The medical transcription field has changed drastically over the past few years with the advent of new technology making it possible to receive audio files and send completed transcription work over the internet. There are many factors that you should consider when choosing a school including how current the curriculum and equipment used to train students is. A few years ago I started to attend classes at a local community college, but I very quickly realized that the curriculum was sorely lacking in student/teacher interaction and quality training. Before attending school I knew that this field had largely come into the digital age, and the days of driving to a local hospital or clinic to pick up audio tapes to transcribe from were becoming a thing of the past. The school that I was attending was training students on very outdated transcription machines and was not going to train us to work with digital audio files. It was only a 17 credit program and the class size was just too large for the teacher to answer all of our questions and work with us as individuals. I decided the lower cost of this program was not worth the risk of time wasted on an education that was not likely to help me obtain the work-at-home position I wanted. From the research I have done mainly online through medical transcription discussion boards and transcription companies the term “big three” kept coming up regarding online medical transcription schools. These are the big three schools which companies that hire you to work at home are impressed to see on a resume and include: M-TEC, Andrews, and Career Step. These programs are administered online or through correspondence, and fees range from approximately $1300 to $3500.
I personally chose to take the Career Step curriculum through Everett Community College in Washington state. This was a full-time, nine-month program that consisted of 42 credit hours but now has a part-time option or you could choose to go through Career Step directly which allows you to move the program at your own pace. I felt I needed a more structured program with the benefits of the Career Step curriculum, and I knew that by going to a community college I would have more stringent homework and exam deadlines to meet. There was actually quite a bit of student/teacher interaction and student/student interaction through the school message boards. All three schools listed above are known throughout the industry as the big three schools that produce good students ready for work immediately after school and have partner programs with medical transcription companies that hire at-home workers. I obtained full-time work the week I graduated as an independent contractor for a small transcription company and am still there almost two years later so I can attest to the fact that you really can get a job after graduating from one of these online programs.
The biggest advantage of receiving your medical transcription education online is that you learn the technology and skills you will be using every day in your real world transcription job. With Career Step I had to download audio files, transcribe them in a word document, proofread them, and then upload my completed work to be graded. This is much the same process I go through every day for my job. In this sense there were no surprises as to the type of work I was getting into. Online schooling may not be for everyone however, and if instead of a work-at-home position you would rather get a job at a local hospital or clinic then you should call the transcription department of the facility you wish to work for and ask where their transcriptionists went to school to get an idea of where that facility looks for employees. Hospitals may have partnership agreements with local community colleges but many are turning to outsourcing their transcription work to companies that hire at-home transcriptionists. No one school will be right for everyone, but you should definitely do some research on the school you are planning to attend. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true (i.e. cheap school that promises you the world upon graduation) then it probably is. What ever path you choose, online or traditional brick and mortar schooling, you get out of your education what you put into it. Hard work and determination are the things that will get foot in the door of this rewarding work-at-home career.
Reference:
- Andrews School: www.andrewsschool.com/
