Ellen:I know you have narrowed your choices but I would like for you to consider a few things. As an Andrew graduate myself who was faced with a hurdle the size of a mountain, the Andrews' program was the best program out there for me.
I realize that money is an issue but I want to you take a bit of time to think about what the other posters, Season and Mad about the Mouse, wrote. This career is hard enough to get into and almost as hard to stay in. Think long and hard before doing it halfway if you are very serious about this career choice.
Sometime back I wrote post to a prospective new student about when to know when a bargain is actually a bargain. I'll sort of hit the highlights again here.
In the long run, your ability to get a job is something that you need to consider now. It is very hard to get your foot in the door in this business. Most national companies are interested in veteran MTs with a lot of experience. However, many will test graduates from high quality schools. Granted, it is ultimately up to you to learn all you can in order to pass the employment test but without the best education possible, you will find that you have a strike or two against you. Where is the bargain if you can't find a job?
Quality education is another thing to think about. Weigh the differences between a course that offers extensive terminology, the SUM program, advanced AAMT transcription tapes, and additional knowledge on how to make autokeys/macros, research skills, extensive pharmacology study, etc... It always helps when you are supplied with word books, a good medical dictionary, and a pharmacology book, and a laboratory book to name a few. Also, consider a transcriber machine to run those tapes or a foot pedal if you use the CD version of transcribing reports. The course that includes this along with other helpful items may be priced a little higher but if you study hard and learn what you need to know, you will have the skills necessary to pass any transcription company's employment test. Best of all, courses that include reference materials (ie books in print or cd media format) provide you with the basic tools required to start working. As your work improves and/or you get in more specialized accounts there will be extra income to purchase more reference materials. Can you see the bargain?
Andrews and M-Tec are two of the best MT schools in the country. You can work at your own pace. You have instructors available to answer questions. Many reference books are supplied. You are taught not only how to "type what you hear" but rather to understand what is being dictated, the ability to transcribe a high-quality legal document, and the ability to research anything you are unfamilar with.
All in all, when you consider the lesser-quality schools which offer fewer references if any, they really are not bargains by the time you purchase reference books, most often separately because each book is rather expensive. Add that to a substandard education and what you have is an expensive waste of time. You find that you would have been better off to hold out for more savings and invest in a better program.
If you are serious about this career, I would highly suggest that you read all you can and get advice from other students. It is really sad to read posts from students who have laid out a large amount of money to a substandard school only to find out they can't get a job when all they would have had to do is save a little for the better course.
The old saying of getting what you pay for means a lot in this business. Medical transcription is so much more than typing what you hear. Contrary to the television commercials, you cannot make it in this career with children interrupting all the time. It take a quick mind, a positive attitude, the desire to learn, and the ability to apply what you have learned.
Do a little experiment. Make a list of each MT school you have considered and add to that list M-Tec and Andrews. Underneath each school write in the cost of the course. For each school, list what is included with each course. Add a yes or a no for each school that uses the SUM program and the advanced tapes from the AAMT. For the schools that do not include reference books, go to Stedman's website. Find each reference book you will need and list the prices with each school. Next, for schools that do not include a transcription machine, list the price of that. The SUM program is available in regular cassette and in CD format. Add the price of the foot pedal and/or the price of a regular cassette transcriber. (You can find the foot pedal for the sum program at HPI. The foot pedal is $49.50 plus $10 shipping.
Once you get this far, you need to include the cost of the AAMT's Book of Style. This is considered the MT's bible. It is $79.00 for nonmembers including shipping.
Another thing to consider is how the course is taught and who is teaching the course. I can't say for M-Tec because I did not take their course but at Andrews, each section of the course is taught by former and presently working medical transcriptionists, most of which are certified by the AAMT. Just remember that if you want your car fixed, do you take it to someone who has only read an automobile repair book or do you take it to someone who has an education and actually repairs cars for a living?
Once all this is done, tally up. For every course that does not offer reference books, add up what it will cost you out-of-pocket, at one time, to purchase them. Add in the other items I mentioned such as a transcription machine and/or a foot pedal. Decide if you want to learn from someone who actually does this for a living or someone who just read a book about the world of MT. Read the archives of other MTs who graduated from each of the schools you have listed. Weigh the employment options available.
Which school is the bargain? Which school will give you the necessary skills to pass an employment test? Which school will give you the necessary skills for you to actually begin work with the least bit of difficulty? Which school offers instructors who have hands-on experience that they can pass on to you thus making your work experience much easier? Most of all, which school offers post-graduate advice?
I hope this helps you understand the importance of placing quality above price. Cost is a huge factor and cannot be taken lightly but if you decide on a substandard school you will end up paying more in the long run when you could have paid a little more upfront and gotten the better education.
Sam
Andrews graduate October 1999
Working graduate since October 1999
[ 08-22-2001: Message edited by: SamanthaT ]
This is a great thread - some very useful and helpful information from people who have been there/done that.
