Inside Medical Transcription

Employers will almost exclusively hire transcriptionists who have completed some kind of formal training in the area or who have experience. There are many ways to obtain such training, but for most a community college or vocational school will be the best option, especially if the training includes on-the-job experience. Do not worry about whether or not they offer the opportunity to earn the Certified Medical Transcriptionist designation. This is not a required certification in general, and in fact, most transcriptionists need a couple of years’ experience before they can pass the test to gain this designation. I am not a CMT, but I was able to find a job.

Courses typically take several months to two years to complete, depending on the school chosen. Many vocational schools include the cost of books and course materials in their tuition, which may be helpful after you have landed a job. If you already work in a medical field, and simply want to switch to working from home, you may only need to learn transcription, as you may already have the vocabulary you need, but think carefully, as a refresher course may not be an entirely bad thing either.

It is also possible to take transcription courses at home. This option is more flexible but may be more challenging in other ways. Your selection of a course of study should depend on how you will best learn what you need to know.

You will need an assortment of reference books. Some you may recieve with your training, but you may find you need others. See the equipment page for suggestions.

College Courses

College courses are best for most people. Having an instructor to help you through the difficult parts and to keep you working on a schedule can be a great benefit. Many schools also offer job placement assistance, which may not be available through home study courses.

Community Colleges

Perhaps the cheapest method of instructor-led training you can get, but it may not be quick. A quick look at a local community shows a 22-25 unit requirement for certification in Medical Transcription. This would require a minimum of two semesters’ work or more, depending on prerequisites and whether you attend part- or full-time.

Costs vary by what state you live in. Check with your local school.

Vocational Schools

Vocational schools cost more than community colleges, typically into the thousands, but may offer more flexiblity when it comes to the timing of your class. This may not be a quick solution either. With a quick look at a local vocational school’s webpage, I found that its Medical Transcription training program takes about 28 weeks of classroom time and four weeks of an externship. Check to see if textbooks and other supplies are included in the cost.

Home Study

Home study courses offer the most flexiblity in many ways, but they offer challenges as well. You must be capable of working on your own. On the other hand, if you want to work at home, that’s a skill you need. You’ll need special equipment for this option in many cases, such as a foot pedal.

In the time I’ve spent researching medical transcription schools, three names keep coming up as the ones that employers actually hire from regularly: Career Step, M-Tec, and Andrews School of Medical Transcription. Of them, CareerStep is the most affordable. The others have a still better repuation with employers, but CareerStep graduates are plenty well enough trained to find employment. My former employer, Medquist, requires that you take the Gold level or above from CareerStep (last I heard, anyhow), which is my recommendation as well. Expect to take a minimum of 6 months, often 9 months or more, to complete a course.

Which option is best? That depends in large part on how you best learn and what is available in your area. There’s no one definite right answer that will meet everyone’s needs.

You’ve very likely heard of someone who is making a good living as a medical transcriptionist. He or she might even be working from the comfort of their home. And you’ve probably asked yourself if this might be a career option for you.

It may well be. Let’s take a look at the facts.

What exactly is medical transcription? In the course of their work, doctors and other healthcare professionals make dictated recordings of various things including physical examination observations, patient history, operative reports, referral letters, discharge summaries, observations regarding imaging data and so on.

A medical transcriptionist listens to these recordings and transcribes them into medical reports, correspondence, etc. She listens to a segment of recording, pauses the playback and keys in what is said before moving on to the next segment. She may do some editing for better grammar and clarity.

The transcribed document is sent back to the health care provider who then reviews it for accuracy and gets it signed. These documents become part of the patient’s medical history records and perhaps insurance records.

To be effective at this job, you should understand medical terminology well. That includes anatomy, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures, treatment assessments and more.

Many distance education programs, colleges and vocational schools offer post-secondary training in medical transcription. Having a degree is not essential. With a home-study course, you can usually pick up the necessary knowledge within a year, often in less than nine months.

You can find work in hospitals, laboratories, physician’s offices, firms offering transcription services, government medical facilities and so on. Working from home is also a possibility and many employers offer work-at-home options for transcriptionists. Apart from that, many individuals work as independent contractors.

With experience, it is possible to move into supervisory positions, which include editing work, teaching, consulting, etc.

What equipment would you need, if you wanted to do medical transcription at home? Not very much — a computer with a medical spellchecker, printer, a transcriber and reference books are about all you need. To help you save on the actual typing, a word expander utility might help. If you are on a tight budget, buy second hand equipment will do just as well.

Medical transcription work does call for certain skills and mindset. Apart from basic computer skills, you must be detail oriented. If detail work bores you to tears, this might not be the career for you.

You must know typing, although speed will come with practice. You should also have excellent listening skills and grammar skills.

If you’re planning to work from home, it is essential to be comfortable with working alone and meeting deadlines. You must be a self-starter who can work consistently without being driven by a boss.

Given the growth in health practices and hospitals and the need for standardization of records, the demand for medical transcription services is likely to keep growing. You should carefully analyze the pros and cons of this field before venturing into it. Medical transcription provides a rewarding and fulfilling career for many people and it can do the same for you too.

Students who aspire to a lifetime of steady employment in the health care field should look into medical transcription training. The employment outlook is excellent, with positions available for medical transcriptionists in physicians’ offices, transcription service offices, hospitals, clinics, laboratories, medical libraries, and government medical facilities. And, with proper training, some graduates may even work from home.

There are numerous trade schools, vocational schools and colleges in the US and Canada that offer training in medical transcribing. These courses will often include supervised on-the-job training. A medical transcription course may take up to two years to complete, depending on whether you have chosen a professional certificate program or associate degree course.

The duties of the medical transcriptionist are to transcribe recordings that have been dictated by physicians and other health care professionals. Transcriptionists compose various medical reports, correspondence, and other health care documentation. Workers are expected to have good grammar and punctuation, and to be proficient with keyboarding and word processing. They must be familiar with medical terminology so that they may accurately interpret medical terms and abbreviations. A typical course will cover the subjects of pharmacology, treatment assessments, anatomy, medical terminology, physiology, diagnostic procedures, and legal issues relating to health care documentation.

After graduation, you may wish to obtain the voluntary designation of Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) by taking a take a national certification exam from The American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT). Although certified medical transcriptionists (CMTs) must be re-certified every three years, the process can greatly improve employment potential.

For a great career in health care, look into medical transcription training. You could be on your way to a new career before you know it!

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

Copyright 2007 – All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.

If you are interested in learning more about medical transcription training, you can find out more today. Select schools on SchoolsGalore.com that appeal to you and submit a request for information.