How To Get A Job As A Medical Transcriptionist
As the medical field continues to grow rapidly, job opportunities for qualified Medical Transcriptionists are excellent. Medical Transcriptionists ensure that permanent, detailed, and accurate records are maintained which cover the history and treatment of all medical patients.
If you are part of the medical field, you will already have a knowledge of many technical terms and procedures, so you may only need a period of on-the-job-training to get a job as a Medical Transcriptionist.
Most Medical Transcriptionists work a forty hour week in doctors’ offices, hospitals, long term care facilities, and transcription service offices. Some are self employed and work on a contract basis. Much of the overseas demand for Medical Transcription is being met by contracts with transcription services based in the continental United States.
Successful Medical Transcriptionists must have an excellent command of the English language, good computer and communication skills, be well organized, and attentive to details. They must also have good hearing and be able to work both independently and with others. They must treat the information that comes to them with utmost confidentiality, bearing in mind the potential legal and ethical ramifications of errors or indiscretions.
Through head sets, Medical Transcriptionists receive information dictated by physicians and other health care professionals. Such information consists of medical histories, correspondence, physical and diagnostic reports, referrals and reports dictated during surgeries or autopsies. The Medical Transcriptionist must have detailed knowledge of medical terminology and procedures in order to recognize and correct any errors in these reports. They must be familiar with medical jargon and abbreviations specific to all areas of the medical profession. Maintaining the integrity of the original dictation, the Transcriptionist must revise as necessary for clarity. Research may be necessary for clarification.
The final transcription must be reviewed and edited for grammatical and spelling errors, and then returned to the sender for necessary revisions and a final signature.
Education
Although some Transcriptionists receive only on-the-job training after high school graduation, most employers give preference to those with formal training. Some demand it.
Training for Medical Transcriptionists is offered by Vocational Schools and Community Colleges. After obtaining a high school diploma, students may then take either the one year or the two year training course. The one year course offers a Certificate and the two year course offers an Associate Degree. Training covers such subjects as grammar, punctuation, anatomy, medical terminology, and legal issues. Some training courses offer practical experience.
Graduates from approved training courses may, after two years employment, become Registered and then Certified. Neither Registration nor Certification are required but they are preferable. Both are available from the American Health Information Management Association. Both a written and an oral exam must be taken. Skills must be updated periodically. Those that are Registered and Certified will, almost inevitably, get the best jobs, earn the highest salaries, and be considered first for advanced positions.
Medical Transcriptionists with sufficient education and experience can advance to become supervisors, consultants, and instructors.
