For MT Students

MT Education / Article for Newbies at MT Monthly

this is for the Newbies
who are Eager for to be
like all those Who've gone Before
and earned the name MT

to help In their Endeavor
they need your helping hand
whose seasoned ears can guide them on
to help them understand

this is for the Oldbies
who Lead them ever on
whose heart's Desire is to inspire
and make their weakness' strong

Be It known that all of us
hold you in high ESteem
and thank you with much gratitude
for being on our team!

From Kim McGill, jonesy@MAINSITE.COM
Lori,
By all means, stay with us here on the list. This is definitely where you belong. The most important criteria for being here is not your ability to answer "word help" questions, but your eagerness to ask them when you need to. We all try to help each other here. It is a safe haven for all those who are just getting started with school AND with their career in Medical Transcription. DO NOT feel bad for not knowing answers to other's questions here. This is your opportunity to LEARN! Some of us have only been in school for MT for a month, some of us a year +. Others have been in the business for over 25 years and a kind enough to help us "newbies" out when we get stuck. It's a cool little club we've got going here! I for one will look for YOUR first reply to someone else's question, and I will smile and share in your satisfaction. Wishing you continued success, Kim

Mary: Judy, do you know how many subscribe to this listserv now? Does this service cost you any money or time? Is there some way to thank St. John's for this service and is it really free? Thanks to YOU for starting it!

Judy: As of this moment, we've got 159 subscribers. Yes, it is free, and no, it doesn't require a whole lot of my time. As owner, I have to deal with error messages and that sort of thing, but the list basically runs itself. I'm perfectly happy to be doing this, and as for St. John's, they host over 300 medically related mailing lists free of charge. I can pass on a "thank you" from the NTMC list to them if everyone would like me to do that.

Mary: Someone mentioned getting too much mail from this listserv; just pick and choose what you want to read by topic or person, and delete the rest. I don't think there's any way to limit what you get.

Judy: This is correct, but it is possible to get the NMTC list in digest form. This results in one piece of mail per day, containing all of that day's posts. If anybody is interested in this, send e-mail to LISTSERV@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU with the words SET NMTC DIGEST in the message body.

Mary: One of the things we all learn to tolerate on the Internet is the overwhelming quantity and richness of resources we don't have time to tap! It's the information age, and this is information overload for sure!

Judy: How true, but once you've been on the internet for awhile, you wonder how you ever lived without it!

I have spent a few evenings reading these postings. Reading the cautions on MT Daily, I almost gave up the ideas myself of having a skill that is always in demand and always being employable, and of very much wanting my own home business. Anyone starting out, even with a 4-year college degree in their hand, in ANY field, runs into brick walls. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try or be persistent. The difference I am perceiving here is that with college graduates, usually in their junior and senior year, they start examining the job market, and especially in their senior year, they send out resumes and start contacting companies where they may want to work. If they are smart, they don't care if it's a low-level job, just so they can get their foot in the door. Also, I'm sure they keep an eye on the need for trained people in whatever profession they are pursuing. The same should go for MTs, I think.

My advice: Before signing on for training, take a look around where you live, whether you want to work for a hospital, clinic, or at home. Look in the phone book. See how many doctors and hospitals are listed to whom you could send out resumes and marketing material when you feel you are ready. In that same book, check out transcription companies, see how many there are and what types. I have done this. I, like Judy, do not live in a big metropolitan area. I live in a small town. But there are MANY doctors in the phone book, and I don't see many transcription services. There are also a lot of hospitals in my area. I always check out the classifieds, mostly at this point out of curiosity. I am starting to get the idea, from everything I have read here, that what a person has to do is get the best training possible (I also realize there is no end to your learning, but that applies to ANYTHING) and then try every angle. Send out resumes all over. Don't limit yourself as to who you do and don't contact. Ask God to bless those resumes. Ask friends, relatives, whomever may live in your area, even your own doctor, if they know of anyone looking for a medical transcriptionist. In other words, market yourself and have confidence in yourself, in all your dealings with everyone. If you get discouraged, go home and cry your eyes out behind closed doors if it will help. Get upset, get mad, but do it away from everyone else. I mean, after all, we are human. And by all means, ask God to hold you up during this tough time. That is what He is there for. If anyone wants you to succeed, He does. Read the negative postings here, and elsewhere, as caution lights. I consider them as letting me know that this is not going to be easy. And then to read the postings on trying to understand the dictations! Well! That almost scared me into giving up before I start. But then again, what worthwhile career field IS easy? I am in the process of receiving information from various training sources. I am trying to stick with "services" rather than straight "schools." I have, so far, received information from NE Transcripts, in NJ, E-mail from the SUM program (Jennifer), and M-TEC, the 3-tier program. I am waiting for information from Silvercreek Resource Group and Deborah Burns in AZ. I am staying away from Professional Career Development Institute, ICS, and At-Home Professions. Does anyone have any more advice? I'd appreciate it immensely. This seems like a wonderful place to network. But there does seem to be just as many questions on this career field as there are answers.

6/96: From Maggie Becker (on sci.med.transcription):
Welcome on board!! I'm somewhat of a newbie myself, although I have followed this newsgroup for a couple of years. I finished the HPI SUM program in 08/95, subcontracted at home for six months, and now work at Mayo Clinic here in Scottsdale. Prior to MT, I was a legal secretary and HATED my job. Like you, I was always fascinated with medicine and decided to make the switch! Now I absolutely love going to work every day, and believe it or not, I don't hate Mondays!!

Here are a few pointers that helped me: (1) Develop a very solid foundation in the components of medical terminology, i.e. suffixes, prefixes, word parts, etc. I was my own "worst teacher" when I studied at home, and I always made sure I thoroughly understood something before I moved on. I knew that only I would suffer if I didn't prepare well.

(2) Hopefully your course covers anatomy & physiology, pharmacology, laboratory medicine, and grammar/punctuation. A solid background in anatomy is particularly helpful, not to mention that it makes your job more interesting! There are a few software programs on the market that teach A&P, too. I recently purchased the Body Works 5.0 CD and really love it. A&P is also a common course at many local colleges. (3) Even as a student, cruise the Internet and visit all the sites. The year that I was a student, I followed all the MT sites, and although I didn't understand some of it at the time, it did sink in eventually! I also started my subscription to the MT Monthly newsletter while I was a student. Two great web sites are MT Daily (angelfire.com) and Toni M.'s page at (http://www.cris.com/~Tmerc). Both have loads of information and provide long lists of other medical sites for you to explore. You'll get "lost" in the web of sites available!!

(4) If you can, try to join a local chapter of the AAMT and attend a few meetings. In my humble opinion, this is not as important as getting a solid education, so don't let it cut into your study time. It can wait until later, but is a good source for networking and a good pipeline for local information.