Medical transcriptionists are people who transcribe medical reports or audio files which are dictated by physicians, healthcare providers and nurse practitioners. Most medical transcriptionists work for physician’s offices, hospitals and third- party transcription services to healthcare establishments and are also self-employed. The median average salary for medical transcriptionists is $33,380/-
Why do healthcare providers require medical transcriptionists?
Doctors, surgeons, nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers all have important stressful jobs that require them to be on their feet all day whilst doing everything they can to take care of the patients in their care. A lot can get in their way and many times medical professionals get bogged down with heavy paperwork which can get in their way of taking care of their patients. As medical transcriptionists you’ll be required to take notes that need to include everything right from surgery notes to clinical summaries. Taking audio devices and turning it into written documents which are required for their internal records, patients medical charts and insurance claims can help save hours.
5 easy steps on how to become a medical transcriptionist –
Here are the most common steps on how to become a medical transcriptionist –
- Education – The minimum educational requirement to become a medical transcriptionist is a GED or a high school diploma. They may also pursue a bachelor’s or an associate degree to increase the chances of their employment. You can earn a higher educational degree from a variety of universities, community colleges, institutions, trade schools or tech schools. This process usually takes around 2 years to complete and includes a thorough overview of transcription techniques, medical terminology and anatomy. Upon meeting these requirements, individuals would be qualified enough to start working towards getting their certification after which they can start working as professional medical transcriptionists.
- Certification program – One of the most important steps in becoming a medical transcriptionist is getting a certificate. While the certification program is voluntary it could be necessary for finding a job in the healthcare industry. The length of the certification process varies from anywhere between 6 months to 18 months. The association for healthcare documentation integrity (ADHI) offers 2 important medical transcriptionist certificates which are –
- Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS) – CHDS is a certification course for transcriptionists who have more than 2 years of experience in advanced care or those who work for a practice with multiple specialities.
- Registered Healthcare Documentation Specialist (RHDS) – This course is for recent graduates of medical transcriptionist educational programs or transcriptionists that specialise in paediatrics, physicians who own a private practice, single type healthcare workers. This is a good choice for individuals who have less than two years of working experience.
- Get work experience – You require some specific practical training to be able to practice as a medical transcriptionist in the United States. This training may come in the form of you earning a degree, an in-person course through an online program or an accredited institution. Based on their source of medical transcriptionists training, they could qualify to complete on the job training under some direct supervision. Those who’ve done the course online could take on internships and gain practical experience before applying for a permanent job. If not, they might have to seek out other opportunities to gain practical knowledge in a professional work environment. This could include volunteer work, job shadowing or working as a general transcriptionist.
- Acquiring a number of special skills – Become a medical transcriptionist you require a number of special skills such as –
- Typing skills – Most medical transcriptionists are not paid by the hour but paid for each word that they transcribe. The faster they type the higher the salary. Most medical transcriptionists type at a faster rate when compared to other typists. Typing without errors is also critical as there is no room for error in medical documents.
- Computer skills – Medical transcriptionists must know how to use basic computer software in order to finish their assignments. This includes knowing processors such as Microsoft Word and various audio files. They require these tools to communicate directly with the supervisors employers as well as to finish a task as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
- Medical knowledge – Medical transcriptionists work in the healthcare department so in order to transcribe the words they must first understand medical terminology and vocabulary. Being familiar with medical terms will allow for faster efficiency and transcribe audio recordings more accurately. There are a lot of medical transcriptionists who use dictionaries to supplement their knowledge but most employers look for transcriptionists who have a reasonably extensive knowledge of medical terminology.
- Writing skills – Medical transcriptionists need to know their grammar, syntax and grammar. This is the medical field. Common errors may have significant consequences so it is pertinent for medical transcriptionists to have accuracy and they must excel in their writing skills.
- Applying for jobs – Medical transcriptionists were sucking out employment and looking for jobs can use various online platforms such as indeed, monster.com, Glassdoor etc. Medical transcriptionists can also work on a freelance basis or choose to work remotely. Before getting recruited they must submit proof of their education by submitting their certificate, as well as their resume.
In Conclusion –
Especially during the pandemic, healthcare workers have an enormous amount of work pressure on them. With them working around the clock and providing healthcare services to patients working as a medical transcriptionist in the healthcare field can be really helpful and and is a very important role that comes with its own set of difficulties wherein they will be required to be in close proximity to patients who are battling with Covid-19 along with other serious illnesses.