I feel so stupid and my depression is coming back big time! I just finished up a medical transcription course which I invested a lot of money into. I have been getting on the internet looking for some home-based jobs and even some hospital jobs. I managed to find a MT forum and reading some of these replies made me wish that I had never taken or even finished this course! A lot of the newly graduated MTs that got on this forum complained that they have been lied to by the school that told them they would get a job right away! You actually, I have been told, need at least 2-5 years experience in transcribing before they will even consider you for a job!! It is not just any particular school that lies to you, it is ALL of them! They all tell you what you want to hear so they can get your money! They don't really care about you, they only care about keeping the school afloat so they will still have their jobs!!

I really strongly do believe that if the market out there is not good for a particular job field then the school, (any school) should not be telling people out there that this particular field of study is in "high demand". It seems what I trained for is being outsourced or just plain eliminated by a lot of doctors!! The school told me that voice recognition was nothing to worry about "wrong"!!! I am going to believe a newbie graduate of a MT school that has been trying to get a job for the past 24 months anyday over what a school tells me!

I just graduated with a diploma in medical transcription and not a certificate which I thought I was getting. If I go after the certificate, I can imagine that I will have to fork out some more money in order to obtain it and do I really want to do that after all that I have read on-line at these forums, I DON'T THINK SO!!!! It just makes me so angry that I dished out a few thousand dollars and for what! I am not one to throw money away carelessly I can tell you that but unfortunately it seems I did in this case!

After this learning experience, I don't plan to pursue another field of study! I worked my butt off and spent countless hours of wasted studying!!! Now I know what the economy is like right now and you all are probably saying it won't be like this forever and I am sure that as our economy improves which I hope it does for a lot of you who are struggling right now, it is not going to for the MT! So anyway I am back to where I started, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life now that most of my kids are grown and I am no longer needed in the way that I was. I live in a small town that has nothing to offer and I am just waiting for the day when my youngest graduates from high school so I can get "the hell outta here" Anyway thanks for reading this!

Sounds like the school twisted the facts and is taking advantage of people! I would be furious too. If we could always think of the right questions to ask before starting programs like this, I'm sure there are many people saying this.

I was told by my DR to look into medical ins billing because it could be part time and always needed. Sounds so incredible boring to me, plus the classes were very expensive like yours were.

Is there someone you can submit a complaint to? The BBB or something like that? I'm not much help, sorry you're so frustrated.

I wish I could think of something I could do part time, I have a Mech Engr degree but there are no part time jobs in the field. I just couldn't work full time, too sick off and on to be a dependable employee. :( We really need more income and I feel terrible that I can't contribute anything.

I'm so sorry. Many of these schools are doing this and it's really sad. The best way would be to find a sole doctor instead of a large practice, and perhaps ask if you could apply and if your skills are not what he would consider, ask if you could do a tape for him for free. Every time I had to apply for a job as a legal secty/paralegal, I would have to take tests and transcribe some tape.

Right now you are disappointed, but I don't want you to give up. You would be perfect for some nurse paralegal in a law firm that handles medical malpractice or personal injury. She would have to summarize the medical and it can be 32 pages when transcribed (been there, transcribed that) and you would be a God-send!!!!

Give yourself a chance to get angry now. Find an old dish or plate you hate and go throw it on the concrete somewhere, where it will smash to pieces (actually I was so mad one time I did that and it felt good--I never did it again, but that one time it was great. Cats were looking through the sliding glass door thinking I was obviously rabid.)

I feel as though this transcription course will work out for you in a way you didn't expect. So don't look for just doctors. Many hugs.

I came back on to edit to mention that pharmaceutical companies might look for a medical transcriptionist too with the medical research. Keep thinking like this and don't give up as I want you to succeed!!!!!

[This Message was Edited on 09/28/2009]

Very disappointing about the job opportunities, but likely that your "generalist" medical course will be helpful someday....esp. if find something in medical field.

Not sure what to suggest for future jobs. Most likely the "one on one jobs" like respiratory and radiology should be secure......I don't think that taking x-rays will ever be automated.....though I suppose X-rays themselves might someday be obsolete.

Working as a phlebotomist or laboratory assistant was once a very good entry level job (on the job training possible) in California, but now a 6 month academic course is usually needed. State licensing requirements can be critical for medical jobs(and job security).


