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#97181 - 05/03/08 01:33 PM
Remember that first year as an MT?
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Linda Andrews CMT
Moderator-Andrews School
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 4956
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK US
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I need information. As we all know, the world, the industry, and in particular the economy changes constantly. I would like to do an informal study of the 'first year on the job as a medical transcriptionist.'
This is for anyone who wants to participate. You do NOT need to be graduates of The Andrews School. Most of you probably won't have time to answer all these questions, but I appreciate any information I can get.
I won't insult anyone by asking if the first year was difficult. It was. It always has been and I think it always will be. No matter how prepared a new graduate is, each employer has to orient new graduates on many details unique to that particular company. That, on top of the 'deer-in-headlights' feeling that most new graduates feel for at least the first three months, it's tough.
What I would like to know here on the public forum or by private e-mail is, what was the toughest part? You know better than I do what questions I should ask about that first year. Please don't reveal anything you wouldn't discuss if your employer were looking over your shoulder while you were typing.
It's VERY important to know approximately when that first year was. If it was 5 years ago, 30 years ago, or last year will be very important to know.
Then, by private e-mail if you can figure out a way to disguise yourself so you don't tell me more than you want me to know, how much did you make that first year? Since I'm going to compile a list, would you keep it structured so I can grab the core information quickly. Then go ahead and expound on the subject after that, because I will be interested in what you have to say.
The core information I need is, how much money did you make that first year? Were you paid as an employee or an Independent Contractor? Did you work for a large, medium, or small service? Did you do acute care or clinic, or both? Were you limited to a small number of dictating physicians or approximately how many as an average? I'd love to hear you talk about how difficult or easy it was for you to get comfortable transcribing a number of different specialties and dictating physicians.
How many lines were you able to do that first day, week, month, six months, or whatever you can remember? Would you give further details about that too?
If you are guessing, estimating, or giving information from written records, would you let me know?
From what you see and hear, has any of this changed in the past few years? On what do you base your view?
I think it might also be interesting to know how you were trained in medical transcription. Did you have on-the-job training? Did you attend a school specifically designed for medical transcription education, a community college, or career college with a number of career courses other than medical transcription?
My e-mail is linda@andrewsschool.com and if you would put SURVEY in the topic line, I can check my e-mail filter and make sure none of the responses are filtered out.
Thank you so much to anyone who has time and chooses to participate. Thanks to the rest of you for your patience and the space here on the boards to ask these questions. I appreciate your help. I plan to share this information with my students and anyone else who is interested.
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#97190 - 05/03/08 04:57 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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Linda Andrews CMT
Moderator-Andrews School
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 4956
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK US
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After reading what I wrote, I think I've asked for MUCH too much information. Any part of that will also be welcome.
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#97192 - 05/03/08 05:26 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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Badfinger
Member
Registered: 11/07/07
Posts: 356
Loc: Grand Prairie, TX
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I became an MT around 1992/1993. My toughest hurdle was finding a place that would hire someone fresh out of school. My lucky break came when my MT teacher ran into a guy who was starting a transcription department for a company that hired ER docs. If I wasn't referred to that company, I really don't know how long it would have been before someone finally hired me.
I started out doing just ER notes. Then we started getting acute care accounts that involved all forms of dictation and I began doing just about everything other than autopsy. My accounts ranged from acute-care hospitals to clinics those first years.
I started out getting paid by the hour then they started paying us by production, which was a blessing as I made a lot more money. I honestly cannot remember how much I made my first year but I was typing 1000 to 1600 lines a day, which was really easy as the account I was working on had a lot of doctor standards/normals that I used on a daily basis. I was paid as an employee at this company. Today, I'm getting about 1000 lines done a day and am working as an IC.
The transcription department for this beginner company was very small with only 4 of us to start off with, then once everything started taking off and more MTs were hired, I think there were probably 15 to 20 MTs before we were sold to another transcription firm. Now, I'm with a service that employs about 450 MTs.
_________________________
I've got something to say . . . . it's better to burn out than fade away.
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#97237 - 05/04/08 05:23 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Badfinger]
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Inyrii
Junior Member
Registered: 11/02/06
Posts: 39
Loc: Thorndale, TX
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I started in 1984 with on-the-job training at a 47 bed hospital at $3.50 (a whole quarter over minimum, whoohoo) an hour. There were about 9 full time docs and 5-6 specialists that came once a week. I have no idea how many lines were typed as we did not keep track back then and we were responsible for all the work that was done in Medical Records (just the 3 of us). The ART over the department emphasized quality not quantity of work, yes she was a nitpicker but boy did I learn a lot from her in the 11 years she was there. I guess because we had to transcribe whoever came up next on the system, a 1976 Lanier tape thing no less, it drives me insane if I have to listen to the same dictator for more than 3-4 jobs. I like the variety.
