Yesterday we talked about 5 skills every MT should master. But there is a sixth – or seventh, technically – skill that you should have and you should have it in abundance.

This skill is so important it deserves its own blog post. I’m talking about listening.

There are several reasons listening is very important for a medical transcriptionist, but they all boil down to one thing – accuracy. If you do not have good listening skills then you will likely render a medical document inaccurately and that could lead to some major or critical errors.

Dictation is a task that requires good listening skills. You will have to listen to medical professionals dictate reports to you on audio. Some common obstructions to good understanding of the audio include:

• Strong foreign accents
• Soft speakers
• Background noise
• Speech impediments
• Fast talkers
• Poor grammatical speakers
• “Uh”, “uhm” and other speech breakers
• Poor quality recordings

All of these can be obstacles to good transcription and it is your responsibility as the medical transcriptionist to overcome them. That requires good listening skills.

When it comes to medical transcription services, you’ve got to stay competitive and to do that you’ve got to practice your skills. Medical transcriptionists who demonstrate a proficiency in the core skills of the profession will excel and succeed above and beyond the rest of the job pool. Here are 5 skills you’ll need to master to be a high-demand medical transcriptionist:

1. Dictation – In the old days, dictation was taken in person with the dictator sitting behind a desk talking and the transcriber holding a pen and paper. These days it can be done without ever meeting each other. The dictator speaks into an audio recording device and the transcriber, once the audio file has been delivered, types directly from listening to the audio.
2. Grammar – Since much of your time as a medical transcriptionist will be spent correcting spelling and grammar, you’ve got to be proficient in the English language.
3. Research – You’ll frequently need to verify information for clarity. Good research skills will be very helpful.
4. Time Management – Since you’ll spend every day of your working life working toward deadlines, you’ll need to be an expert in time management.
5. Organization – A professional medical transcriptionist must have excellent organizational skills. Your employers will appreciate your ability to keep them organized and improve their medical documentation.

In addition to these 5 essential skills, you should have strong analytical skills.

If you think you have what it takes to be a medical transcriptionist, seek out the proper professional MT training and begin your medical transcription job search.

Medical transcriptionists are not required to receive any set number of hours of training or even be certified, licensed or registered. In fact, you aren’t required to take any training at all. But that doesn’t mean you should just jump right into the profession and start looking for work. There are good reasons for seeking medical transcription training.

The primary reason for seeking training is because the field is very competitive. While there is a lot of demand for medical transcriptionists, there are also a lot of people vying for the jobs. And if you want to be a candidate for the best jobs then you’ll do whatever is necessary to make yourself more competitive. That means attending a good medical transcription course.

Another reason to complete a course is because you will feel better about yourself if you are confident of your skills. By attending a medical transcription course that trains you in the basics of medical transcription and provides you with resources for finding your first job, you will have a competitive edge and feel confident about competing for the right job.

Finally, many employers will not hire you if you cannot prove your skills. If you have no medical transcription training, no experience and no credentials then they will hire someone else.

To be competitive in this growing field you need have a solid background in medical transcription and that starts with training.

One of the things that you’ll have to learn as a medical transcriptionist student is medical terminology. And one of the best ways to learn any new language, whether it be an actual cultural language or a professional language, is to learn the root words.

For instance, if you know that “aer” is a root that means air or gas then any time you see that root you’ll know that the word has something to do with air or gas.

Here’s another example:

“Steth” is a root that means chest. Have you ever had a stethoscope stuck to your chest?

Want another one? “Pulmon” is a root word that means lung. Want to guess what pulmonary medicine is? How about pulmonology?

Learning your medical root words will be a big step toward learning medical terminology overall. You’ll learn how to do that in any medical transcription course worth its salt.

If you are a qualified and trained medical transcriptionist then there are employers ready to hire you right now. A variety of employers are willing to hire trained medical transcriptionists because a qualified MT can make them money, earn them profits and save them time. Four employers ready to hire you right now are:

• Your local hospital – If you are like most Americans, you live within minutes of a hospital. Forty percent of all medical transcriptionists work in a hospital. You can too.
• Doctors Offices – Many doctors offices hire medical transcriptionists to create medical documents for their private practice or team of physicians.
• Medical Transcription Service – Like the temp service that became popular a few years ago, there are medical transcription companies that hire medical transcriptionists on a part-time or full-time basis to work for their client base.
• Yourself - When you work for yourself as a medical transcriptionist you are your own boss. You set your own hours and pick your clients. Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of freedom?

