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Tuesday, July 20 at 8:00 p.m.
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How much can I earn as a medical transcriptionist/speech recognition editor?
Can I learn and work from home?
What should I look for in choosing the best program for myself?
Is TRSi an accredited or licensed school?
Why can't I just enroll in any medical transcription/speech recognition editing program?
What are the admission requirements for TRS Institute?
Do you have a shorter course for people with a medical background?
How long does it take to complete the online course and how many reports will I transcribe?
Will I have contact with my instructors at TRS Institute?
What does the program fee include?
What will the student receive upon completing the course?
What is TRS Institute's withdrawal/refund policy?
What happens if I need additional time to complete my course?
What are the minimum computer requirements for the course?
Can I use my Apple / Macintosh Computer to take this course?
What is the TRS Institute grading scale?
How much can I earn as a medical transcriptionist/speech recognition editor?
Salaries for medical transcriptionists/speech recognition editors range widely. Advance for HIM magazine’s 2008 salary survey reported an average annual income for full-time medical transcriptionists of $33,500. [Additional information is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov). Click ‘Wages by Area and Occupation,’ then ‘For Over 700 Occupations.’ Choose ‘31-0000 Healthcare Support Occupations,’ then ‘31-9094 Medical Transcriptionists.’ This will allow you to search for MT salaries in your own state and possibly even your own city].
Can I learn and work from home?
Most medical transcriptionists/speech recognition editors do indeed work from the privacy of their own homes. That fact is one of the reasons why this field of work is so popular. You never have to worry about a parking place or those high gas prices!
What should I look for in choosing the best program for myself?
If you are going to invest money, time and effort in a medical transcription course, do your homework. Make sure the curriculum is approved by the industry’s leading authorities - AHDI and AHIMA. Ensure that the instructors have relevant industry experience and find out how many of them have actually been medical transcriptionists themselves and for how long. And most importantly, understand the difference between training and workforce development. Anyone can “teach” you about medical transcription; a workforce development company gives you the knowledge you need and provides the coaching, mentoring and feedback to turn it into a career.
Is TRSi an accredited or licensed school?
TRSi is licensed by the North Carolina Community College System. The program is also approved by the Approval Committee for Certificate Programs (ACCP), a joint committee established by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Our graduates are prepared to sit for the Registered Medical Transcriptionist credentialing exam administered by AHDI.
Why can’t I just enroll in any medical transcription/speech recognition editing program?
Let’s face it: some people are not qualified to teach a course in medical transcription, and some programs do not include the information (like speech recognition editing) a student needs to be successfully employed. In fact, this is why AHDI and AHIMA created their model curriculum and approval process—to give individuals all the information they need in choosing the right program. Also, you should want a program that can provide you the knowledge and skills required by today's employers- Lets face it...you're not doing this for fun...your ultimate goal is not to GET a job...it's to be SUCCESSFULLY EMPLOYED! Choose the workforce development company best positioned to help you obtain this goal.
What are the admission requirements for TRS Institute?
You must be able to type 35 corrected words per minute. You must be able to pass a basic grammar test and a basic computer skills test.
Is the online medical transcription/speech recognition editing training course designed for independent self-study?
Yes, and it includes plenty of interaction with your instructors, educational assistants and fellow students to help support and encourage you.
Do you have a shorter course for people with a medical background?
Yes, our Accelerated Program is designed for individuals who have previously completed another medical transcription training program or have significant healthcare industry knowledge and experience. By design the program allows interested individuals to “test-out” of those semesters where they can establish “competence” via testing and demonstrating transcription skills. By “testing-out” of any semester, a qualified student reduces the time period necessary to complete our program and the financial expense required. Contact your Admissions Coordinator to discuss your qualifications and to see if the Accelerated Program is right for you.
How long does it take to complete the online course?
The course is designed to be completed in 12 months with approximately 20-25 hours of committed time each week. The average student who works at the course part-time will complete it in about twelve months. The amount of time to complete the course also depends on the amount of medical, English grammar and typing experience a student may bring to the course. You will transcribe over 2100 minutes of dictation and over 800 reports in the TRS Institute program. You will also have access to over 250 additional reports to enhance your learning experience if you wish to practice additional specialties.
Will I have contact with my instructors at TRS Institute?
Your instructor will have regular online office hours with e-mail support and telephone availability. You will personally know your instructor.
What does the program fee include?
TRSi is the most comprehensive and inclusive program in the industry, and the medical transcription/speech recognition editing training program includes tuition, textbooks and materials (foot pedal and headset), Course fees, AHDI Student Membership, RMT Prep Course, and the AHDI BenchMark Knowledge Base from InterFix.
The price of the course also includes access to the course Web site, reference books, student support and graduate support.