_________________________
"I'm not dumb, I just have a command for thoroughly useless information". Calvin & Hobbes
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#97239 - 05/04/08 07:31 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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casagrandeMT
Member
Registered: 12/05/04
Posts: 1392
Loc: Casa Grande, AZ
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The world of MT has changed so much in the past 2-3 years that I doubt our experiences when newbies will reflect, in any way, what a newbie faces today.
I actually counsel others NOT to go into MT as a career, as one cannot really make a living at it at the line rate today. The MT world today seems to be geared toward SAHM with the husband as the major breadwinner.
No one can support a family on $20-22K a year.
Edited to add this link from the 2006 Advance salary survey where the average salary was about $25K. Of course, the former AAMT tried to blame it on lack of CMTs in the field.
Edited by casagrandeMT (05/04/08 07:46 PM)
_________________________
Casagrande ex-MT
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#97241 - 05/04/08 07:53 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: casagrandeMT]
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8796
Loc: Murrieta, California
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I agree. When I graduated from Andrews and started with Total eMed (Spheris) almost 8 years ago, I started out at 7 cpl. That's practically what they are paying MTs with experience now and as an IC it's not much better. At that first job with Spheris, I was given a clinic account and had it until I asked for something a bit harder, then went into acute care. You don't hear of that too often anymore but instead get slammed with all different accounts, so the learning curve is difficult.
I think I made about 10,000 the first year and that was probably for about 8 months of work, part time. I actually worked pretty close to full time to even make that much though. I was really slow, having to document every little thing, but that's to be expected. We didn't work on a time clock then, just by how many lines per day. Actually, no! We worked by how many lines we had to do per week then. Do 'em all within 3 days of your week and you could take the rest of the week off. Ahhhh...those were the days! LOL (that changed before I left the company)
The second year, I was looking up things less and pretty much knew my account inside and out. But I found I still was taking longer than I wanted, to get my line count in for the day. So, I left and went to Webmedx. I actually just about doubled my line count within the first week, while still in training, with them, so I think there was something off with Spheris' counting system.
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#97251 - 05/05/08 08:13 AM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: meri]
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Lvgonadream
Junior Member
Registered: 10/02/04
Posts: 45
Loc: Michigan
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1995 as a mentee and I belive at 5 cpl. My first mentor was a witch who put me on a cardio ESL account. When I asked questions she would just tell me "figure it out yourself". I then found a great mentor who taught me "the right way" and was always open to my sometimes "stupid" questions, but there's no such thing as a "stupid question" now is there?
I believe my first paycheck was $148.00 for 2 weeks of work.
The hardest thing was trying to understand what the doctor was saying, even if they were English speaking. I still laugh to this day when I put in an ER report that the patient had "gray pony" instead of cardiopulmonary.
The second hardest part of doing MT at home was "training" my family and friends. Just because I'm at home, does not mean I am not doing a job. My rule was "don't bother me unless its an emergency until after 2 p.m." I finally got that thru one friend's head and instead of calling, she would come over. "come on take a break and have a cup of coffee with me". So I finally resorted to putting a sign on the back door - it was one of those circles with a slash thru it "warning MT at work, knock at your own risk" and that did the trick.
Hope I answered everything. After 12 going on 13 years of MT, I would never do anything else.
_________________________
"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly"
Langston Hughes
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#97271 - 05/05/08 12:11 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Lvgonadream]
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8796
Loc: Murrieta, California
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Oh, yeah, I'd definitely agree with the friends/family/neighbors being the hardest part of the job that first year. I actually lost friends over it. Matter of fact, I would say it is still the hardest part of the job for me. I was just thinking yesterday that I would love to work in an office again just for the pure quietness of it. I remember working at one place years ago. It had real low lights except in your little cubicle and was so quiet you could hear a pin drop - honestly. It was the most relaxing place I had ever been in. I did my externship there. Funny thing, after I had worked for Webmedx a year or so, I found out they were the same company as them - just changed their name!
