Career advice comes in three tiers, or levels. If you want to become a medical transcriptionist then listen to these three levels of advice:

1. How do you compare? – Compared to other medical transcriptionists seeking the same opportunities, how do you stack up? Do you have similar educational credentials? How about certification? Skills and experience? Take a marketability analysis and see where you stand.
2. Don’t procrastinate – Now is the time to take control of your medical transcription career.
3. Get trained – Find a reputable medical transcription training company that is accredited and offers great technical and customer service.

After you’ve followed these three steps, post your resume on a job board for medical transcriptionists in a place where employers looking for your skills can find you.

Is there a perfect work at home job? I believe there is. And medical transcription is as close as it gets.

Why is medical transcription the perfect work at home job? Because you have a lot of flexibility and freedom. Plus, due to the nature of the job, a medical transcriptionist must spend a great deal of her time working independently and working from home is a great way to facilitate that.

Of course, working from home does not necessarily mean self employed. While it could mean that, many work at home medical transcriptionists are commuters who work for a doctor, hospital or medical transcription company.

Skills of a medical transcriptionist that make this the perfect work at home profession include:

• Time Management – You must meet every deadline and many of them are strict.
• Strong Concentration – There is a lot of analysis involved in medical transcription.
• Dictation – Dictation is a process that involves listening and a control over background noise.
• Set Your Own Hours – Most medical transcriptionists, even those who do not work at home, have the flexibility to set their own hours. As long as you produce quality work and meet the deadlines, you are good as gold. Why not do it at home?

When it comes to the perfect work at home job, few professions are as qualified as medical transcription.

Medical transcriptionists get paid in a variety of ways. Each pay structure, however, is based on a number of factors, such as:

• Time spent working as a medical transcriptionist
• Who writes the pay check
• Your skill and reputation
• Your geographic region
• The state of the economy
• Demand for medical transcriptionists at any particular time

Generally speaking, your skill and experience as a medical transcriptionist determines how much you can be paid for your work. But if you live in a place like New York or California then the amount you can charge may be higher than if you live in rural Kansas or Pennsylvania. And, of course, whether or not the market is flooded with qualified medical transcriptionists or not.

Most transcriptionists, however, are paid by the line, which means that you determine your own salary to a large extent. If you are a slow typer then you’ll earn less. If you type fast and accurately then you’ll earn more.

If you’re ready to jump into the job market, post your resume at a medical transcription job board and earn your own pay.

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.

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.

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.