Option 1 - Pay Up front Program
The pay up front program offers a discount off the standard cost of our program for those individuals who are willing to pay up front for their education. Discounts range from $100 - $200* depending on program selected.
Option 2 – Monthly Payment Plan
The monthly payment plan program includes a $495.00 down payment with the remainder of your payments made over 12 or 18 months. Monthly payments range from $125 - $225* per month depending on the program selected. There is no finance charge applied to this option. Payments are automatically deducted from your credit card or bank account.
Option 3 – Pay As You Go Plan
The pay as you go option allows students to make payments as they progress through each section of our program. This option includes a $495.00 down payment with 3 or 4 section payments which range from $510.00 - $635.00* depending on the program selected. Payments can be setup to be automatically deducted from your credit card or bank account or the student can make payments manually before the start of each section.
* Periodically TRSi may offer special pricing programs which will alter either the down payment or the monthly payment amounts. Check out our monthly specials to see if this might apply today.
What will the student receive upon completing the course?
TRSi provides a graduation certificate to each student who successfully completes our course.
Does TRS Institute offer any help to pay for my medical transcription/speech recognition editing course?
Payment plans are available for those who cannot pay in full and can be discussed with your admissions coordinator.
What is available if I am not ready to commit thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of time and effort to this training?
TRSi offers a unique Pay-as-You-Go option which provides an introduction to the medical transcription industry and the various career opportunities available today without forcing you to commit to spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of time. Contact an Admissions Coordinator (admissions@trsinstitute.com) today to see how you can receive this introduction for as little as $495.00 and then decide if medical transcription is right for you.
What is TRS Institute’s withdrawal/refund policy?
A student may withdraw from the course at anytime. However, the student will only be entitled to a refund based on the following criteria:
- A 100% refund of “tuition” shall be made if the student officially withdraws from the program prior to program start date.
- A 75% refund of “tuition” shall be made if the student officially withdraws from the program prior to completing 90 days from program start date.
- Any withdrawal after 90-days from program start dates is not subject to a refund of tuition.
- Books and materials and fees: There will be no refunds for books and materials and fees.
An inactive student account, meaning the student does not log in for a 30-day period of time, will be “withdrawn” from the course and not qualify for any refund. A student who does not complete the course in the allotted time period will be withdrawn from the course after 16 months and not qualify for any refund.
A student may be withdrawn from the program by TRS Institute if in the judgment of the Instructor, student or Director of Program Delivery/Education, the student shows he or she is lacking in the skills necessary to complete the course in a timely manner or it becomes apparent that the student lacks the knowledge and skills necessary to become a competent medical transcriptionist. In the event that TRS Institute withdraws a student, the student shall receive a 100% refund of the tuition regardless of the time in the program. In most cases this will occur during the first 30 days of instruction.
A student is eligible for a 100% refund if the class is cancelled due to insufficient enrollment. Any student “withdrawn” from our program will need to re-apply for admission following our re-admit policy.
What happens if I need additional time to complete my course?
Leaves of Absences and Program Deferrals are available for students who wish to discontinue their programs temporarily due to compelling or compassionate circumstances. These circumstances include, but are not limited to: Serious illness, serious illness or death of an immediate family member, serious injury, military leave or deployment – student, military leave or deployment – spouse, natural disaster, financial difficulty or personal reasons.
In most circumstances Leaves of Absences and Program Deferrals should not last longer than 3 months, and as a result, under no circumstances should a student require more than 18 months to complete the course.
What are the minimum computer requirements for the course?
The minimum requirements in order to successfully complete Semesters 1-4 of training are as follows:
A Windows-based PC with Windows 2000 SP3 or newer operating system, 256MB RAM, Monitor and video card capable of at least 800x600 screen resolution, A Sound Blaster compatible audio card or integrated audio, speakers and/or headphones, at least one USB port for a foot pedal, A high-speed internet broadband connection, Internet Explorer version 6 through 8 or Mozilla Firefox 3.5 (Opera not tested), Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) or Open Office set to Microsoft default file names [doc, xls, ppt], A printer is recommended but not required.
Once Semester 5 is reached, the additional hardware requirements for the SRT course will be needed as follows:
Computer: Pentium-class PC with 1.7 Ghz processor, 40+ MB of hard drive space, 1GB RAM.
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (Home may work but is not supported), Vista (32 and 64 Bit), Microsoft.Net Framework ver 2.0.
Other Requirements : Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007
Individual Application System Requirements are located HERE.
Can I use my Apple / Macintosh Computer to take this course?
At this time Apple/MAC computers are not supported.
What is the TRS Institute grading scale?
95-100 |
A |
90-94 |
B |
86-89 |
C |
0-85 |
Failing |