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#97560 - 05/09/08 02:20 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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Ebit
Member
Registered: 01/10/03
Posts: 1280
Loc: Black Hole of the Internet
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My experience was probably different from most people's, so I'll respond only to clarify how inclusive you intend to be. My first MT job was in 1991. I was never paid by the line, always by the hour. I never had a job where lines were counted. So I can't answer those questions. Also, unfortunately, I don't remember anything about my pay rate at my jobs (I basically had two, one for about 8 years and one for about 2-1/2 years, before moving into my present position where I don't really transcribe). I was always a full-time employee who worked in an office.
My first job was doing IMEs for a single doctor. He dictated on tapes and provided the charts, which could be huge. I was transcribing in WordPerfect and knew nothing about templates or shortcuts. I had no training whatsoever, except that my previous job had been in the Health Monitoring Division of an environmental cleanup company (employees who wore SCBA, for example). I also have excellent English skills and had Latin and some Greek in high school, which helped greatly with spelling and word formation.
My biggest hurdle, frankly, was getting over my arrogance. I had to accept the fact that I was not writing the report but only transcribing it. I gradually realized that sometimes the strange ways doctors worded things were done for a useful reason.
I was very, very lucky in my first job. The doctor I worked for did exhaustive, detailed reviews of medical histories that sometimes went back decades. He commented on the appropriateness of the treatment in light of best practices. He was an excellent dictator if you didn't mind hearing "that" 6 times per sentence. He was also an unusually thoughtful boss, always willing to explain something and willing to listen to new ideas. I will never forget his kindness in letting me come back to work on my own partial, pain-based schedule after a fractured spine.
Because this was essentially occupational medicine, it was easier to relate to my own experience than, say, EKGs or oncology might have been. Yet the examinee's records might include all that, which I could read if I dared to take the time. I learned how much there was to know!
Personally, I doubt I have the self-discipline to work at home, and spending a hefty sum on training for a new career in midlife would be extremely daunting to me. I doubt very much I would be able to get into MT these days. I have the utmost respect for those who do.
Edited by Ebit (05/09/08 02:23 PM)
_________________________
The means are the end. - Laia Asieo Odo
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#97582 - 05/09/08 09:01 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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laras4labs
New Member
Registered: 05/09/08
Posts: 3
Loc: Lone Jack, MO
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Hi everyone. I am a new MT. I have been transcribing for about 6 months and I am STARVING! I work for a small company and I like it alot, but the work is sporadic as well as the paychecks, which never come on time. I wish I would have researched this more before I piled up $13,000 in student loans to go to MT school. I don't mean to complain, I am just one of the deer-in-the-headlights newbies and it's scary. Actually I spent all day today crying my eyes out because I am so far in debt and I can't see out. Does this get any better? 
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#97603 - 05/10/08 12:40 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: laras4labs]
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8796
Loc: Murrieta, California
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Hi everyone. I am a new MT. I have been transcribing for about 6 months and I am STARVING! I work for a small company and I like it alot, but the work is sporadic as well as the paychecks, which never come on time. I wish I would have researched this more before I piled up $13,000 in student loans to go to MT school. I don't mean to complain, I am just one of the deer-in-the-headlights newbies and it's scary. Actually I spent all day today crying my eyes out because I am so far in debt and I can't see out. Does this get any better?
This will not get better if you choose to stay with a company that pays this way. There are better options out there.
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#97609 - 05/10/08 02:00 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Ebit]
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Linda Andrews CMT
Moderator-Andrews School
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 4956
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK US
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You aren't alone. More medical transcriptionists do poorly because they edit too much than anything else, according to what I hear from employers.
I had to accept the fact that I was not writing the report but only transcribing it. I gradually realized that sometimes the strange ways doctors worded things were done for a useful reason.
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#97616 - 05/10/08 03:13 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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moaab
Member
Registered: 02/02/08
Posts: 378
Loc: Chicagoland
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Thank you for that feedback, Linda. I will remember that as I continue in school.
_________________________
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.........Abraham Lincoln's mother
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#97986 - 05/15/08 11:53 AM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: moaab]
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kaka
New Member
Registered: 05/14/08
Posts: 8
Loc: TN
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I don't really know the best place to post this but since I have just finsihed reading this thread I will begin here and thank you for your patience beforehand.
For the last two months I have been researching Medical Transcription. What began as a search to find legitimate work at home actually became an interest evolving into excitement after digging into this field by working on my own from a text/workbook I bought at Amazon. I was ready to commit to CS, it being a middle priced course and coming highly recommended by a couple of former students working from their homes now. My situation is not one of a stay at home mom. Rather I am at the other end of the spectrum. Being near 54, we have a great need for additional income as my husband is disabled. Having a home office and being proficient with the computer and various software, I naturally searched for something I could do from here, as I enjoy computer projects and spend time each day at my desk, even it its just email and internet surfing.
