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.

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.

Dictation is an important part of the medical transcriptionist’s job. But what is it? What does it entail?

Dictation is defined as an authoritative instruction or direction to do something. A second definition is speech that is intended to be transcribed into writing. The medical transcriptionist is involved in the process described by the second definition. There are a couple of ways this is done, however.

One way of dictating another person’s notes is to do so from written or handwritten messages. This is the least desirable method of dictation, but it can be helpful in some situations. The second and most common method is to listen to an audio recording of a person’s speech and transcribe that into a written record. This is usually done with something called voice recognition software.

The doctor, physician or other medical professional speaks into the software and sends the recording to the medical transcriptionist. The medical transcriptionist then listens to the recording and transcribes the notes into a written record. If there are passages of the recording that need to be clarified, the medical transcriptionist will contact the medical professional and clarify those passages. This is usually done according to a strict deadline.

Different people will tell you different things about the medical transcription profession. You may often come across contradicting information, making a decision become difficult with too many opinions. Are you becoming increasingly unsure about medical transcription? Let me present to you some facts that will make it easier for you to make up your mind.

The medical transcription profession is a specialized one. The profession provides an easy entry to aspirants in the sense that one doesn’t need to possess a formal qualification or have an experience to become a medical transcriptionist. However, one needs a certain aptitude to join the profession.

One needs to undergo an in-depth training before starting work. Various short-term and long-term medical transcription courses are available today. However, you should make sure that the course you join meets certain criteria.

Learning never stops for the medical transcriptionist. The medical transcriptionist needs to keep updating his/her medical knowledge regularly. Often, this requirement keeps many away from the field. Also, you are required to work on your own, without any supervision.

You must be equipped to handle deadlines and high quality goals in order to make it in the profession. Meeting deadlines every day along with meeting high quality goals is definitely a daunting task. The profession expects an overall accuracy of 98 percent and 100 percent accuracy with respect to critical errors.

Medical records are critical for the smooth functioning of the healthcare and insurance industries; therefore, the profession is an important one. This is the reason it proved to be recession proof.

Even after learning about the eligibility requirements, benefits, and challenges about the medical transcription profession, people find certain questions bothering them. Do you too have a question about the medical transcription career that is bothering you? In today’s post, we bring to you answers to some of the questions you have in your mind.

The role of typing speed in medical transcription career

Many medical transcription aspirants ask me how important typing is for a career in medical transcription. Well, typing is important for the profession and an above average speed helps. However, it is definitely not one of the primary skills of a medical transcriptionist. The transcriptionist’s job is to decipher the voice recordings and turn them into relevant medical records. This requires sound medical knowledge and the skill to analyze and interpret information.

The future of medical transcription

The medical transcription industry is one of the rarest to have emerged unscathed from the recent recession. The US Department of Labor projects that the number of medical transcription opportunities will grow at a rate of 14 percent to 2016 from what it was in 2006. This rate is more than the average rate of growth of other occupations. Thus, there are several opportunities for the interested with a promise that the opportunities will keep increasing.

The money in the medical transcription profession

A medical transcriptionist’s income depends on his/her experience in the field and his/her proficiency. According to the US Department of Labor, the mean hourly wage of a medical transcriptionist is $15.84 and the mean annual wage is $32,960.

The importance of the medical transcription training

People often ask me if the medical transcription training is mandatory. Well, it is definitely mandatory for those who have absolutely no medical knowledge. The training equips one with medical knowledge and transcription skills. Thus, anyone with the right aptitude can become a medical transcriptionist provided he/she undergoes proper training in medical transcription.

If you have more questions and concerns, just ask us.

The medical transcription profession has been a lucrative one for a long time now. What makes it so popular? Let’s analyze the reasons.

For starters, the entry into the medical transcription profession is easy. The profession does not ask you for formal qualifications or any kind of experience. Everyone is eligible to become a transcriptionist though not everyone can. Why? Because you need a certain aptitude for the profession.

Given that it doesn’t have any stringent prerequisites, the profession pays really well. And your income increases as you gain experience and proficiency in the field.

Another quite unique feature about medical transcription is that it is highly flexible. No other profession offers as much flexibility as this one. You can choose to work from home. You get to choose your work timings even if you work in an office. You even get to say ‘no’ to work you don’t like when working as a home-based transcriptionist.

