Career Step is registered under the Utah Post-Secondary Proprietary School Act and has chosen not to seek accreditation. Many accredited colleges and programs use the Career Step curriculum. The Medical Transcription training program has received formal approval from AHDI (the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity, formerly the American Association for Medical Transcription).

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, and the program was expanded, enhanced, and re-released in early 2009 as the Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing training program. Inpatient and Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing was released in August of 2009. The CMT Exam Prep and Medical Terminology programs were released in April of 2009 and RMT Exam Prep was launched in July 2009.

Yes.

Yes.

The full career training programs–namely the Medical Transcription Editor, Medical Transcription, Inpatient and Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing, Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing, and Pharmacy Technician programs–include a complete training curriculum intended to bring a beginning student to entry-level competency and help them gain the skills necessary to progress rapidly once employed.

The CMT Exam Prep training program is designed as a review of the material a student will be tested on. The program assumes that students have about two years of experience within medical transcription, and simply reviews the concepts they will be tested on.

The Medical Terminology training program is a continuing education or supplemental course designed to teach students medical terminology through word building with roots, prefixes, and suffixes. This program does not fully prepare students for a complete career, but instead is a piece of the overall education of anyone planning on entering healthcare.

Career Step cannot guarantee job placement, however, graduates are thoroughly trained and capable of being employed in their fields. Medical service providers refer "failed employment applicants" to receive our training on a daily basis. Companies also partner with Career Step to hire our graduates. Career Step has placed graduates with more than 700 companies, and in an informal survey, all graduates who wanted employment reported that they were employed.

Yes. Because the Career Step model is focused on helping students train to start a career immediately after graduation, the company has developed hundreds of employer relationships over the years. These relationships are primarily in the medical transcription field, and Career Step is proactively seeking more relationships with the medical coding and billing and pharmacy industries. Career Step focuses on building these relationships to ensure that the curriculum trains students to meet employers' current needs, and, consequently, Career Step graduates are prepared to meet and exceed employer expectations.

Most medical transcription employers do not require AHDI certification, so Career Step does not require students to gain certification prior to graduation, though students are fully prepared to pass the certification requirements. Career Step's medical transcription program is an AHDI-approved program.

The CMT Exam Prep program prepares student for AHDI's Certified Medical Transcriptionist credential. This credential is a more advanced certification, and AHDI strongly recommends that candidates have at least two years of experience in medical transcription before sitting for the exam.

The training programs are designed to seamlessly integrate into any type of academic institution.

Career Step can provide you with sample numbering systems or help you customize a system to meet your institution's specific needs upon request.

Yes. The training programs fit into both yearly semester and quarter systems.

The Career Step training programs have the following estimated completion hours:

• Medical Transcription Editor – 640 hours
• Inpatient and Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing – 640 hours
• Medical Transcription – 570 hours
• Outpatient Medical Coding and Billing – 570 hours
• Pharmacy Technician – 285 hours

Depending on your institution's needs and established department requirements, the programs can fit into either.

No. If your institution assigns an instructor to the programs, he or she may not alter the program material in any way, and his or her time will be most effectively used to counsel and administer to students' needs. An administrator or facilitator is needed to manage enrollments.

No, but it would be an added service to students if computer were made available to them while on campus.

Career Step's online training programs can be added to your institution's course catalog at no cost to the institution. Please contact a Career Step Academic Partner representative to discuss the customization options for your institution.

The price of the full career training programs include access to the course website, reference books, student support, graduate support, and — for the transcription program — a PC foot pedal and software. A printer text version of the program is also available for an additional fee. The graduate support and printed text version of the program material may be offered as options to students if your institution desires.

The smaller continuing education and supplemental CMT Exam Prep and Medical Terminology programs include access to the course website and student support, but there is not a graduate support option.

Yes. However, Career Step retains proprietary rights to the programs.

The programs can be offered either for credit or as a non-credit program; this is a decision left to your institution.

Career Step student support is tailored specifically to each program, and Student Support Advisors include professional medical transcriptionists and editors (18 years of combined experience), medical coding and billing specialists (20 years of combined experience), and a pharmacy technician (9 years of experience). These advisors are available by phone or email and also answer questions through the Career Step online forums and moderated chats. Students receive full access to all student support services for the duration of their enrollment. After graduation, students transfer to Graduate Support for guidance throughout their job search.

Career Step provides each graduate with a Graduation Certificate. This is in addition to whatever certificate of completion your institution may decide to offer.

A student must score 85% or higher on both the written and/or transcription or coding portions of the final exam in order to pass and graduate.