Is a Career as Medical Transcriptionist Right For You?

A Medical Transcriptionist Career is an avenue that can be pursued by people in the medical field (such as nurses, medical students etc) as well as by those who are not.

In this article, we will explain the nature of the job, the skills required for such a job, and also where you can acquire those skills.

What Will You Be Required To Do

The basic definition is someone who listens to recordings and tapes made by doctors, medical research professionals, and various other people in the health care industry and then transcribe those recordings into the written format. These could be in the form of medical papers, special reports, letters, and even official documents.

However, the job is not as easy as listening to some tapes and putting them down on paper or into a Word document. Since you will be listening to medical tapes, it is important that you have some basic medical knowledge so that you can understand the terminology being used in the tapes. Very often people use short forms and abbreviations of medical terms when dictating. These need to be written in their full form when transcribing, which simply cannot be done if you don’t know what is being referred to.

Apart from that, you will also need to correct any grammatical errors in the speech (so good grasp of the English language and grammar is a must), and know how to spot irregularities in the medical dictation and check the mistakes for their accuracy (this requires good research skills).

Thus, only if you are confident of being able to achieve all that is outlined above, should you consider this as a career.

Achieving Skills Required For Career

The primary institution that certifies you to start a career as medical transcriptionist is the American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT). You need to appear for a certification examination, and on passing that exam, you will be recognized as a Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT).

In order to prepare for the exam, you can join a school and complete the course they have to offer. Here’s what you should look for in a school so that you know you have chosen the right one.

The course should provide training on the following subjects:

1. Medical terminology
2. Anatomy
3. Physiology
4. Practice of medical transcription
5. Sentence construction, grammar, and punctuation
6. Lab terminology
7. Disease processes
8. Reading patient records and medical records