Home Based? The Truth

Wanna ba a home-based transcriptionist? It's easy, or so they say! We do see a lot of ads these days touting some 3 month training scheme or the other and promising quick training e.g. to turn housewives into HB transriptionists.

The truth is that it is rarely that simple. Home based (HB) jobs are available in plenty for the right candidates, but to convince any decent company that you deserve that job means that first of all you should be better trained than your run-of-the-mill fresher. Now that's because the HB candidate has to be able to work alone. The big advantage of working on a production floor is that one has colleagues to lean on. Working at home however, you are strictly on your own. Whatever be the doubt, you will have to sort it out on your lonesome ownsome - whether it's a question of formatting, or busting a blank, or a tricky accent, or equipment trouble... your training should have grounded you well enough that you are able to finish the job comfortably.

Not that it is impossible to properly train folks for home based careers, but it is not by any means the same as going through a 'standard course' in MT. We have found that to train good HB MTs, special care and attention have to be given to inculcating independence. It is very important to initially correctly judge whether a particular individual is capable of making it on their own and if they are not, then they should be counseled that doing HB MT may not be their cup of tea. Another secret of our success with HB training here at Phoenix is that we do not leave our trainees to fend for themselves once the training period is over. Our support and mentorship (and on-line IM presence) is available for as long as it may really be needed.

Any effective MT training will require that the sessions in lab should be at least 3 hours long (preferably longer). Here itself one finds that many so-called MT training companies are doing what is effectively a scam job by telling people that they can get by with just an hour or two of training three or four times a week. Then comes the issue of total hands-on training time. My estimate is that for any MT at least 150 hours of hands-on work with actual dictation files during the training period is the absolute minimum. At Phoenix, for those who wish to be HB, we insist on at least 170 hours of actual transcription time!

Then comes the vexing question of experience. Most 'mainline' MT companies will not give HB jobs to freshers. There are a few companies that may accept as little as 6 months experience but your performance on the entrance exam will have had to have been exceptional to get this sort of a concession.

Phoenix counsels would-be HB trainees that they should count on doing at least six months to a year of production floor work before they can expect to get a good HB job. Of course there are many small companies that are not that picky but then working for these 'small locals' can be self-defeating as many bigger companies take this sort of 'experience' with a good pinch of salt.


And then there's the question of your set-up at home. The expense of starting and maintaining your own home office is by no means small. You should have a good and reliable computer. Then a solid UPS and with power back-up for at least 4 hours. Primarily you need to install a good broadband connection (that's at least 512 kbps bandwidth) and if possible back that up with a decent dialup or another cable at around 256 kbps. The OS, software, firewall, and other necessities will be as specified by your company. Remember that now that you are on your own, you absolutely must have at least two good antivirus scanners and a couple more that pick up specifically on spyware, adware, trojans, and worms. Being online these days can be dangerous... Finally there's that little matter of HIPAA compliance. Any decent MT company will require you to sign confidentiality agreements - and you had better stick to them. If you haven't been trained in these niceties, as well as having been given a solid grounding in how to effectively utilize your SEs, then you are not going to get very far in your HB career!

Become a Medical Transcriptionist!

The PHOENIX MT PROJECT concentrates on training
Medical Transcriptionists
and
MT Editors.

Both the selection process and the training offered are thorough, innovative, and unique.

Training: INDUSTRY-READY MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONISTS, trained by a team that is expert, actively involved in production, and very demanding!

No trainee will be certified until achieving the ability to consistently produce the specified number of lines per day (lpd) at better than the quality specified. Editor trainees will be certified only after they consistently produce 98% + accuracy and >750 lpd. Training duration can range from 3 months to 9 months depending on background, performance, availability of time, and the aptitude of the individual. All courses will include 1:1 hands-on computer lab time for at least 50% of the total course time. We also work on incidental skills that can be of great help to all of our students such as "Interviewing Skills" and "Spoken English".

COURSES OFFERED:

MT (I)
Covering - Language of Medicine, American and British English, MT Essentials, typing, pharmaceutics, KB shortcuts, search and referencing skills, keeping updated, and file management. The course work will inculcate a working knowledge of essential computer skills - including an intro to basic LAN in Windows XP/VISTA, FTP clients, MS WORD, troubleshooting, audio players (with the essentials of file types and CODECS). Also covered will be HIPAA, Client Specs, AAMT guidelines, ISMP-JCAHO guidelines, and MT ethics.

Phoenix turns out competent, self-sufficient, and reliable, MTs. Course duration for full timers is 3 months + 1 month of internship, or 6 months + 2 months internship for part timers. Exceptional candidates may also be eligible to take the AAMT’s RMT* examination on completion.

