The need for a medical transcriptionist has increased in the past 15 years. These professionals are responsible for transcribing and editing medical information into documents used by health professionals. The documents they produce include discharge notes, a patient's medical history and progress notes. After training is complete, medical transcriptionists become certified and have the option of working at home if they choose.
Job Description
Medical transcriptionists listen to recordings that have been dictated by health care professionals and type what was said in the recording. Medical transcriptionists return the transcribed documents to the professional who dictated the original audio for review.
Education
The first part in training to be a medical transcriptionist is to complete college training--a 2-year Associate's degree or a 1-year certificate program. Courses include anatomy, medical terminology and health care legal issues.
Supervision
Supervised, on-the-job experience is another part of medical transcriptionist training. Trainees use this time to practice what they learned in the classroom.
Certification
Medical transcriptionists who have less than 2 years of experience usually become registered medical transcriptionists. Certification as a certified medical transcriptionist requires at least 2 years of working in specialty surgery areas and using different reports to gain dictation experience.
Compensation
Medical transcriptionists work in physicians' offices, hospitals, government medical facilities and their homes. Transcriptionists are paid based on the number of hours they work or according to the number of lines they transcribe. They can earn up to $15 per hour.
Tags: medical transcriptionist, Medical transcriptionists, health care