Frequently Asked Questions 1. Is Career Step an accredited or registered school?... 2 2. How long has Career Step been in business?... 2 3. What is the state of this industry? Is there high demand?... 2 4. How likely am I to get hired after graduation?... 2 5. How much can I expect to earn?... 3 6. What job placement services does Career Step provide after graduation?... 3 7. How is the Career Step program set up? What kind of material is covered?... 3 8. What happens after I register at my school?... 4 9. How long is the training program?... 4 10. Student Support: What kind of student support does Career Step offer?... 4 11. What qualifies a student as a graduate of the Career Step programs?... 5 12. Will I be certified upon graduation?... 5 13. What do I need to complete this course?... 5 14. How will electronic medical records affect the industry?... 6 15. What are the benefits to taking an online program?... 6 16. What is your Medical Transcription Editor program? And what is the difference between it and your Medical Transcription program?... 6 Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 1
1. Is Career Step an accredited or registered school? Career Step is registered under the Utah Post-Secondary Proprietary School Act and is currently pursuing national accreditation. The Career Step Medical Transcription curriculum is approved by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity. All of the Career Step programs are developed in collaboration with industry employers and experts to ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the workplace and pass the appropriate industry certifications upon graduation. These certifications may or may not be required for employment, but students will have the skills necessary to earn credentials within their industry, increasing their marketability and flexibility in the job market. 2. How long has Career Step been in business? Career Step has been in business since 1992. The Medical Transcription training program was released in its online format in 1999. The Medical Coding program was first launched in 2004. Since then, Career Step has added many courses, including Inpatient and Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing, Medical Transcription Editor, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Administrative Assistant, Administrative Assistant, and Microsoft Office 2007 courses. 3. What is the state of this industry? Is there high demand? The Career Step training programs are all focused in growing industries. These fields offer an increasing number of job opportunities as new jobs are created due to overall industry demand for well-trained professionals. For specific information on the growth in your field of interest, please visit the appropriate program information page. 4. How likely am I to get hired after graduation? Because the Career Step programs are focused in areas of high growth, there is increasing demand for well-trained professionals in these job markets, making it much easier for students to get hired after graduation. The Career Step curriculum is designed in collaboration with industry employers and experts to make sure students gain the skills they need to succeed in the workplace, and over 700 employers nationwide have hired Career Step graduates. The vast majority of graduates are hired within a few months of graduation. Career Step's focus on building curriculum that prepares students for the workplace also ensures that students are prepared for the appropriate industry certifications. This includes certifications through the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (for medical transcriptionists), the American Health Information Management Association and the American Academy of Professional Coders (for medical coders), the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (for pharmacy technicians), and the National Healthcareer Association (for medical administrative assistants). Professionals who earn these certifications are more marketable when looking for work and may also earn higher salaries due to their credentials. Career Step students who take certification exams after graduation have reported higher success rates than the national averages for these exams. Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 2
5. How much can I expect to earn? The Career Step programs prepare students for career that have salaries ranging from $23,000 to $40,000 a year. For a more specific salary range for your field of interest, please visit the appropriate program information page. Medical transcriptionists are typically paid by production rather than on salary. How work time is calculated depends on the employer. Some transcriptionists are expected to work a specific schedule; others are paid on turnaround time. With turnaround time, transcriptionists must complete their workload within a specific timeframe such as 24 hours without specified work hours. The average wage for medical transcriptionists is 7 cents per line of transcription. 6. What job placement services does Career Step provide after graduation? Career Step Graduate Services for all students include: Personal consultation with a Graduate Advisor New job opening notifications Personalized interview tutorials and training Individual resume and cover letter review, tips, and advice Access to Career Step's help hotline after graduation Medical Transcription graduates also have access to Career Step's database of employers. All of these resources offer the personalized help you need after graduation to quickly and easily transition to the workplace. With this individualized help and attention, the majority of our graduates are hired within a few months of graduation. 7. How is the Career Step program set up? What kind of material is covered? The Career Step Medical Transcription and Medical Coding and Billing training programs are broken into 2 distinct sections the foundational material (text-book style learning) and the practical, experience-building material (called the practicum). The first third of the program covers the foundational material. This section approaches subjects such as anatomy, medical terminology, and pharmacology, among others, in a traditional textbook style. You ll read through lessons, take tests and quizzes, practice new terms with flash cards, etc. in order to gain the foundational knowledge you ll need in the practical section of the course. In the practical, real-world training section of the course, you ll put to work all the knowledge you gained in the first part of the program. You ll spend about two thirds of the course in this section because this is what is really going to prepare you to get a job upon graduation. In this section, you ll be learning and practicing the skills required in the workplace on real files provided to Career Step by employers. In addition to coding or transcribing these files you ll also have access to interactive tools, puzzles, and third-party software tools. Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 3
