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October 27th, 2005 
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Do you like the idea of a career that allows you to work from home, at your own pace? The medical transcription field enables you to work as a trained professional in the medical industry. You can freelance for a hospital, run your own transcription business or work from home as an employee of a doctor’s office.
What is it? As a medical transcriptionist, you listen to dictated recordings made by physicians, and other health care professionals, and transcribe them into medical reports, correspondence and other administrative material. You generally listen to recorded information on a headset, using a foot pedal to pause the recording when necessary. Your job entails keying the text into a personal computer, and editing the text for grammar and clarity.
It is important for medical transcriptionists to comprehend and accurately transcribe dictated reports into a format that is clear and understandable. To do this, you need basic knowledge of the following:
- An Overview of Medical Fundamentals
- Structure, Function, and Terms Associated with Each Medical Specialty
- Word Structure, Pronunciation of Terms, and Abbreviations
- The Pathology, Anatomy, and Procedures for Each System in the Body
- Pharmacology: Drug Names, Standards, and References
There are additional requirements for successful transcribers. First, you must have the ability to effectively translate medical jargon and abbreviations. Second, you must be able to easily spot mistakes or inconsistencies in a medical report. Third, you must have the ability to successfully conduct research to verify medical data.
Medical transcription also comes with some measure of responsibility. If you correctly transcribe patient assessments, treatments and records, it reduces the chance that a patient will receive ineffective treatments, and ensures high quality patient care.
Most employers prefer to hire individuals with specific postsecondary training in medical transcription. There are comprehensive, well-rounded programs available through vocational schools, community colleges, and distance-learning programs. Benefit from a comprehensive program that includes online medical transcription courses, live student support, career assistance and professional association membership — all from an accredited medical school.
You can also take your medical transcription career to the next level with the Registered Medical Transcription (RMT) exam. Many medical transcription courses prepare you to take this next step. Passing the RMT exam is a great way for you to enhance your new career and demonstrate that you have first-rate transcription skills.
Medical transcriptionists have options when it comes to work – you may choose to work in a medical office, hospital, clinic, or from home. It’s an ideal career for someone who wants to balance family and career and earn a solid income. Start a career that’s needed nationwide – your transcription ability will open the door to a lasting career.
Watch the video related to medical courses
From the production of UCSF’s MSII 2007 class play- The Life of a Medical Student: Uncovered. For all those first year’s sweatin’ immunology, here’s a new study aid. A remake of JT’s popular SNL digital short for those who know and love Dr. Abul Abbas. Starring: Devin Kehl, Bryan Haughom, Nick Johnson, Trevor Jensen, Tushani Illangasekare, Katie Menzel, Fernando Maldonado and, of course, Dr. Abul Abbas. Produced By: Trevor Jensen … ucsf 2010 In Box Abul Abbas Class UCSF SNL parody dick …
Help answer the question about medical courses
What are some short term medical courses I can take to get a certificate so I can work in the hospital?Also what are some schools in South Florida around the North Miami, Hollywood, or Fort Lauderdale are that offer theses courses? Can be a degree or certificate. As long as it's something quick and that I can work in the hospital with patients.
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Danielle Brunson is a marketing specialist covers news and information about medical transcription, medical billing and medical coding.
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I've been a home-based MT for about 4 years. The course I took was also done completely from home. Whatever you do, just make sure you choose a respected school or else you'll have a very difficult time finding a job. I would recommend Andrews, M-Tech or Career Step. Stay away from the schools advertised on TV and in magazines; you'll just be wasting your money. Depending on how dedicated you are, you can usually complete your course in 6 months to 1-1/2 years. You need to have strong grammar and research skills and be detail-oriented. You should really check out http://www.mtchat.com. There's a ton of information on that site and it's a good place to network. It helped me out a lot when I was first starting out, and I still visit almost daily. Good luck to you!
there are companies that will allow you to strictly work at home. However I myself don't advise it because you might not always have stable work coming in and with a doctor's office you can always be guaranteed a job.
Lena, sometimes testing is just that, a test. Nothing more or less and doesn't mean that you aren't fully capable of doing the job. If an employer is willing to hire a person that is a new grad then they should fully understand that you still have growth and learning to do in that career. If you are nervous because you think maybe this isn't the correct field for you, maybe you can look in to coding school. I work in healthcare and I promise that medical coders, especially those that are certified and get experience working for hospitals, make a lot of money and eventually can work from home. Billers also make a decent wage as well. Don't be afraid to try – you did the schooling. Give it a shot..the worst that happens is that it isn't the choice for you. PLENTY of time for you to try a new path!
I have been an MT for over 7 years. I got on-the-job training at a local hospital and never took a course. I had taken medical terminology and A & P at a college here but did not get a degree. So I don't know about the course aspect. But they do have MT courses at one of the colleges here. Some have job placement at the end, as well.
You do not need state certification, no licensure or anything like that is required, but some employers pay more if you are a CMT (certified medical transcriptionist) or RMT (registered MT) – both of which you can find out about at AHDI – http://www.ahdionline.org.
As for work, you can either be an employee of a company or an independent contractor. If you're an IC, there are no benefits. You can either work at local hospitals or doctors' offices, or you can work at home through a medical transcription service organization (MTSO) like the one I work at, Precyse Solutions – http://www.precysesolutions.com. Just make sure you work for a place that has steady workloads/availability, otherwise you'll be sitting at home twiddling your thumbs; working at home you get paid based on production, and no production means no pay. So if there's nothing to produce, you're broke, whether you're making 8 cents per line or whatever. Two places to look are http://www.mtdaily.com and http://www.mtjobs.com, and http://www.mtstars.com has a lot of info, too.
I personally wish I could go back to the hospital and get paid hourly plus 1 cent per line, but I can't. Anyway, any more questions you're welcome to email me.
The fact that you never see any ads in the paper means that it is a good job with low turnover. Unfortunately, it also means that it is a competitive job.
A great place to look is in the Ultimate Transcription Jobs eBook. You can get it through http://www.payloadz.com — do a search for it and you'll find it. Great resources, it checks each business with the BBB and makes sure they're legit. It's a 450 something page eBook, so you know it has a lot of info! Good luck!
I tried Medical Transcription for about a year…I worked as a subcontractor. I feel there is no money in it at all. The company I did work for, I asked the same question as yours. They thought some doctors would chose the newer tech way within 10 years some would do the switch but they also said their doctors would not change. Not sure about that….So I switched gears and
I partnered with a company and have been very pleased with them. I love being able to work from home, Plus they are members of the BBB which was important to me with all the scams out there.
I don't have to Stock Inventory or sell products nor do I have to take orders, deliver anything or get stung with bad checks when making collections … Did that in the past, NOT again!
If you want more information about them I would be happy to share. Just send me an email and let me know.
It just might give you the options you are looking for
I found when I searched that field that there were too many up front cost and there were some scams. It takes up a lot of your free time too. Jennifer