Inside Medical Transcription

Before choosing any career path, the first thing you must do is determine which path is right for you. Sometimes, though, two careers may be similar enough that it can be difficult to sort out their pros and cons. This is true of medical office assisting and medical transcription. Both of these careers have a lot to offer, and both require a similar level of training and experience… but which is right for you?

Medical Office Assistance

A Medical Office Assistant works in a hospital or physicians office in a secretarial or administrative assistance capacity. Working with physicians and health care providers is a demanding and detail-oriented position– in order to successfully work as a Medical Office Assistant, you must have good communications skills, some experience as an Administrative Assistant or Secretary, and the proper training.

Training: In addition to applying the usual office-related tasks to the health care field, some of the more complicated things a Medical Office Assistant must undertake are medical billing, completing clinical procedures, and applying medical terminology. Most Medical Office Assistants take certificate programs, either online or at a community college or university.

Pay and Work Conditions: Medical Office Assistants generally make from $20,000 to $30,000 per year, depending on location. This salary is in addition to regular health and vacation benefits provided by the employer. Medical Office Assistants generally work from a physicians office or hospital, and have very few opportunities to telecommute.

Medical Transcription

The job of a Medical Transcriptionist is to listen to recordings dictated by health care professionals, transcribing them into reports, correspondence, etc. They generally use set types of equipment, including digital/analog recorders, headphones, and foot pedals (for pausing and playing recordings). A quality Medical Transcriptionist does more than transcribe recordings– he/she must be able to spot inconsistencies or mistakes in terminology and correct them in written reports. This is of key importance, as accuracy of reporting can affect patient care.

Training and Requirements: As Medical Transcription is in-depth, detailed work, most employers will only hire Transcriptionists who have completed an appropriate training certificate program. Though its not always required, the completion of an Associates Degree is recommended. This work also requires good English language skills, including an in-depth knowledge of grammar and punctuation.

Pay and Work Conditions: Though the earnings of a Medical Transcriptionist vary widely according to experience and industry, the median salary for a Medical Transcriptionist is $34,400 yearly. Though Medical Transcription is generally done from a hospital, medical library, etc., many Medical Transcriptionists (about a third) telecommute, receiving dictation via the internet and working from home.

Which is Right?

The most important thing to keep in mind when deciding between these two careers is your own priorities. For instance, Medical Transcription may pay a bit more and provide tons of personal freedom for telecommuters, including working from home and choosing your own hours, those that telecommute generally receive no health or vacation benefits, simply working as independent contractors. On the other hand, while a position as a Medical Office Assistant comes with the benefits you would expect from any full-time job, it gives you very little freedom– no more than any administrative position would.

For those out there looking for the freedom of a work-from-home position, Medical Transcription might be just the thing youre looking for. However, if youre seeking the stability of a 9-to-5 job, Medical Office Assistance might be right for you.

Medical Transcription is highly specialized and requires certain skills and training. Above all, we know that this is not a “get-rich-quick” career, regardless of what might have seen advertised by some companies trying to sell him their full of educational material.

A medical doctor Transcriptionist is a language specialist who interprets and transcribes dictation by medical professionals. This dictation covers almost everything that takes place between the health care provider and patient. In general, information is recorded either on tape or digital voice processing systems. The medical transcription process is the transfer of this information through the use of word processing.

You can pay well, but be prepared to work! Becoming a medical specialist language is not something you can learn in 4 or 6 weeks, so keep in mind when searching for your training program.

If you are experienced, you can register here to verify and enforce work at home jobs and independent projects in their field.

There are two things in particular a Medical Transcriptionist is most known for. Those are:

*A love of words
*Their use of medical references

Unlike many years ago, today there are volumes of excellent reference books and software available for the Medical Transcriptionist, most of which can easily be found online, in software and in print. Some of the medical reference materials include:

*Medical dictionaries
*Medical specialty word and phrase references
*Medical abbreviation references
*Medical style manuals

Each of these references fulfills a particular need for the Medical Transcriptionist. The medical dictionary provides definitions to know the difference between similar-sounding words. Medical dictionaries do not contain many of the specialty words, abbreviations, and surgical instruments.

Medical specialty word and phrase references contain terms from one medical specialty and include slang, surgical instruments, drugs, new and unusual terms, abbreviations, and laboratory tests for that particular specialty.

Medical abbreviation references contain common and unusual abbreviations and their definitions from all medical specialties.

Medical style manuals offer suggestions on how to format reports, punctuation, grammar and spelling medical reports.

A regular word dictionary is also a must and a staple
of the Medical Transcriptionist’s library of reference materials. Physicians often have an extensive vocabulary and will dictate English words that are new to the Medical Transcriptionist.

The following is a list of medical references that should form the basics of a library for Medical Transcription students and practitioners:

*Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary
*Stedman’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary
*Current Medical Terminology
*The Medical Word Book
*Medical Phrase Index
*Word and phrase reference books published by Health Professions Institute in the specialties of Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Orthopedics/Neurology, Pathology, Psychiatry, and Radiology
*A standard English dictionary such as Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
*American Drug Index
*Physicians Desk Reference
*Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book

If Medical Transcriptionists get stumped on a drug question and cannot locate the answer in her library of reference books, he or she can always seek help from a pharmacist. Pharmacists often have a wealth of information they rarely ever use and most are glad to help a Medical Transcriptionists with questions about drugs.

A Medical Transcriptionist or student should never be without up-to-date reference sources. Regardless of how much I find online or in software, I still like a shelf of books in print.