Online Medical Transcription Training

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: February 28th, 2010

What can one expect from medical transcription training?

Most medical transcription training programs are certificate level although some are an associate’s degree. The certificate training programs generally take 10 months to one year to complete. While a degree or certificate are not required for practicing in this field, unskilled

transcriptionists may have a difficult time finding a job since productivity and speed are important in this field. There is now a process in place implemented by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), the professional association that advocates for and represents medical transcriptionists, which helps a great deal with medical transcriptionist job placement. To be considered accredited, medical transcription education training programs must go through a rigorous evaluation process to make sure they have adopted AHDI’s model curriculum. Employers now know whether someone has graduated from an “approved” program with a good track record for preparing students for job placement. There are currently 18 approved schools for medical transcription.

Learn more about medical transcription salary.

Are prerequisites required prior to entry into a medical transcriptionist training program?

Many medical transcription training programs have pre-screening tests to ensure the applicant has efficient grammar, punctuation and overall language skills as well as a fairly rapid typing speed. The standard typing speed may be 45-50gpm (gross words per minute). Some minimum basic typing skills are essential to enter a transcription program.

What classes are included as part of the medical transcriptionist training program?

Classes in a medical transcription program include: anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, disease processes, fundamentals of laboratory medicine, pharmacology, English, grammar, punctuation and medical transcription style. Transcription style refers to the way clinical information should be expressed in the medical record. It includes information on when to use Roman numerals versus an Arabic number, how cancer stages are expressed, how to express ratio statements, etc. There is also a style manual, The Book of Style for Medical Transcription, 3rd ed., that is part of the model curriculum. This style manual indicates how things should be expressed in the record according to regulations and standards for healthcare medical records.

Learn more about medical transcription certification.

What is the typical make up of a medical transcriptionist training program?

Most people entering the field of medical transcription are established professionals making a career shift because of its home-based nature. The field is made up primarily of women who have been through school and had a career but are in the phase of their lives where they are having children and want to stay home but need a two-income household. Many people enter the field are in their late twenties to late thirties. There are also those entering the field in their fifties and older who are of retirement age but need some additional income. Another population attracted to this line of work is military spouses. Medical transcription is an ideal field for these individuals because it is a portable profession that can move with them since their spouses are deployed and constantly moving all over the world. This profession allows military spouses to remain employed with the same employer rather than having to constantly change employers each time their active duty husband or wife gets restationed. With the job force currently being comprised of mainly women in their late 20s and older, the medical transcription industry would like to also engage a younger work force. However, often the idea of working from home is not very appealing to people who have just graduated high school and are ready to find their first fulltime job.