MT (II)
A special course designed for MTs with variable backgrounds who are already achieving 350 to 400 lines per 8 hour shift and wish to improve. Therefore, this is an open-ended course. The skill set aimed for is to transcribe 800+ lines per shift at accuracies of 98.5% or better with less than 1 major error per 10,000 lines. The course will hone typing speed, comprehension, advanced use of software (with intro to templates, Macros and auto-texting aids), speed search, speed referencing, advanced referencing, online tools, and we will also polish knowledge of disease states, advanced terminology with abbreviations, and introduce enhanced cross-checking capabilities. MT (II) is designed for part time learning, but a full time option may be available for those actively preparing for RMT/CMT* certification. Optionally, instead of preparing for the RMT/CMT*, Medical Coding/Billing skills can be taken up to open up an aditional source of income.

Editing (I) - Candidates will be recruited from MTs who have at least 2 years of on-the-job experience and demonstrate exceptional potential/aptitude for editing. The training can last from 3 months on up depending on the individual. Full time and part time options will be made available. The course will introduce all the elements required for a CMT* foundation and offer the opportunity for well prepared candidates to take the CMT* test.

Selection for all three courses is based both on both Adoption and Direct Recruitment (DR).

a. Adopted trainees would have been recruited in partnership with a transcription company, adopted by Phoenix, and will be given basic training after which they will be specifically geared for the platform and client specs of the particular recruiting company. The recruiting company will bear 50% of the course charges and 100% of the course materials costs.

b. DR candidates will be recruited by Phoenix based on English skill, aptitude, and attitude. Candidates who do not get through immediately on the first attempt will be encouraged to undertake remedial training externally and reapply after correcting their deficits. Overall attitude and aptitude will be given more weightage than knowledge per se.

AHEAD

Scholarships for up to 100% of the course fees are offered but strictly on merit. Scholarship criteria will include demonstrable language skills and/or computer skills, with an emphasis on aptitude and attitude. Scholarships will be granted only on a monthly (but renewable) basis and continuance will depend purely on the candidate’s sincerity and performance. The scholarship test has to be taken in addition to the standard entrance test for each course.

For course timings, batch starting dates, fees, &c please mail us.

Training materials that can be purchased through Phoenix include any of the in-print Stedmans range, the AAMT Book of Style (2nd Edition now approximately $170 + p&p) and the accompanying Student’s Guide as well as texts such as Chabner.

Fees are payable monthly after an initial payment of 50% of the course fee. Materials must be purchased in the beginning at actuals. All quotes are indicative and net, not inclusive of taxes. Taxes will be charged as per the currently applicable laws. The course fees and materials charges are subject to revision at any time.

* The RMT and CMT certifications are both independent tests prescribed by the AAMT that have to be registered into and paid for separately by each candidate. Materials provided by us include the authorized AAMT’s "The CMT Review Guide" (published by Stedmans) that now costs US$ 69.95 plus p&p and will be charged for at actuals.

Placement, for Adoptees that successfully complete the course plus the internship, is guaranteed. Placement help will be provided to all candidates who successfully complete any of our courses.

Because we are trusted by the industry to deliver only quality personnel, we have already successfully placed over a thousand successful transcriptionists in the last couple of years!


Our students have proved

over and over

that with a solid
foundation, and the will to
keep improving,

earning 30,000/- a month
as an MT, or

50,000/- a month as an editor

is no big deal!



Our New Satellite training Center will soon be inaugurated in Coimbatore (RS Puram).

Phoenix Services

Phoenix provides Expert Training for Medical Transcriptionists and Editors.

We administer the AHEAD scholarship program for deserving young people, those whom we judge to have the aptitude, dedication, and drive, to achieve at the highest levels of this industry. The scholarship includes a placement guarantee.

We also implement the Phoenix Adopt program where, in partnership with leading transcription companies, Phoenix undertakes industry-specific training to tailor and produce the appropriate talent-skills packages that the sponsoring company expects to require.

Phoenix undertakes recruitment, management, counseling, training programs &c leading up to preparation for internationally recognized professional MT qualifications such as the RMT and the CMT.

Phoenix also outsources BPO facilities for select small, medium, and large organizations:

• Office Management
• Marketing
• Equipment Sourcing & Negotiation
• Integrated Internet Usage and website design-management-implementation
• Networking
• Correspondence and Customer Management
• Business Transcription

Our current typical quote for undertaking Medical Transcription contracts for direct clients is US$ 0.09 per 65 character line for direct upload at 99%+ quality and with a total TAT of 24 hours. We do not undertake subcontracts at all. Stat contracts are also undertaken - mail us!

Uploading and downloading is securely accomplished through our own dedicated FTP server. We undertake contracts in initial steps of 100 to 300 minutes per day (scalable). Other algorithms are possible, so if you have a serious requirement and are looking for quality and consistency then drop us a mail.

We adhere to AAMT norms and HIPAA requirements are completely complied with!


For any enquiries please mail me at phoenixbpo@yahoo.co.uk or call us at +91-9364289696