she could end up successful. FAR better option than where she would be if she didn't.
I just cannot understand why people would put down good advice.
Rosebud, I hope you take the advice in the spirit it was given. Everyone here is trying to help you. Except for the person who added nothing but insulting those who are HELPING.
Edited by bippy (08/01/08 04:24 PM)
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Love my new house!
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#105889 - 08/01/08 04:54 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: bippy]
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DaisyDuke
Junior Member
Registered: 06/11/08
Posts: 76
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No school will prepare you for the real world of MT. I don't care how good it is or now bad. A lot of your success will depend on how fast you can pick stuff up on your own and remember it and make notes and good macros. It's a very "heady" occupation. Having a good memory is essential. If you love detail, are a good speller, good listener, great in grammar and can sit (or stand), type and concentrate for hours on end, you will not doubt find the job to your liking.
Take any job you can get for starters and get the experience. Once you have experience, you can be more choosey. Don't feel bad about your school. It was probably not any better or worse than any other school in truth and get over that! Best of luck to you and yours.
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#105894 - 08/01/08 05:39 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: DaisyDuke]
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8824
Loc: Murrieta, California
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It was probably not any better or worse than any other school in truth and get over that!
That is simply not true.
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#105906 - 08/01/08 07:25 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2916
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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Ah, I want to say thank you for correcting my naivete. You see, I was under the (obviously mistaken) impression that this group existed to help support fellow MTs. But given the above comments, I now see that this was an erroneous assumption on my part.
All I can think to say is: With friends like you, who needs enemies?
Everyone in this thread (except YOU) has made attempts to help and encourage. Like Dear Abby says, MYOB. If you don't like it here, don't come here.
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#105907 - 08/01/08 07:31 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: meri]
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MicheleA
Member
Registered: 02/18/05
Posts: 1018
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Neither is this:
No school will prepare you for the real world of MT.
If NO school will prepare you for the real world of MT, why go to school at all? Sheesh. You sound very cynical. Did you go to MT school or did you learn totally on the job? If you went to school, are you saying that your school did NOTHING to prepare you for work? You did not learn and practice the different report types? You did not learn anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, surgical procedures, terminology, English, or anything about the BOS? Did you mean no school will teach you EVERYTHING you will encounter in the work world? If that is what you meant, you should have worded it differently. Does medical school absolutely, positively, completely prepare doctors for the real world of private practice or hospital practice or ER on a weekend night? Of course not. Schools do the best they can (some better than others) and people learn other things on the job. No school will teach everyone everything needed to work in the "real world" of any career.
What was the point of your post, Daisy?
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#105918 - 08/01/08 10:20 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: MicheleA]
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inkyfingers2
Member
Registered: 03/25/03
Posts: 612
Loc: southern California
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I think this has been explored from all angles at this point.
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inkyfingers
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#105921 - 08/01/08 11:15 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: inkyfingers2]
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MattsKat
Member
Registered: 11/28/04
Posts: 2864
Loc: Here and Now...USA
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All angles except this one: What th' heck was Wordcraftr talking about? and was she/he really intending to address his/her snarky comments to Redpen?
_________________________
Those who can laugh at themselves shall never cease to be amused.
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#105996 - 08/02/08 07:36 PM
Re: New MT with lots of Medical Experience
[Re: MattsKat]
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Redpen
Member
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 969
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I sure hope they weren't addressed at me.
My post applies to anyone considering taking an exam. It was general advice along the lines of doing some practice assessments to see if your skills are enough and doing something about it if they are not. That includes studying the BOS, trying to write well all the time so that it becomes second nature, and actively soliciting feedback. This board, more than any other, is one of the best places for that.
These are the things *I* do. These are the things I not only recommend to our students, but which I incorporate into their education.
_________________________
Redpen
(The Andrews School)
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