subject: What Should You Know About Medical Transcription Training Courses? [print this page] Medical transcription is a popular career choice, particularly among those who want a chance to work at home for one reason or another. It's a healthy industry despite changing technology, and has room to grow. The field is likely to continue being important as baby boomers age and need more medical care.
Medical transcriptionists aren't limited to working at doctor's offices. Veterinarians use them. Chiropractors use them. Hospitals use them. It's a job that sticks around pretty well in any economy because no matter how tight money gets, sometimes you need to see the doctor. It's not perfectly recession proof, but it's closer than many other careers out there.
If you're thinking this sounds like a great career for you, the first thing you need to do is get some quality training. It's not as easy as studying a few books on your own at home, or learning on the job. There are a lot of skills to pick up.
You need to learn medical terminology. You need to learn about medical procedures. You need to learn about medications. You need to know anatomy. You train your ear so that you can accurately and rapidly transcribe what you hear the doctor say into a properly formatted report.
Many people prefer to learn these skills online, as they hope to work from home eventually. This is a good choice in my opinion. Training at home means you're building all the skills you need to work as a medical transcriptionist before you try to land your first at home job. It also gives you the flexibility to learn while continuing at your current job if necessary.
Be careful in signing up for your training. It's easy to make the mistake of going for the one that's easiest on the budget, rather than the one that will give you what you need to actually work as a medical transcriptionist. In the long run, you'll have more money if you get good training that lets you get the job later.
It's not easy to tell training quality from the outside if you don't know what to look for. There are great schools out there, and you should check around to be sure you find one. You want one that is trusted by potential employers.
You should expect to work hard on your training. It's not something that can be done in 9 weeks by most people, despite what some schools claim. You need a lot of practice in addition to the terminology and so forth you have to learn. Six months or longer is far more realistic, depending on the time you can spend on your studies.
I suggest looking for a training course that lets you take advantage of current technology. That's one reason why I love online training courses. They usually have benefits such as online forums so that you can network with your classmates from all around the country, which can be a big help in your studies and in finding a job after graduation.
Don't go for a course that tells you that you will be a certified medical transcriptionist upon graduation. You can get a certificate of completion, but that's not the same as being a Certified Medical Transcriptionist, which requires at least two years of experience and you have to pass a test. You don't have to be a Certified Medical Transcriptionist to get a job anyhow.
