Medical Transcription Basics

Medical transcription training and schooling tips

Category: Medical Transcriptionist Training (page 5 of 6)

Which Schools for Medical Transcriptionist Training Are Most Likely to Get You a Job After Graduation?

January 10, 2011 / / Comments Off on Which Schools for Medical Transcriptionist Training Are Most Likely to Get You a Job After Graduation?

When you’re looking at schools for medical transcriptionist training, it’s about more than getting an education. It’s about building the skills that will allow you to get a job after graduation. Medical transcription isn’t a skill people pick up as a hobby, after all.

Getting a job after graduation is all about your skills. You need training that is good enough to get you past that pesky two years of experience requirement most medical transcriptionist jobs have. That means the schools need to be good enough to gain the trust of potential employers. They need to consistently produce graduates who are ready to work.

Look for schools that can show employers trust them. They should be able to show that many medical transcription companies hire their graduates. There may even be a program in place for graduates from trusted schools to bypass the experience requirement and simply be tested for jobs when they’re available.

You do not want a school that offers you training that takes too little time. Medical transcriptionist training isn’t about getting through quickly, not if you want to work later. It’s about building the skills you will need. If you don’t build the skills and somehow get a job anyhow, you’ll quickly find that your lack of skills effects your income. Most at home medical transcriptionists are paid on production. Your skills really matter to your income.

That’s the big reason you need a good quality school to train you. It’s not just the ability to get the job. It’s the ability to earn a good income. The more skilled you are, the better you know your work, the more productive you can be, and the more you’ll probably earn each day you transcribe.

A school that is AHDI Approved is a good choice also. Schools that without that approval will still say they’re a good program, but how can you tell? AHDI is a good third party that checks the quality of programs to see if they’re giving medical transcriptionist training that should actually produce someone capable of working in this industry.

Never think that the school is solely responsible for the quality of your education. You’re even more responsible. If you aren’t making the effort in your studies, you aren’t going to get the benefit from even the best of schools.

That said, there are plenty of resources you should expect a good school for medical transcriptionists. They should have student forums, so you can talk things over with your fellow students. They should have highly accessible teachers, ideally by both phone and email.

What happens after you graduate a medical transcriptionist training program is up to you as well as the program you attended. Work hard through a good quality program, and you increase your odds that you will get a job after you graduate.

Get free information from Career Step about their online medical transcriptionist training.

What Kind of Medical Transcriptionist Schooling Do You Need to Get a Job?

January 9, 2011 / / Comments Off on What Kind of Medical Transcriptionist Schooling Do You Need to Get a Job?

You quickly learn that medical transcriptionist schooling is required when you want to become a medical transcriptionist at home. There’s just no way around it. Employers want experienced or they want people who have gone through high quality medical transcriptionist schooling on their own to get the work.

When you start looking at medical transcription schools, you quickly realize there are a lot of them, and they all promise to give you the training you need in order to land a great job. The only problem is figuring out which ones will give you training that is really worth your time and money.

It’s not as bad as it looks at first. You just need to know how to figure out which ones have a good reputation.

Checking for AHDI Approval is one easy way. AHDI checks medical transcriptionist schools to see if they’re offering the kind of schooling needed to learn medical transcription. They only give approval to the schools which meet their fairly strict criteria.

Don’t confuse this with AHDI membership. Any school or individual can become a member. AHDI Approval is an entirely different matter. They review the school, make sure it has a solid curriculum, that there’s an experienced medical transcriptionist involved in the process, and many other criteria must be met.

You can also check to see if the school is partnered with potential employers. Career Step, the school I recommend, is partnered with my own former employer. Many other employers hire their graduates as well. That’s a good sign when you’re looking at a school.

There’s one more big thing you need to look at when you’re considering medical transcriptionist schooling.

Yourself. How committed are you to getting a great education?

Some students just want it all handed to them. It doesn’t matter how good the training is, however, if you don’t do the work. You’re the one who has to learn the information presented to you. If you just skim through, do the minimum to pass the tests, you aren’t going to get hired after graduation. That kind of attitude just does not produce a transcriptionist who knows his or her work.

It won’t matter how good the school was or which employers usually are willing to test graduates. If you didn’t learn all the things your school tried to teach you about becoming a medical transcriptionist, you aren’t going to get hired.

Combine good quality medical transcriptionist schooling with the determination to learn the job thoroughly, and you’re more likely to work after graduation. There are plenty of employers who hire medical transcriptionists. You just have to show them you’re the one they need.

Get free information from Career Step about their online medical transcriptionist training.