You can find employers to hire you by joining a job bank or posting your medical transcription resume online.

Perhaps the most important question you will ever have to answer about yourself as a medical transcriptionist is, “Am I marketable?”

I cannot stress the importance of knowing for sure. Seeking and applying for jobs in the medical transcription work force is highly competitive. While demand is high, there are an increasing number of people trying to get medical transcription jobs so you need to make sure you have as many good things going for you as possible.

There are things you have control over and things you have no control over. Training, for instance. You can get the proper training to qualify yourself for a medical transcription position. But you can’t control how well trained your competition is.

To discover your marketability as a medical transcriptionist relative to others in your field with similar training and credentials, take the medical transcriptionist marketability analysis test. Don’t guess; know for sure.

Now that you’ve completed your medical transcription training, what should you do to land you first job? Here are a few tips to help you get your first job as a medical transcriptionist.

• Post your resume.
• Use social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
• Send your resume to local hospitals and doctors offices.
• Use the job assistance program at your medical transcription training school.
• Ask friends and family for references.
• Talk to other medical transcriptionists about which opportunities they’d recommend.
• Start a blog and share your ideas for what makes good medical transcription; if you are skillful at the tasks and can write well then you could find employers through your blog.
• Ask around in online forums.

The one thing that all job applicants who succeed at finding the job they are looking for have in common is that they aggressively seek out opportunities. You cannot sit on the sidelines and expect to succeed. Go after the best opportunities with enthusiasm and you’ll find rewarding work as a medical transcriptionist.

It is no secret that the largest employers of medical transcriptionists are hospitals. In fact, 40% of the medical transcriptionists employed are employed by hospitals. However, hospitals are not the best payers in the industry.

It is true that hospitals pay medical transcriptionists a fair wage. If you are employed by a hospital then you can expect to make about $16.58 per hour, or $34,480 per year. These numbers represent the mean earnings of medical transcriptionists in a hospital setting. Depending on the part of the country in which you are employed, your skills and your experience, you earnings could be more or less.

But who pays more?

Medical and diagnostic libraries, in May 2009, paid medical transcriptionists $18.60 per hour mean salary and $38,680 annual salary.

These salary figures are an increase over the May 2008 means of $15.88 per hour for MTs in a hospital setting and $17.26 mean hourly wage for medical transcriptionists in a medical and diagnostic library setting.

Just as well, medical transcriptionists are the second highest paid healthcare support occupation in a medical and diagnostic library setting. Only physical therapy assistants make more. Medical assistants and medical equipment preparers fall below in average yearly and hourly salary.

It is clear that the medical transcription profession is growing. The demand for qualified medical transcriptionists is driving salaries upward and this will likely be the case at least a few good years into the future.

As a medical transcriptionist you’ll be asked to dictate a variety of medical documents. Some of them are easier to prepare than others, but all types of medical records are important. Some of the types of medical records that you’ll have a hand in preparing as a medical transcriptionist include:

• Discharge Summaries - A discharge summary is a record of a patient’s care while in the hospital. It is prepared upon discharge.
• Medical History Report – This report details a patient’s medical history so medical professionals working with a patient can see at a glance what kind of care he has received in the past.
• Physical Examination Report – Details the results of a patient’s physical exam.
• Operative Report – A report that details the procedures and findings of a surgery.
• Autopsy Report – Details the findings of an autopsy.
• Diagnostic Imaging Report – Detailed notes of radiological care.

There are many more types of medical reports a medical transcriptionist may prepare as a part of her work routine. You’ll need to be familiar with as many as you can if you want to succeed as a medical transcriptionist.

Is there an ideal relationship among doctors/dictators and medical transcriptionists? Well, there are some definite ways to keep the lines of communication open and to foster a better relationship with the doctors and medical professionals you’ll be working with. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your medical transcription job.

• Honesty – Always be honest. If you can’t meet a certain deadline, tell them. You may not get this job but you’ll gain the respect of the doctors and their staffs and they will eventually send work your way.
• Efficiency – Always meet your deadlines.
• Competency – Always meet the standards of the industry and go above them.
• Courtesy – You will inevitably need to call a dictator to clarify information. Before you take a job, find out the best way to contact your dictator and when they are most available. By setting this up in advance you increase the expectation of good communication.
• Professionalism – Always be professional, no matter how close and personal you become with your clients. You are still working for them.

If you do your best work on every task then you’ll build a solid reputation as a medical transcriptionist who cares and who can get the job done. Don’t squander your opportunities. Create them.