Incidently, I've known a couple of entreprenual people who have done well with "specimen/blood drawing" stations/business. A gal in town here (with a California phlebotomy license. I'm not sure if license required for all states.) has done very well with just collecting urine pre-employment drug tests and post injury testing. A major business closed down so she downsized and started doing the service just from her home or on call out. She is still doing well though.

A lot of lab tests are shipped across country by plane and and done in central labs (and results received within a day) . But someone still has to collect the specimens correctly The large reference labs will work with a small collecting station......they need someone to do it. I'm not sure what the licensing requirements are like in the Midwest.....probably national licensing accepted. Sometimes one can work under the license umbrella of a physician-manager. Or, hire some one with a license if one required.

Hmmm, why haven't I done this?! A personality (laziness?) thing I guess. Oh, capital costs low: the reference labs will send you free collecting kits and equipment. Experience in a specimen processing laboratory helpful.....but it's an entry level job not requiring license....just commmon sense and vocabulary! Labcorp is the main reference lab for this area. Maybe find out where the local hospital/dr offices send out specimens.

Sorry, I didn't mean to go on and on.

Not sure if I'm being helpful, but it is likely that the medical vocabulary class will eventually be helpful. I wish you luck and feeling better. Your mr Bill



<br><br>[<i>This Message was Edited on 09/28/2009</i>]

[This Message was Edited on 09/28/2009]

I do feel somewhat better today but still harboring a little resentment towards the school! I never thought about going to a pharmacist as you suggested TwoCat Doctors that is a great idea. At least I started something I finished which is a real accomplishment for me! I am going to let people I know know about this so they can avoid what happened to me! I am sorry to hear that there are no part-time jobs for you to do in Mechanical Engineering hermitlady! My daughter-in-law is due to graduate this coming December with a Mechanical Engineering degree. She wants to get her masters in it too.

I don't know about where I could go to submit a complaint about the school. I will have to do some research on that I guess.

well, complaints would go to the same place someone would go to gather information before taking a course, the Better Business Bureau in your area, check your yellow pages.

you can also send a letter to your state Attorney General, they keep files on fraudulent courses and scams. but in the current economy the school can say they aren't responsible for the nationwide downturn and job losses. unemployment is close to 10% on average in the US, outsourcing continues, foreign workers continue to be brought in, in other words they have a pile of excuses to cover themselves.

as mr. bill suggested, its time to think creatively and outside the box of just being a medical transcriptionist. if you can improve on basic office skills maybe finding office work in a medical setting might be possible.

Cpoo,

Sorry to hear about your experience with the school. I actually taught medical terminology in a trade school. The school was pretty good. But the employment promises were exaggerated even when the economy was good. Based on what I've seen, the most legit courses in billing coding, medical records etc are usually through community colleges. There are even some at 4 year colleges these days.
I think I've mentioned on here before I've been in/around medical billing/coding for over 30 years(good grief). And it is true that a great deal of work is being offshored these days. But there is still a great deal of demand in the coding/billing/medical records field. If you type medical billing into Monster, you'll see thousands of jobs. And most are actually legit. You might also take a look at the AAPC web site. There is a category for medical transcription jobs. I think I saw 9 jobs. OK not as in demand as medical billing/coding these days.
I agree with the advice that you do have a good foundation. Medical Terminology and an understanding of medical documentation are skills you can build on if you stay in the field. As TCD and others suggested if you can get into a small practice on any level that would be a good starting point. If you do, I would reccomend trying to get exposure to CPT and ICD-9 coding.
Good luck to you.

Jim

Cpoo,

I was at an industry meeting last week and saw something that might be an opportunnity for you. There were several scribe companies exhibiting. These companies put scribes into the ED who basically transcribe the Doc's documentation into an EMR. I think your training is very appropriatte for this job. I know some of these companies are taking entry level people and paying pretty well. Interstingly the Electronic Medical Records created this job since the docs don't want to go through completing the records. Here are a couple; www.physicianscribes.com
www.scribeamerica.com

Good Luck

Jim

someone above mentioned that lawyers sometimes want paralegals or even legal secretaries who had medical training. I am here to testify that is absolutely correct. I used to be a legal secretary and our paralegal was also a nurse of some kind, and all of us had medical dictionaries at our desks. If the firm specializes in personal injury, work comp, medical malpractice, insurance claims, they love to have paralegals and secretaries who know their medical terms. When I worked there, 90% of my day was doing transcription. The rest of the time was printing and mailing what I transcribed. Obviously a paralegal would mean shelling out more money for another degree, but a legal secretary probably not. If you've had any general office experience, I think you would be a good candidate for a legal secretary.