A Career in Medical Transcription
What Medical Transcription Classes and Equipment Do You Need?
Oct 17, 2009
It is extremely likely that you’ve heard stories of people who are making a comfortable living with a career in medical transcription. You may have even heard stories about these same people working out of their homes. These stories have spurred your curiosity and may have even made you ask yourself if this is a career option for you. Let’s go ahead and examine some facts.
What is Medical Transcription?
What exactly is medical transcription? During their work day, doctors and other medical personnel dictate treatment records and reports containing the details of tests or procedures and their outcomes using tape recorders or special dictating equipment. The job of the medical transcriptionist is then to listen to these recordings and to make an accurate hard copy printout of the records. The transcriptionist may make grammar and editing changes to provide for better clarity, being careful to retain the original ideas, thoughts, and intents of the records.
Once the transcription is complete, the record is sent in hard copy form to the professional for review and signature. The documents then become a part of the patient’s medical history and are considered to be legal documents. The documents may be used by insurance companies to determine payment status on claims. For these reasons, medical transcriptionists have a legal, moral, and ethical responsibility to make sure that these records are a truthful and accurate reflection of the actual events.
What Knowledge Is Needed For Medical Transcription?
In order to be able to do the job competently, the medical transcriptionist must be familiar with medical terminology, as well as anatomy, pharmacology, diagnostic testing, and more. Many distance education programs, colleges, and vocational programs exist for learning to do medical transcription. Having a degree is not essential; with a home study course, you can pick up the knowledge necessary in approximately a year to be successful in this career.
Where the Jobs Are
Medical transcriptionists work in hospitals, clinics, in offices, and at home. Medical transcriptionists can enjoy employment as employees or as self-employed independent contractors. With continued employment and experience in the field it is possible to move into a supervisory role, which includes editing, teaching, consulting, and other roles.
Equipment for a Medical Transcription Career
What kind of equipment is needed to do medical transcription? The equipment is very basic and consists of a computer with a word processing program, a printer, a transcriber, and dictionaries and medical reference books. The word processing program should have spelling and grammar checkers (spell checking for medical words is a must). You can save on costs when starting out by buying secondhand equipment and reference books.
In Closing
Medical transcription is not for everyone. To be successful in this career you must be very detail oriented. If detail work bores you then you should look elsewhere for a career. You must also know how to type, although speed will come with increased experience. You must also have excellent grammar and listening skills. If you work from home, you should also be a self-starter and be able to consistently meet deadlines. The growth in the health care arena will make medical transcription a rewarding career choice for many.
Resources:
Echie, Kenneth. "Medical Transcriptionist Jobs and How to Get Them - Free Online Library." News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles and Classic Books - Free Online Library. 7 Sep. 2009. 19 Oct. 2009 <http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Medical+Transcriptionist+Jobs+and+How+to+Get+Them-a01073982308>.
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