I knew being older it might be harder and/or take me longer to retain the enormous amount of information that must become a part of your life. (On the other hand it would also keep my brain from turning to mush ) I also am not a high speed typist, so I have also been practicing my keyboarding in preparation of signing on to a course. Knowing repetition, and possibly word expanders, would also do a lot during the training and actual work. More and more I found this work of an M T interesting and am ready to do whatever it takes to become one, reaching for the goal of working and generating income.
Then my research brought me to this forum and taking in a lot of the opinions and experiences I have read, this is very discouraging. First I read many non-favorable threads regarding Career Step. In addition to that, I have read here of how the wages are being lowered to the point of barely a poverty level of income. For someone who had and still wants to have great anticipation of this mid life career path, to say the least, I am very disheartened right now, still yearning to do this kind of work and yet unsure of the results of even my best efforts. From other internet resources I thought a good MT would always have good choices for employment. Now I am not so sure. Of course I do not want to enter a profession that is on a downward spiral. So I just don’t know what to do.
Any insight and advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Karen
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#97988 - 05/15/08 12:09 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: kaka]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2166
Loc: MS Gulf Coast
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Well, you have read through our archives, it seems, so I don't know much else to say. You are looking at about a year to complete your education and, unless you go with a certain two schools (the names of which you should know from your research here), your prospects of meaningful work from home are limited at best. Once hired, you cannot realistically expect to make much money for the first year or two, depending on where you do actually find a position. Additionally, during those first couple of years, you will be researching many terms much of the time, and training your ear as well. During those years, you may well be able to make more working at McDonalds or at a convenience store.
It can be done, but check your expectations at the door to save major disappointment. This is not the industry it used to be. Downward spiral? Probably so. No one can tell the future, so no one could tell you where on that spiral you would be entering the field.
I'm sure you will get amny different opinions. Beware of the ones that come to you privately. Lately, it seems, there are more and more people that may just tell you what you want to hear, away from the public message arena, just so you never get the chance to see how those private opinions hold up to the scrutiny of those who would just rather give it to you straight.
Edited by tropsicleAfter (05/15/08 12:10 PM)
_________________________
tropsicle
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#98213 - 05/18/08 11:06 AM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[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'm sure you will get amny different opinions. Beware of the ones that come to you privately. Lately, it seems, there are more and more people that may just tell you what you want to hear, away from the public message arena, just so you never get the chance to see how those private opinions hold up to the scrutiny of those who would just rather give it to you straight.
Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. I have sent PMs because in my case telling the truth is considered by some to be "bashing" by a "disgruntled" grad, which frequently gets threads locked.
But I stand by what I say, and I'll put it up again. Everyone feel free to scrutinize, because every word of it is true.
I am a CS graduate, and if I had it to do over, I'd choose Andrews School or M-TEC.
Almost all of the books you receive from CS are written by the lady who started the school. The other 2 schools use real reference books that contain a LOT more. That's one reason the other 2 cost more.
Also, the other 2 schools have real instructors who go over your work and point out errors, and help you along. At CS, your work is "automatically compared" against the same report done at some unknown time and place by some unknown MT, who may or may not have done it correctly. All you get is a comparison between the two, it only shows the differences, like holding two pieces of paper up to the light to see if everything matches. Whenever there are differences, it's up to YOU to figure out which one is correct. The only time a real person actually looks over your work is when you take your final exam (which over 50% of students fail the first time they take it, and that statement comes directly from CS itself, not from me).*
Yes, I did get a work-at-home job after graduating from CS. But I feel my first year of work was a lot harder, I spent a lot more time looking things up, there were a lot of things I would have learned at Andrews or M-TEC that I didn't learn at CS.
*Updated to add that I have been told that CS recently changed the final exam so that more people could pass. Personally, I feel that "dumbing down" the final exam just so more of your grads can pass will NOT help them in the real world, it's actually doing them a disservice. And I might ask if anyone has ever wondered why CS provides an employment test for so many companies that are "happy" to hire CS grads? Perhaps to be sure there are companies with tests that their grads can pass?
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#98215 - 05/18/08 11:24 AM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: FarAwayDeb]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2166
Loc: MS Gulf Coast
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Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. I have sent PMs because in my case telling the truth is considered by some to be "bashing" by a "disgruntled" grad, which frequently gets threads locked.
