Medical Transcription Training

Medical Transcription is a field in which a medical transcriptionist (MT) ‘transcribes’ reports dictated by doctors and physicians into a voice recorder into written documents. This document is then added to the patient’s record and may be pulled out for future reference. A transcribed document is considered to be a legal document. MTs are not allowed to edit anything or to add in guesses if they cannot understand what the dictator is saying. They can instead flag the document which signifies that some detail is missing from the document which may then be added by the physician later. 

Top Schools Offering Medical Transcription Programs

Liberty University Online

Penn Foster Career School

Allied Schools

Top Schools Offering Medical Transcription Training Education:

Medical Transcription Training
Apart from some countries where 18 months to 2 years of training is required, usually no formal medical transcription training is required to work as a MT. However, it is always recommended that MTs obtain some form of formal training. It also pays better if you have undergone some formal medical transcription training. Where people who do not have formal medical transcription training may earn as low as $9 per hour, salaries may go as high as $20 per hour for trained and experienced MTs. 

There are many routes students can take when pursuing medical transcription training. They may opt for a two year associate program or a one year certificate medical transcription training program. Some people may also choose on-the-job training that some hospitals provide. The minimum requirement for enrollment for medical transcriptionist training is a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Another form of medical transcription training is admission to a certification program which results in one becoming a CMT (Certified Medical Transcriptionist). It is requisite that a person has two years of experience working as a medical transcriptionist before he/she can enroll in such a program. The CMT exam is conducted by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and is around four hours long. It contains an objective section that tests a transcriptionist’s knowledge and a practical section where candidates are required to demonstrate their skills. This exam can be given any time in the year and certification must be renewed after three years. In case a person does not pass the test, he/she may sit for it again after six months. It cannot be taken more than twice in a year though. 

Online Medical Transcription Training
Medical transcription training is also available online both as an associate degree and as a certificate program. These are suitable for students who also hold a day job and may not be able to take full time classes. 

Skills Acquired in Medical Transcription Training
All medical transcriptionists are expected to have a certain set of skills that make them suitable for their job. Medical transcription training seeks to develop and enhance these skills in students. Some of the skills developed in a medical transcriptionist training program include:

• Knowledge of terminology used in medicine;
• Good typing speed;
• Accuracy;
• Superior grammar and spellings;
• Ability to efficiently use transcribing equipment;
• Good memory; and
• Inclination to give attention to detail.

An understanding of different accents can be an added qualification for transcriptionists who may often have to mark a document as flagged because of a different pronunciation.