Medical Transcriptionist Training in Eight Weeks – Why You Won’t Learn Medical Transcription That Quickly

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on Medical Transcriptionist Training in Eight Weeks – Why You Won’t Learn Medical Transcription That Quickly

Some ads promise medical transcriptionist training in as little as eight weeks. It sounds great. Right about two months and you’re ready for a great new career with good pay and good demand. Why not go for it?

I can give you one very good reason to not go for programs that promise that you can complete medical transcriptionist training in just eight weeks. They aren’t going to give you the training you need to land a job. Medical transcription takes more time than that to learn for most people.

You have to learn a lot to become a medical transcriptionist. It’s not all about the terminology. It’s not all about the transcription either. It’s about building the right combination of skills and learning to work effectively and accurately as a medical transcriber.

You can find good programs that will allow you to learn at your own pace. There’s nothing wrong with signing up for an online self paced medical transcriptionist training program. In fact, some of the online programs are the most reputable medical transcription training programs around. Employers know that their graduates will be ready to work.

That’s not true of any of the eight week programs, however.

A good training program can take as little as four months, but it’s not at all uncommon for a student to require nine months or even go over a year. It depends on how much time you spend on your studies, how hard you work on finishing things quickly.

If you already have a job and can only work a few hours, it’s going to take you longer to learn medical transcription than if you’re studying it full time.

It will also take you longer if you don’t already have the basic skills any transcriptionist needs. You must have excellent typing skills. You must have excellent grammar and language skills. Some schools test you in these areas before they’ll even admit you to their medical transcriptionist training program.

An eight week program will try to cram in a lot of information in that time. They’ll throw a bunch of medical terminology in, teach you about formatting, and maybe, just maybe, give you some dictation to practice your transcription skills.

It won’t be enough. Good schools require a lot of transcription practice from real doctor dictation. There will be many hours of dictation to transcribe before you graduate.

Think about it. How many professional level jobs can you learn in eight weeks? Many require years of training. Even many vocational programs take longer than that. It’s just not that simple to pick up the skills, not if you want to work.

That goes double for a career such as medical transcription, where you may be wanting to work at home. If you want to work at home, you have to show that you don’t need someone over your shoulder, and you don’t need someone right there to ask questions and train you on the job. You need to be ready to work with minimal help, just a little training on the particular systems used with the company you work for.

If you want to learn medical transcription quickly, don’t go for a program promising you results in eight weeks. Research and find a program that will let you pace yourself. Make sure the company has a reputation of training good medical transcriptionists. Make sure it has AHDI Approval. Then work hard on your education and see how long it takes you. It will probably be more than eight weeks, but you’ll know you’re spending the time more wisely.

Get free information from Career Step about their online medical transcriptionist training.

Why Should You Choose an AHDI Approved Medical Transcription School?

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on Why Should You Choose an AHDI Approved Medical Transcription School?

One recommendation you will see sometimes in your search for a quality medical transcription school is to choose an accredited program. For many kinds of online education, that’s a good recommendation. For medical transcription, however, I recommend a different criteria. I recommend seeking out AHDI Approval.

Accreditation for an online school in general is a good thing, so long as it is legitimate. The trouble is that some schools set up their own accrediting agency to make themselves look legitimate.

You can solve this problem by checking to see if the accrediting agency itself is legitimate. Visit http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx to see if the agency is listed. This can help you to determine if the agency is legitimate or suspect.

Accreditation means that the school meets the criteria set forth by the accrediting agency. This can be important if you want your school credits to be transferrable to another college. But when you study medical transcription, your goals are a little different.

This is why I recommend AHDI. They don’t accredit schools. They make sure that they are offering high quality medical transcription training. The criteria they check are the exact ones you need for your future as a medical transcriptionist.

Regular accrediting programs don’t do this. They accredit the college as a whole, and there’s no focus on medical transcription. Some accredited online schools do a poor job of training medical transcriptionists. If this is the industry for you, you want to be certain that your training is good enough to get you a job, not just college credit.

AHDI is the largest professional society in the world for medical transcriptionists and others who work in clinical documentation.

AHDI Approval means the schools follow the AHDI Model Curriculum, provide at least 35 hours of real physician dictation, have at least one CMT involved, uses the AHDI Book of Style, must have existed for at least six months and have provided student placement statistics and must offer course instructors to students, as well as other criteria. This approval is well regarded by many medical transcription employers.

They don’t approve a lot of schools. I see 22 schools on their list as of this writing.

It is vital to note that AHDI Approval is a separate thing from AHDI membership. Don’t be fooled by schools simply claiming AHDI membership. Anyone can join AHDI. It has nothing to do with the quality of the educational program. You need to look for AHDI Approval.

