It has such an easy entry. The pay seems good. And I can choose my work timings and hours. I can even work from home. Wow, the medical transcription profession seems to be the right profession for me.

Is that how you look at medical transcription? Wait, before you undertake medical transcription training, ask “are you sure you are ready for the profession”? Yes, even if the profession doesn’t ask for qualifications and experience, you may not be the right candidate for the job. Do you have what it takes to be a medical transcriptionist? What do you need? You need an aptitude and the willingness to handle the challenges the profession throws at you. Make sure you are really ready before you get into the field.

Here are some of the medical transcription facts you should know before making up your mind on the profession.

• Medical transcription deadlines are known to be extremely stringent and sacred. You cannot take your own time in delivering medical records. As a medical transcriptionist, you have to deal with deadlines everyday. And then there are those tasks that have a turnaround of just a few hours.
• Meeting deadlines won’t help if the quality of your work is bad. And in medical transcription, quality goals are sacrosanct. Missing out on the goals in medical transcription can impact the safety of a patient. While the overall quality goal in the job is 98%, the goal with respect to critical errors is 100%!
• The profession requires you to be self-dependent. While not having a boss sounds good, not everyone can handle the work without any supervision or guidance.
• The profession requires you to keep updating your knowledge regularly. Thus, you have to continue learning as long as you are a medical transcriptionist.

Become a medical transcriptionist only if you think you can handle the job even in the long run.