The medical transcription profession also provides immense job satisfaction. As a medical transcriptionist, you contribute to the cause of making your nation healthy. You realize how critical your work is and feel proud of it.

The victorious emergence of the profession from the current recession has proved that it is stable and secure. Now, which other profession can claim to be as stable?

The profession hands over to you some of the biggest skills you could ever learn: patience, dedication, self-motivation, independence, and time-management. These skills stay with you forever and help you achieve success in all spheres of life.

You get the idea. If this post makes you interested in medical transcription, start looking into the profession’s expectations and challenges to find out if you fit in the scheme of things.

The medical transcription profession is a specialized profession, so it can’t be easy. In today’s post, we will look into the exact reasons it is difficult.

Zero tolerance of critical errors: The profession expects 100% accuracy with respect to critical errors in medical records. And it is quite obvious given that a critical error can impact the safety of a patient. However, not all transcriptionists can meet this quality goal.

Everyday deadlines: You cannot relax when it comes to medical transcription work. Every task comes with a tag of its required turnaround. You have to deal with deadlines everyday, and some tasks need to be completed in a matter of just a few hours.

Everyday learning: The profession requires you to keep learning even after you have got that job. Didn’t you just complete an in-depth training? Yes, but the medical transcriptionist has to keep updating his/her medical knowledge or his knowledge will become obsolete. However, not all people have that willingness to spend time and effort on learning, making many stay away from the profession.

Independent work: One of the unique features of medical transcription is that you are required to work independently, without supervision. While this may sound enticing in the beginning, handling crisis situations on your own becomes a challenge not many want to encounter.

Now, these factors set the basic premise of why medical transcription is difficult. The profession requires a tremendous amount of discipline, motivation, and willingness in order for you to survive. Do you think you can handle it?

Existing medical transcription practitioners will tell you that they derive a sense of satisfaction from the profession. Aspiring medical transcriptionists will tell you that the profession is a specialized one, even though there are no prerequisites. What’s the big deal about medical transcription?

Well, medical transcription is important because the output of this profession is health records. And you know how important healthcare documentation is. Medical records are critical for the healthcare industry, and they are extremely important for the smooth functioning of the insurance industry as well.

The profession pays reasonably well if you look at the fact that it doesn’t have academic and experiential prerequisites, it definitely pays well. As you prove your merit and become more proficient in your work, your income increases accordingly.

The reason more and more people are driven towards the medical transcription profession is that it provides tremendous flexibility. Which other profession will let you choose your work timings? Even when you are working in an office, you can choose to work as per your convenience. Then there’s the choice of working from home, an absolute delight. And if you choose to become a freelancing transcriptionist, you even get to say ‘no’ to work!

The recent recession saw many industries being badly affected. However, medical transcription emerged absolutely unscathed from the recession. The reason is simple: the demand for medical records is always on the rise.

So, you understand why medical transcription is considered a big deal. If you are interested in joining this profession, go through our previous posts to get a thorough understanding of the job.

It is obvious to have concerns before joining a new profession. If you have questions about medical transcription, get them answered to your satisfaction before you even consider becoming a medical transcriptionist.

Someone the other day asked me if a good typing speed was an eligibility requirement for medical transcription. Well, the medical transcription profession has absolutely no eligibility conditions. As per your typing speed is concerned, it is good to have an above-average speed to help with your productivity. However, typing is not a primary skill needed to be a medical transcriptionist. The transcriptionist’s job is to decipher the voice recordings and turn them into relevant medical records. This requires sound medical knowledge and the skill to analyze and interpret information.

Is medical transcription so easy that anyone can do it? If not, why doesn’t it have any prerequisites? The truth is that the profession is a specialized one and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. It is true that entry into the medical transcription profession is easy. One does not need a formal qualification or an experience to join the profession. However, the profession requires a certain aptitude that only a few possess. A person without the right aptitude cannot handle the profession.

If you are concerned about the future of medical transcription and if there are opportunities for you, let me tell you that the future of this industry is probably brighter than many. Just look at what happened to industries the world over during this recession. The medical transcription industry, however, emerged unscathed from it. The US Department of Labor projects that the number of medical transcription opportunities will grow at a rate of 14 percent to 2016 from what it was in 2006. This rate is more than the average rate of growth of other occupations. So, you get an idea of what the future is like.

Hope this post helps you get an idea of the medical transcription profession. Let us know if you have more questions.