Aww, Deb, I hate that you feel that way, are MADE to feel that way. In my defense, I did say beware and not ignore. 
Fortunately, the truth will always out. There are absolute idiots out there working as MTs today (yall quit looking at me that way!), so there is always a possibility that someone from any school can get a job. However, what those here who really care try to do is give the best recommendation when asked, and that is what we do. We can lead the horses to water, but no one will ever be able to make them drink.
_________________________
tropsicle
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#98570 - 05/23/08 12:39 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: tropsicleAfter]
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Enigma
Junior Member
Registered: 12/12/05
Posts: 37
Loc: Blue Ridge Mountains
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First year. That was a while back. I started in the medical records department of a small county hospital, at $3.30 an hour, I think. On-the-job training, but I have a knack for languages, so it came naturally (all that Greek and Latin, which I never studied, but I did study a couple of others). I remember when they re-evaluated my job and I got a big raise to $5.40 an hour. I was so thrilled. I felt like I was getting away with something because I knew that I was only worth about $2 an hour. (Can you say low self-esteem?) I actually learned how to do every single job in the department except for the inpatient chart coding. I think it was a valuable experience.
People ask me all the time, "How do you get into doing that at home?" I tell them now you have to go to school for it, and they aren't thrilled. I was fortunate to start young. My income has gone steadily down, however, over the past 4 years, and I definitely am not making what I'm worth. If anyone cared about proofreading any more, there'd be a job somewhere out there for me, but they let machines do it and it's getting to the point where WE are supposed to accept being treated like machines also. Sigh.
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#98584 - 05/23/08 03:14 PM
Re: Remember that first year as an MT?
[Re: Linda Andrews CMT]
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4swaim
Junior Member
Registered: 03/06/06
Posts: 28
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I am three years into transcribing. I took an off-the-wall correspondence course (did not do thorough research) and finished in two months, could have completed in one month. The week of receipt of my MT "certificate" I applied at my local hospital (keep in mind rural AR). I tested on a few physicians, had a peer interview, and the director called me back a few hours later with the news I had landed the full-time position. I began at $9.55 per hour with $1.05 shift differential, I think. One week later, I accepted two IC clinics, for which I still work for at 10 cpl. The two clinics I subcontract for is under another contractor who is paid 11 cpl. She supplies the sticky paper, so it works out beautifully. I also acquired an ENT surgeon who pays 10 cpl. Between my IC clinics, on average, I type 2000 lines per day. My first year started out very busy as learning new physicians (a lot of ESL) and specialities was/is a constant variable.
Toughest part: Receiving my first QA
When began: I began transcribing three years ago.
How much first year: At the hospital I made roughly $20 - $22k (I think) and $17k per my IC accounts, which has markedly increased.
Employee or IC: Both.
Large, medium, or small: Large hospital for small town, small hospital for large town. My clinics are very large for this town.
Acute, clinic, or both: Both.
How many physicians? Not sure how many physicians, but it is a 150-bed facility. We have many physicians. My first year I trained on approximately 20 different physicians and nurses, I think. Not really sure though.
Typing different physicians and specialities: Typing for different physicians and specialties was the best asset to being a first-year MT. Absorbing so much information made the transition smoother, I believe. It all came at one time and I had no other recourse but to strap on my research boots and remember as much as I could. After learning each physicians particular needs/formatting, typing became second nature. Different specialities are my favorite. I figured out which specialities I liked to type and which ones I did not right away.
How many lines: I am not sure how many lines the first day. I assume not very many at all for a while because I was most nervous secondary to exhibiting accuracy. I wanted my boss to know I could type efficiently, but most importantly I wanted her to know I could type what I heard as accurately as possible. I knew that accuracy would impress her more so my objective was/is being as correct as possible.
I would also like to add that my first year in-house, I began discharges, progress notes, then H&Ps, and consults. My boss would keep me on each type until she felt I was accurately able to move on after working over each physician. She started me on the easiest physicians and progressed to the more difficult English-speaking physicians and ESL physicians.
If I can add anything (LOL), I would most likely to say that my first year of transcribing was/is a blessing. I am a nursing student and believe I have learned more from being an MT than from my college classes have taught me. I have had nothing but good come from this career choice and wish all others the same blessing which has come my way. The most important aspect I would emphasize in your informal study is the importance of choosing the right school. Do not settle!
_________________________
Just live to live every day...
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