Do you have what it takes to be a medical transcriptionist?

Some myths about medical transcription:

• Yearly income will be in excess of $40,000 per year right away.
• Medical transcriptionists type what they hear.  
• Medical transcriptionists are a dying breed.  

Some truths about medical transcription:

• Medical transcription is not a get rich quick opportunity.  Income largely depends on many factors.  Some factors include geographical location, grasp of medical terminology and anatomy in addition to account size, part-time work versus full-time work, workflow, acute care work (all specialties/more challenging terminology) versus clinic work (less specialties / easier terminology).  Other important factors are if you're a subcontractor or an independent contractor.   
• According to Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual wage is $32,900.  
• You are typing a document for a patient's chart, therefore one must ensure ACCURACY.  Would you want your medical record to have errors in it? I believe this is the most important factor.  A transcriptionist will never be respected in this business producing low-quality, error-ridden reports, and that's a promise!  All we have is our reputation as most times doctors, MTSOs, etc., never meet us, so we build our reputation on accuracy - one perfect report at a time.  
• Medical transcription often can be feast or famine.  <br>

Some questions to ponder:

• Are you proficient with computers?  
• Do you enjoy spending hours sitting in front the computer typing?
• Are you good at navigating the Internet for research?  
• Is your typing accuracy 99.5%?
• Do typos jump off the page for you and bother you?  
• Do you have good command of the English language / grammar?
• Do you take pride in all the work that you do, each and every day?  
• Are you self-directed and dedicated?  
• Are you flexible?  
• Are you teachable and willing to learn each and every day?  

 If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, medical transcription may be the field for you!

Ways to work: 
Because there are so many ways to work as a medical transcriptionist, one must define which is best for their situation.

• Are you the primary breadwinner or supplementing the income in your family?  
• Do you want to work for a service (subcontractor), being paid on production wherein if you don't have work, you don't get paid?  
• Do you need to be an employee for the benefits?
• Do you want to get your own clients (independent contractor)?  

Where do we go from here?
With all these points in mind, what's next? First, you need to heavily research the profession.  A good place to start is AHDI's article Becoming an MT.  Next, you will need training.  See my previous blog post How I Found Medical Transcription for my experience with Career Step.  Not all AHDI-approved schools are created equal, so it's best to research the school, check the BBB, ask questions of the school or program, post questions on forums, etc.

Once you decide on a school and get started, since most of the online schools are self-paced, be certain to be thorough.  You will get out of the program only what you put into it.  I have seen many a transcriptionist not take enough time with schooling and once looking for a job cannot find one.  Transcriptionists MUST take online tests to gain employment, so if those tests cannot be passed, a transcriptionist will have a very tough time finding work, let alone decent pay.  I cannot stress enough being thorough during the schooling portion and how much it will pay off in the long run.

Looking for a medical transcription provider or 
know someone who is?

For HIPAA-compliant, quality and timely medical transcription outsourcing with EMR interfacing in the United States visit us at Just My Type Transcription.