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#80907 - 09/13/07 08:20 PM
Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
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JeniLyn
New Member
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Ohio
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I graduated from a medical secretary certificate program in 1989 and have been working as medical transcriptionist since then. For fifteen years I have worked for the same employer in a pathology lab. My PROBLEM is the very limited experience I have in only the one specialty area.
I've become bored and do not want to leave my job, as they have been very good to me over the years, but I'm itching to do something to further my career or just broaden my experience.
What would be your advice on how to go about this? Should I enroll in school and update my training? Try to get another PT job working from home in the evenings to gain more experience and versatility? Do I even have the experience needed to get a job like that?
Any ideas?
Thanks.
JeniLyn
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#80911 - 09/13/07 08:43 PM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: JeniLyn]
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Gisele Dubson
Member
Registered: 05/28/99
Posts: 5608
Loc: Boulder, CO, USA
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If you've been doing pathology for that long, I would advise you to enroll in a good MT school. There have been a lot of changes in medicine since you first started, and you're going to need to study disease processes from the ground up. I think that would be a better use of your time than trying to get a job on the side.
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Gisele F. Dubson, RHIA, Mercury Medical Communications
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#80916 - 09/13/07 09:17 PM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: Gisele Dubson]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2166
Loc: MS Gulf Coast
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I have to agree that the schooling route would serve you best. You might get that second job, and might get some other experience that way, but it could just as easily work out that the challenges you would face trying to do acute care or the like would so dishearten you that overall it would be more detrimental than helpful.
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tropsicle
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#80918 - 09/13/07 09:40 PM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: tropsicleAfter]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2789
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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I also have to agree. Your medical secretary certificate definitely didn't prepare you to do very much in the way of transcription (not to mention that it was quite awhile ago), and if all you really have done is pathology I seriously doubt you could pass an employment test for a job transcribing anything else.
I know you didn't ask, but since you're new here, Andrews School and M-TEC are the two best schools. They are a bit expensive, but worth every penny.
Good luck to you!
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#80930 - 09/14/07 06:27 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: FarAwayDeb]
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JeniLyn
New Member
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Ohio
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Thanks for the info guys. I will certainly look into those schools. Do the online schools prepare you better than the traditional programs? I'm asking because there is a medical transcription certificate program offered at the community college near my home which is what I was thinking when I said going back to school. I hadn't really considered doing it online, but if you think that is the better way to go, then I will look into it.
Jen
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#80933 - 09/14/07 07:50 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: JeniLyn]
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baldymom
Member
Registered: 02/26/04
Posts: 630
Loc: Hampton Roads - Va
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A certificate program at a community college might get you an entry level in-house position at a local hospital or a large clinic of some kind. It might. But most likey not.
A certificate from Andrews (or M-TEC) will get you acute care job offers from home within a month. At least it did for me.
_________________________
What would you do with a brain if you had one? -- Dorothy -- Wizard of Oz
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#80942 - 09/14/07 10:22 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: JeniLyn]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2789
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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If you want to work locally at a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, etc. then a local program that local people have heard of might be the way to go, because most local places have either never heard of the online schools or think of them as worthless "correspondence courses" - which actually many of them are (the ones that have postcards falling out of your magazines, etc.).
But if you want to work at home, online, then you would definitely want a recognized online program like the two I mentioned.
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#80946 - 09/14/07 10:41 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: FarAwayDeb]
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Gisele Dubson
Member
Registered: 05/28/99
Posts: 5608
Loc: Boulder, CO, USA
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You should find out where the graduates of the community college program are working now. Also, find out if an actual MT is teaching the courses.
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Gisele F. Dubson, RHIA, Mercury Medical Communications
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#80960 - 09/14/07 12:08 PM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: Gisele Dubson]
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kimmie
Member
Registered: 08/18/07
Posts: 207
Loc: Indiana
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Have to put my two cents in here, because I wish I had come here before I ever signed up for a course. Take the great advice of those above and sign up with Andrews or M-TEC. I took a community college certificate course and am now kicking myself, because I realize that I am going to have to go BACK to school to get where I want to be. You really have a leg up on others if you choose the right school the first time around, and save some green, too!
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#81006 - 09/14/07 08:19 PM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: kimmie]
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JeniLyn
New Member
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Ohio
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Well, I'm not interested in finding a local in-house job. I have one already and I'm fairly secure in that position. However, I know my doc will be planning to retire in the next 5+ years. I checked out the above mentioned schools and I liked what I saw from Andrews, but yeah, that price is hefty. DH's jaw hit the ground when I told him the price. I don't have that kind of cash lying around, so this will be something I need to save up for, but a worthy goal. Thanks for all the info.
Jen
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#81018 - 09/15/07 02:59 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: JeniLyn]
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HoosierFemme
Member
Registered: 09/28/05
Posts: 1123
Loc: Parisian suburbs, France
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Trust me, it is worth every penny, and it saves you money down the road from having to go to Andrews or M-TEC anyway because the school that seemed oh-so-affordable did not prepare you for the real working world of MT. It also earns your schooling costs back in no time because with these schools, you hit the ground running in your job.
I'm a current M-TEC student and someone who's been transcribing since 1998 (mentoring, OJT). Let me tell you, it is more challenging than I thought, but I am confident I will be well prepared for any kind of job once I graduate. I actually am still working as an MT, but living in France, my job opportunities are limited. Part of the reason I chose to go to school was to be able to have more choices should we move to the States one day.
_________________________
The French motto is "Liberté, Egalité, and Get Out of My Way." English author Stephen Clarke
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#81062 - 09/15/07 04:30 PM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: HoosierFemme]
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kimmie
Member
Registered: 08/18/07
Posts: 207
Loc: Indiana
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M-TEC offers Sallie Mae (sp?) loans, and payment plans, FYI.
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#98617 - 05/24/08 03:22 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: JeniLyn]
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otakuMT
New Member
Registered: 05/24/08
Posts: 3
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i think it is better if you first try to enroll to a school before pursuing to another kind of work... coz you know.. being just in one specialty really rust your brain... 
and living is part of gaining experience and every human needs that. i think they may understand you...
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#98619 - 05/24/08 04:53 AM
Re: Hi..I'm a newbie to this forum and need advice
[Re: otakuMT]
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HoosierFemme
Member
Registered: 09/28/05
Posts: 1123
Loc: Parisian suburbs, France
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 You do realize you've responded to a post that is over 8 months old, don't you? As for what you said, I agree about enrolling in a school, but I am having trouble understanding the rest!
_________________________
The French motto is "Liberté, Egalité, and Get Out of My Way." English author Stephen Clarke
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