Mr. Morton! Hello! Just wanted to let you know I read your book before I began my new career as an MT. It was GREAT. Thank you.

I graduated from Career Step October 2001 and have been working as an MT since about one week from graduation. This is a second career for me, as I was previously an accountant. I am making less money now but working on getting the earnings higher. Quality first though!!

It was very cool to see you here!!

Rennie

Thanks for your opinion George. I would like to say, also as an old-timer with some years of both teaching and recruiting experience myself, that Medword.com has been selling Meditech courses for almost five years and this has been a positive experience both for us and the students. Meditech has been in business for over 32 years; is a family-run business; has great student support, and; cares greatly about their students' success.

Many people do not realize the amount of study that is required to become successful. We sometimes ask people to think again about going into the profession because they are so unrealistic in their expectations, especially if they are considering a home-based business. They often do not appreciate the effort required to make it successful.

I also have to add that a low-cost course is not automatically bad any more than a higher-cost course is automatically good. Each course and each course provider, has to be judged individually , as I'm sure you'll agree.

In my experience, some students do not care about MT certification and many do not need a job guarantee. This makes less expensive courses appealing to them.

On our web site we give visitors as much information as possible regarding a career in medical transcription (See links at bottom of page, please) and we also advise them to be very careful if they are making a career change - it is a serious, life-changing decision.

I agree with Rennie! Very cool to see you on here Mr. Morton. I, as well, read your book before embarking on my "first" career. I say first because all of the jobs I had in the past were just that "JOBS". I love being an MT. Although I am a newcomer to the field, I feel as if I have been at it for years.

I appreciate your honest and straight-forward approach with your book. Thank you!

I cannot say how glad I am to have switched to a LESS EXPENSIVE program which presents it's material CLEARLY. If I was not using my education benefits from the time I was in the Army, then I would have chosen M-TEC, or ANDREWS, or REVIEW OF SYSTEMS; however, none of those programs are approved by the Veteran's Administration, so I was limited to choosing between two schools. I initially went with CCHS in an attempt to acquire an Associates in Medical Transcription, but decided to switch programs b/c I was not happy with their textbook, tests, or their support. Do I have to work? No, but I want a challenging career and I love languages, whether it be English, French (Graduated Magna Cum Laude from NC STATE with BA in French), or Arabic (try transcribing this stuff! much harder than medical transcription). So if a prospective employer is going to look at my certificate from Education Direct and say "not good enough" without looking at my other experiences and without giving me an entrance test, then they don't know what they're missing. I've said it over and over that it's what you put into it. I plan on doing extra studying so I will be prepared. No amount of $ spent on a better program can replace that;they just give you better quality materials to work with which can be purchased on the market or even on auction sites. I've already spent plenty on reference materials and practice tapes. I'll be prepared when it's time to look for a job. So for all of you at the "less expensive" or "cheaper" programs, don't give up! Remember not to rely only on the materials your school gives you.

This is my first post as a newbie in this esteemed group. I am about one week away from finishing my course. I have started sending letters out to doctors here in our county and the surrounding counties. I live in the country and I am hoping to be able to work for the doctors our here, instead of 'the big city'.
Are there any graduates here from At-Home Professions? I am very interested in hearing what you have to say. I noticed Mr. Morton did not mention that school as one he recommends. Is there a particular reason? Since I have nothing to compare my school to, I have felt that I have learned a lot and I am ready to 'face the MT world now'.
It's a bit scary to get ready to take this first step. But I feel like I'm ready....I have some questions though.
Glad to be here. Sue

Welcome CurleySue! Well, from posts that I've read at several MT message boards, At-home Professions was never mentionned as one of the top schools. It's probably right alongside my school, Education Direct, and other programs such as PCDI. I agree with Mr. Morton that the schools he mentions are probably the ones from which you will get the most for your money; however, I don't believe it is fair to assume that" A low-cost program that gets you 95% job-ready is worthless because you are not employable at the end of it". That other 5% + is the extra effort YOU need to make. I think SoMara is fair with what she says about judging a school individually and I would like to think a person should be judged individually too. It shouldn't be assumed that all graduates of school such-and-such are incompetent . I certainly do not agree with what I read somewhere that those who choose the less expensive schools aren't as serious about gaining employment or don't really need to work. Let's be realistic: We'd all like to attend Andrews, ROS, or M-Tec but many of us don't have $1000 to put down and $500 a month afterwards. We can afford to pay $50 to $100 a month(interest-free no less) and are willing to take 2 years to pay it off and train if that's what it takes. I'm very serious about becoming an MT, but there are mouths to feed here too. Yes, it may take you a little longer to find a job but you will find one eventually. Be willing to look outside home employment too. My school, Education Direct suggests not taking that route to begin with but rather finding an office or a hospital to work at. I'm going to try a hospital when I finish. Best of luck!

The whole purpose of me taking the MT course was to be able to stay home and work. I've set my sites on that. I'm tired of the commute, office politics and stuff likd that! I understand that MTs in a hospital are usually put out of the way and stuck in a corner somewhere. Or in the basement -- with no windows!
I'm working with an MT once or twice a week now to get the hang of things. I'm not getting paid, but I'm getting real experience that's not part of school. And from my point of view, the 'real world' is easier than school! My school seems to specialize in foreign-speaking doctors who mispronounce words and use incorrect terminalogy. Working in a hospital you will have to deal with those complexities all the time, but working for myself at home, I can be a bit more selective. That might sound arrogant, but I do have that choice now.
My school isn't cheap, but they do allow for the easy-payment-plan. That has really helped us out since I was laid off in March. I got a small severance package but that pretty much has gone toward school.
Now that it's time for the 'rubber to meet the road, I'm getting a little scared! But I'm also very anxious to get this new career going!

This message is to give the real truth about transcription schools over the internet. I am a recent grad. of Education Direct. It is a great program and gives you a solid foundation for medical transcription. Here is what I have learned and I am sure that this applies all around. You will get out what you put in! You can test with Medquist with any school you attend. Practice tapes with REAL physicians is a plus. Hillcrest tapes are much slower and easier to understand, but DO give you the starting practice that you need! I chose Education Direct because I get two actual transcribers. I am going into business for myself and this was important to me. I would definately be realistic about the work-at-home possibilities. Most compainies do not take "newbies". The Medquist test will test ALL of your ability and the transcription part is VERY difficult if you have not listened to actual physician reports before. GOOD LUCK and be prepared to give it your all.

This is for Curley Sue. I sent you a private message about At-Home Professions.

Dena

Thanks Texasflower! Your message made me feel better about my choice with Education Direct and should encourage others who can't afford the pricier programs. Everything is overpriced anyhow! I can't believe how much some practice tapes sell for. I am currently studying the unit on law for medical office professionals and really enjoy the textbook. Once I finish that, then I'm ready to start the actual terminology and transcription portion of the course. I've already had practice with the SUM beginning program from the previous school (in my opinion, the only beneficial item I received from there) and have some of the Absolute Experience tapes too which sound pretty challenging but I haven't tried transcribing them yet until I am well into this course. For Christmas, I'm asking for a Microsoft Natural/ergonomic keyboard. Best of luck to all!