Career descriptions- Medical transcriptionist

Medical transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other healthcare professionals. They transcribe them into medical reports, correspondence and other administrative material. These documents eventually become part of patients’ permanent files.

Employers prefer to hire transcriptionists who have completed medical transcriptionist training. Many career colleges, community colleges and distance learning programs offer this training. Completion of a two-year Associate degree or one-year certificate program is highly recommended, but it is not always required.
Medical transcription training often includes coursework in:

* Anatomy
* Medical terminology
* Legal issues relating to healthcare documentation
* English grammar and punctuation

In addition to these skills, medical transcriptionists should also possess proficiency with personal computers and word processing software. Normal hearing acuity and good listening skills are also necessary.

The majority of medical transcriptionists work in comfortable settings. These settings may include hospitals, physicians’ offices, transcription service offices, clinics, laboratories, medical libraries or government medical facilities. Many medical transcriptionists telecommute from home-based offices. They work as employees or subcontractors for hospitals and transcription services. They may also be self-employed, independent contractors.

Medical transcriptionists held about 105,000 jobs in 2004, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical transcriptionist careers should grow faster than average through 2014. As with many healthcare services, a growing and aging population will spur demand for medical transcription services.

In 2004, medical transcriptionists earned between $11.50 and $16.32 an hour on average. The highest 10 percent earned more than $19.11 an hour. Compensation methods for medical transcriptionists vary. Some receive pay based on the number of hours they work or on the number of lines they transcribe. Others earn a base pay per hour with incentives for extra production.