Looking for a career change....

[caligirl]

I'm trying to research the different online schools that offer medical transcription; any help or insight?

Anyone that can help pointing me in the right direction in what to look for or even a school that you would suggest for someone who works full-time and needs to do this online and as a second career choice.

Thanks!!!

[wynter]

Andrews, Career Step, and M-Tec are considered the unofficial "top 3" transcription programs.

Some things I thought about when researching schools:
Learning style. Some people do better independently and at their own pace, others prefer to have more structure and deal with a person on a regular basis. I can only speak to Career Step, as that is the school I attended... they let you learn independently, but have people available should you need them.

Format: Is the program all online? all text books? Or both? Which do you prefer? Career step allows you to do all of the above. I took the online and paid extra for the text books. This was definitely the way to go for me. I'm more comfortable online and liked the instant gratification of having my work corrected, but wasn't tied to the computer for the objective (nontranscription) portion of the course.

Reputation: Beware of "quickie" training programs that promise an "internship" at a cut rate or ones that promise big money. It is possible to make decent money in this profession, but it takes time and patience. Check out possible schools with the BBB and try to find forums like mtstars where graduates discuss the schools they attended. Keep in mind that an unhappy customer is going to make more noise than a happy one, and look for a pattern of dissatisfied students rather that who is the biggest complainer. Some programs, especially independent ones, you get out of it what you put in. I've seen people whip through Career Step in 6 months and come out feeling unprepared. I took 15 months and feel the Career Step training very adequately prepared me for transcription in the real world.

Good luck with your search! Feel free to ask more questions.

Erin

[caligirl]

Thank you so much for all your insight - I think slow and steady is the course for me...

Thanks again - it truly helps me in my search!