The Career Step Pharmacy Technician, Medical Administrative Assistant, and Administrative Assistant programs are structured in a more traditional way. Each program includes a series of modules, each covering a specific topic crucial to your field of study. You ll start each module by reviewing a specific learning objective and then move on to various reading assignments. The modules also include short quizzes, interactive games, videos, and images throughout to make the curriculum more interesting and help you quickly learn the material. 8. What happens after I register at my school? Your school will send your registration information to Career Step, and within 24-48 hours you will receive an email from Career Step containing your login and password. You can get started as soon as you have this information! 9. How long is the training program? The Career Step training programs vary in length and the duration of your course access included with your enrollment. The chart below provides details for each program. Program Title Completion Hours Enrollment Duration Administrative Assistant 140 hours 6 months Medical Administrative Assistant 200 hours 6 months Inpatient and Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing 640 hours 12 months Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing 570 hours 12 months Medical Transcription Editing 640 hours 12 months Medical Transcription 570 hours 12 months Pharmacy Technician 285 hours 6 months 10. Student Support: What kind of student support does Career Step offer? Career Step s student support covers several different areas and is designed to ensure that you re not alone as you work through the online course. Enrollment in a Career Step training program offers unlimited access to: Student Support Advisors who have professional experience in the industry and are uniquely qualified to answer questions about both the curriculum and the industry. They provide timely answers to questions about the program material and offer a number of personal consultations throughout the training to help students master important concepts. Technical Support Advisors who are knowledgeable, experienced, and available six days a week to help you work through any technical or computer issues encountered within the training program. Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 4
Graduate Support Advisors who help you transition to the workforce after graduation. Your Graduate Advisors will help you prepare the best resume, develop solid interview skills, and learn valuable job search techniques. Though the programs are entirely online, you ll never be on your own. Career Step s support teams will always be there to offer personal, on-going support all the way through the training program. The student program website contains complete information for contacting the support teams by email, phone, and chat. 11. What qualifies a student as a graduate of the Career Step programs? A student must score 85% or higher on both the written and practical portions of the final exam in order to pass and graduate. After passing the final exam, students will receive a certificate of graduation from Career Step indicating their achievement level. The achievement levels are as follows: Certificate of Graduation, 85 to 89.99% Certificate of Graduation with Honors, 90 to 94.99% Certificate of Graduation with High Honors, 95 to 100% 12. Will I be certified upon graduation? Career Step students are prepared for the appropriate industry certification exams upon graduation, but they are not certified upon graduation. Graduates wishing to earn an industry certification must take this exam independently. Information about the industry certifications and where to find schedule information is included in students' program. Career Step graduates are prepared for the following certifications: Program of Graduation Administrative Assistant Medical Administrative Assistant Medical Coding and Billing Medical Transcription Pharmacy Technician Certification Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Master Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Coding Assistant (CCA) Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Exam (PTCE) The Career Step Medical Coding and Billing programs prepare students for a number of certification exams, the most popular ones being the CPC exam, which is offered through the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), and the CCA exam, which is offered through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Career Step graduates have reported high levels of success for both exams. You should check with prospective employers on which entry-level exam to take. Typically, AAPC focuses more on outpatient coding while AHIMA focuses more on inpatient coding. Neither of these organizations is more prestigious than the other; the difference is usually employer preference. Exams generally cost $200 to $400, and discounts are given to registered members of the specific organization. Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 5
13. What do I need to complete this course? Your enrollment includes everything you will need to train for a successful career. However, since the program is entirely online, your computer will play an important role in your learning experience. We recommend the following minimum computer system specifications: Hardware: Active internet connection (high speed/broadband connection recommended) 800 X 600 minimum resolution (1024 X 768 or higher recommended) Sound card and speakers (earphones recommended) Available USB port Software: Adobe Flash Player (ver. 10 or higher) Windows Media Player (ver. 10 or higher) or Quicktime Player (ver. 7 or higher) PDF reader Browser: Internet Explorer 7.x/8.x Firefox 3.x * Safari 4.x or greater (Mac only)* Javascript and cookies must be enabled Operating System: Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista, 7 with latest service pack) Mac OS X (10.4.11 or greater)* *Note: The Medical Transcription Editor and Inpatient and Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing programs include third-party software tools that make the training only compatible with Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer 7.x or 8.x. 14. How will electronic medical records affect the industry? The healthcare industry is currently experiencing a push to move to electronic documentation, or Electronic Medical Records (EMR), and while this transition to EMR is bringing changes to the medical transcription and medical coding and billing industries, it is increasing the demand for these services, not decreasing them. 15. What are the benefits to taking an online program? Online training offers students the flexibility to study on their own schedules. With 24/7 access to the curriculum, students have the freedom to study around their normal daily activities. The Career Step learning platform also offers: Automatic grading Exercises and tests are graded automatically so students don't have to wait for feedback. Test scores are stored in the gradebook for easy review. Grading is precise, encouraging further development and attention to detail. Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 6
Pronunciation Many Career Step programs include extensive terminology training. Thousands of medical terms are pronounced at the click of a button using RealAudio software. Communications Center The online learning platform also includes its own forum and chat features, providing tools to communicate with other students as well as Career Step Student Advisors. 16. What is your Medical Transcription Editor program? And what is the difference between it and your Medical Transcription program? The medical transcription industry is evolving. Speech recognition software is playing a larger role, and employers are looking to hire professionals with specialized skill sets to work with this new technology. The reports created by speech recognition software must be edited, formatted, and polished by a medical transcription editor however, employers are looking for professionals who have a core foundation of medical transcription skills in addition to the specialized medical editor skill set. The Career Step Medical Transcription Editor training program is designed to prepare you for this dynamic job market. The Medical Transcription Editor program is built on the trusted Career Step Medical Transcription curriculum and is designed to help you develop the knowledge and skills of a quality medical transcriptionist as well as the specialized skill set of a medical transcription editor. With the Medical Transcription Editor program, you ll be training for multiple career paths, increasing your flexibility after graduation, and preparing for the future of the industry. Career Step Frequently Asked Questions 7