1.Are instructors experienced MT? 2.How much dictation is included in program? 3.Is dictation that is included authentic doctor dictated reports? Some schools offer tapes that are read by actors which are WAY to easy. 4.What type of materials will you receive in course? Good MTs need good reference materials, and must learn to use them while in school. 5.Will you have access to an instructor who has many years of experience in this business? 6.Will you receive immediate feedback on assignments or will you have to wait weeks to hear from your instructor through mail? 7.Does school offer in-depth coverage of all topics COMPRO suggests, or do they just touch lightly on these subjects? 8.Does school offer comprehensive job placement assistance? Handing you a list of services to apply with is not considered comprehensive job placement

How Does Our Program Measure Up?

Now goal of this article is not to discuss why some other courses do not live up to COMPRO guidelines but to present evidence why our course does. What does our school have to offer a prospective MT student? We offer an in-depth, comprehensive program of study including in-depth study in every single area outlined in COMPRO. Students of our program will get comprehensive study in all subject areas relating to MT.

Our program offers opportunity to work with mentors one on one. Specifically, this means that each student will be assigned their own mentor who will work with them throughout program. Why is this important? As an MT student, you are going to have a myriad of questions pertaining to your coursework, and a good course needs to provide you with someone who can answer those questions quickly and comprehensively. Also, learning MT is not an easy task, and many new students get frustrated and give up. We don’t want to see that happen, so each of our students will be assigned their own mentor who will guide and direct them throughout their studies.

We feel that comprehensive feedback of your work is essential to your success. It is important to know what you are doing wrong and why, as well as, what you are doing right. It is very easy when checking your own work to miss many tiny mistakes. In workplace an MT needs to work with a high percent of accuracy at between 98-99%. When MTs fall below that accuracy level, they are putting their jobs in jeopardy. In our program, you will get immediate feedback on-line after each lesson. Also, your transcription exam is HAND graded with extensive feedback, and returned within 24 hours. In other words, you will have support of a trained instructor throughout entire program, and this is imperative to your success.

Additionally, our course offers more transcription practice than any other program that we know of. Through our program you will transcribe over 5,000 medical reports. Why do you need to transcribe so many reports you might ask? It is our belief that practice makes perfect. Working MTs come across a variety of difficult accents and medical specialties. Without extensive hands-on practice with real world dictation, new MT will flounder in real work environment. Transcribing a few hundred reports may give you some idea of how it’s done, but clearly is not enough practice to enable a new MT to be productive in real world work environment ready to handle whatever is thrown at them. One reason there is such a high demand for MTs right now is because there are so many very poorly trained MTs. In fact, it is difficult to come across a well-trained MT. Good MTs have potential of making a very good income and enjoying a lucrative career. Poor MTs usually go from job to job, then finally leave business because they just can’t reach quality or production standards. In our program we offer a great deal of real world dictation practice by real doctors. The dictation you will be transcribing comes from a variety of specialties and includes very difficult dictators. It is important to get enough practice while in school so that when you graduate, you will be handle most difficult types of dictation with ease.

Our school was founded by an MTSO (medical transcription service owner) with many years of experience who also teaches medical transcription at a local community college, and who owns her own very successful MT service. The instructors of our program are highly experienced MTs and MTSOs (medical transcription service owners. This program was developed by MTs for MTs. Additionally, our program offers comprehensive job placement assistance upon graduation. Another unique feature of our program is that it promotes both professionalism and excellence

The choice is yours. Excellence in education means making commitment to invest wisely and choosing a school that adheres to AAMT guidelines as outlined in COMPRO. We feel confident that we have experience, dedication and ability to turn out MTs ready to enter workplace capable of handling even most difficult dictation. We wish you every success in making a quality decision for a quality education.

The tips (T) that can put professionalism into actual responses to questions are cloaked in many details. They are small, but extremely significant, elements in overall interview process. Realize that your articulation and vocabulary is being scrutinized thoroughly. Using "kinda, yeah, and gonna” are some words to avoid. Make sure your responses are concise, specific, and not rambling. Your responses, as a rule, should be no longer than 2 minutes. You need to make sure that you are honest and focused. It is important that abilities and accomplishments not be exaggerated. Your demeanor should be one of openness, confidence and enthusiasm. Eye contact is a must, along with natural gestures that help you establish a connection or rapport with interviewer(s). If you are asked to tell about what a former employer would say about you, put it in quote form to specifically provide details of their assessment of you. Above all, do not ever use phrases, "To be honest or in all honesty." It could give impression that you aren’t honest in other areas. Picture yourself confident, leaning forward, chin up, not fidgeting. Visualize success.

After interview (A), a follow up routine can be most impressive to interviewer(s). Besides thanking them at interview when you stand up to leave, following up with a personalized letter is a very appropriate thing to do. If you do not get position, it is also appropriate to ask for feedback on how your interview could have been improved. Many human resources administrators will willingly schedule an appointment to review strengths and weaknesses of interview.

If you didn’t get position, don’t burn any bridges with company or organization. Just because you did not get first one for which you applied, does not mean that you won’t get another position that opens up. A lot has to do with whether you are perceived as "a fit for particular position." Always try to understand whether your particular qualifications and experiences are a good match with expectations of a specific position. Staying with five steps (PASTA) will help you prepare and help you get an edge on those who are just relying on luck. Get prepared and remember fundamentals.