The Medical TranscriptionistA medical transcriptionist is a worker whose job is to listen to audio recordings made by a medical professional and simultaneously key into the computer what he hears so as to convert it into a document (using a word processing software). The document produced by the medical transcriptionist is then edited to check for the correctness of the medical terms in the document as well as for continuity of flow and readability, after which the document is sent back to the medical professional for review. The documents produced by a medical transcriptionist go on to form the medical files of the patients. These documents are typically medical reports (health examination, consultation, diagnostic), hospital records, discharge summaries, surgical reports, and other information as applicable. An ideal medical transcriptionist A medical transcriptionist's job needs dedication, maturity, and a lot of concentration. Ideally, a medical transcriptionist: 1. Must be able to easily identify medical terminology and jargon, for example, terms used to describe the human anatomy, diagnostic lingo, and pharmaceutical terms. 2. Must have a degree in medical transcription from a reputed institution. 3. Must have studied related science fields such as human anatomy, as well as legal issues surrounding healthcare transcription/documentation. 4. Must speak and type in perfect English, and type fast enough to be in sync with the spoken words. And he must understand a Doctor's English too! A medical transcriptionist's workplace A medical transcriptionist works in places such as hospitals, medical libraries, firms who outsource medical transcription services, other medical facilities, and maybe even at home. There are many medical transcriptionists in America who are employed but they work from home. The work conditions at home may vary from person to person, but away from home the work conditions for medical transcriptionists are very comfortable. An increasing number of medical transcriptionists are choosing to work out of their homes because it offers them the convenience of flexi-timing and allows them to spend quality with their family. Though work-at-home seems like a great option, to become a quality medical transcriptionist you would require some amount of professional training from organizations that offer training in online medical transcription. Apart from the training, a work-at-home medical transcription must be dedicated, should learn to avoid diversions, must stay focused, and should be self-motivated. The salary factor On an average, the salary of a medical transcriptionist is about $16/hour – it fluctuates between $12/hour to $20/hour depending on the experience and skill sets. A medical transcriptionist can also expect to be promoted to the supervisor level and then on to managerial levels if he or she demonstrates his/her capabilities and man-management skills. Of course, there is the danger of outsourcing to developing countries looming large on the medical transcription industry, but a quality medical transcriptionist will always be able to find work. To sum up, medical transcription can end up as a good career choice if a medical transcriptionist is dedicated and hard working. |