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Medical Transcriptionist Schools in California - CA
By allied health world contributing writer
Published: January 11th, 2010
Medical Transcription Schools in California
There’s lots of information on education, certification, career preparation, job opportunities, and salaries for becoming a medical transcriptionist in California. It’s an established career in allied health and the Association for Medical Transcriptionist, now known as the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) has its headquarters in Modesto, California.
As a medical transcriptionist you might decide to be a freelancer and set up your own business or be employed by a medical transcription service, or even a healthcare facility. Medical transcriptionists listen to verbal recordings or dictation from a health provider then type the information they hear on the proper form, record, or in a letter.
To become a certified transcriptionist you’ll need to attend one of the California medical transcription schools or an online program. Recertification is required every three years. Certified medical transcriptionists maintain their credentials by participating in continuing education activities that are applicable to medical transcription. When CMTs become certified by AHDI, the association also sends continuing education (CE) guidelines. Information on the guidelines, continued education activities and recertification procedures can also be found on the AHDI website. (Look for the certification section at www.ahdionline.org.)
You’ll need a minimum of 30 continuing education credits (CECs) as well as 24 CECs in clinical medicine, medical transcription tools, technology and the workplace and medical legal issues to maintain your credentials. (AHDI recommends doing more than the minimum.) The remaining 6 required CECs can be taken in the “core” areas mentioned above or elective areas of Complementary Medicine, Healthcare Industry and Professional Development.