About Medical Transcription Careers & Education

Medical transcriptionists are skilled health care professionals trained to listen to recorded dictation from physicians and transcribe the information accurately and clearly into a variety of medical documents. Documents commonly transcribed by a medical transcriptionist include physical examination reports, discharge summaries, medical history reports, autopsy reports, referral letters, and operative reports, among others. Many of these documents become part of a patient’s permanent file once checked by a physician, which makes the accuracy of the medical transcriptionist very important. Successful medical transcriptionists have solid grammar, editing, and typing skills. They also have training in medical terminology and ethics, since they work so closely with physicians and patients.

Medical transcription is an ideal choice for individuals with good communication and computer skills and a desire to work in the booming health care industry. The demand for medical transcriptionists is expected to grow by 11% over the next decade, with the majority of transcriptionists employed by private physicians and hospitals. The best way to quickly start a career as a medical transcriptionist is to enroll in any community college or vocational school that offers a training program in medical transcribing.

Training Courses

There are many educational options available to potential medical transcriptionists. Which program is correct for the individual student depends on a few key factors. The first is the amount of time the student wishes to commit to their education. 2-year associates degree programs are offered by many community colleges. These programs will cover all the skills needed by medical transcriptionists, but will also include general education courses. 1-year certificate programs dispense with the general education classes and focus solely on subjects related to medical transcribing. There are also distance education courses available, which are good for students who cannot attend class full-time.

Another determining factor is the credential the student wishes. Modern employers prefer to hire medical transcriptionists with postsecondary training, but do not specify which degree. In general, students should look for programs accredited by the Approval Committee for Certificate Programs (ACCP) that include classes in writing, word processing, medical terminology, health care administration, medical ethics and law, editing, grammar, typing, and communication.

Many programs also offer on-the-job training while in school. While unpaid, this training provides valuable experience that looks good on resumes, as well as sharpens skills prior to beginning work. It may also result in referrals that lead to better job opportunities later on.

In order to enroll in a medical transcribing program, potential students must possess a high school diploma or the equivalent.

Required Skills

Many medical transcriptionists begin their careers as nurses or physician’s assistants before segueing into transcribing full-time. This is not a necessary step to a successful career, but is a good way to become familiar with the ins-and-outs of daily health care administration. However, simply because one has worked as a nurse does not mean that they will automatically make an excellent medical transcriptionist. This is because the skills required of a medical transcriptionist are unique from those of an assistant or nurse.

Medical transcriptionists must be excellent typists, as well as listeners. An enormous amount of importance is placed on their accuracy, speed, and knowledge. A medical transcriptionist must be able to transform spoken information into clearly legible documentation. As technology changes the nature of the transcriptionist’s job, it has become essential that medical transcriptionists have strong computer skills as well.