You should also still do your research on approved schools, to be certain that it meets your needs before you apply to the school.

As you do your research, remember your goal in studying medical transcription. It’s not about college credit. It’s about qualifying for a career with good growth potential, flexibility and pay.

My personal preference out of the schools approved by AHDI is Career Step. The quality of their education is good, and they are partnered with some employers, giving you a good chance at finding work after graduation

Is Medical Transcription a Good Job for College Students?

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on Is Medical Transcription a Good Job for College Students?

College for many is a time for working odd jobs. But it might be nicer to work a job with good pay and flexible hours.

Medical transcription may fit the bill for some college students. It’s a bit challenging to get started, as you need to get the education for the job first, adding to your school workload and expenses.

Medical transcription is a great fit for some majors. If you’re going into the medical field anyhow, the things you learn as a medical transcriptionist are quite relevant. But you may find it an interesting job choice even if it’s not relevant to your long term goals.

Your first step is to decide if you can afford a quality medical transcription training program. They’re not cheap, not if you want quality, not if you want to be able to get a job after graduating from the program. But the job will pay better than many of the classic jobs students work while in college.

The flexibility is wonderful for a student. You can work at your dorm or apartment if you like, although noisy roommates may be a little challenging to deal with. But you can schedule your work around your classes, the times you prefer to sleep and the times that you know things are going to be a bit noisy.

Most employers will want you to work at least 20 hours a week, rather like a typical part time job. But since you can schedule them yourself you can figure out which hours are the right ones for you.

This isn’t a job I suggest you start training for too close to graduation unless you want to keep working it for a time after. Employers aren’t going to want someone who will quit too quickly. But if you have a couple of years to go in college at least, it’s probably going to be worth your time.

The pay can be quite good. It depends on you for most employers when you work from home. They’ll pay you on production. You’ll get a certain amount per line. $0.07 per line may not sound like much, but it can add up quickly as you build your skills. A good transcriptionist can earn more than $15 an hour that way. Beginners will often earn less.

The best part is that you probably already own much of what you need to be able to work. A computer with high speed internet access is a big part of it. The other thing you will need is a foot pedal control, but those are pretty easy to get. You may even get one as a part of your training program.

You may find it a bit more difficult to get some privacy to work. This is not work you can do with a party going on behind you, and you shouldn’t do it with other people in the room. You’ll be transcribing someone’s private medical records. Privacy is mandatory. This makes medical transcription a better job if you can have your computer in a room where you can close the door.

The great part is that you’re most likely the one deciding on your work hours. Your employer may sometimes call you and ask if you’d like more hours, but most of the time you send in your schedule and that’s when you work. You won’t have to work holidays if you don’t want to. You won’t have to work on your usual days if you change your schedule because there’s a party you want to go to. Just give enough notification.

Don’t fool yourself. It’s not easy work. If you choose to work as a medical transcriptionist, you will work hard. It’s a job that takes a great deal of knowledge and attention to detail. You’ll want to be more accurate in your transcription than you are in even your notes for class.

Are you ready to consider an online medical transcription training course? Check out Career Step and see if they’re right for you.

Choosing the Right Medical Transcription School

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on Choosing the Right Medical Transcription School

A great education is vital to getting started as a medical transcriptionist. Choose wrong and it become very difficult to land that first job that gives you the experience you need to have a great career.

The basic curriculum a good medical transcription school should include:

  • Medical terminology
  • Grammar and style
  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Disease Processes
  • Transcription technology and practice
  • Privacy and legal issues

AHDI Approval is a great way to be certain that the school you choose is providing what you need to know to work as a medical transcriptionist.

I strongly recommend taking an online course such as offered by CareerStep if you are going to work at home in medical transcription. This gives you training conditions more like the working conditions you are seeking, and the company has a good reputation with many employers. It also has financing options for those who have concerns in that area. They are AHDI Approved.

Do not just sign up for a cheap course. There are many cheaper courses out there, but they don’t cover all the information you need and you are unlikely to get a job after graduation. Better to spend a bit more and build the career you want.

What Kind of Financial Aid is Available to Medical Transcription Students?

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on What Kind of Financial Aid is Available to Medical Transcription Students?

One of the biggest challenges facing many potential medical transcription students is paying for their course. A good training program isn’t cheap, and most of the best schools aren’t a part of the Pell Grant program. How are you supposed to pay for it?

Costs for a good training program run from about $1800 on up. There are cheaper programs out there, but most are not of the quality you need if you want to actually work as a medical transcriptionist.

There are a few options beyond hauling out the credit card or committing a significant chunk of savings to pay for your classes. You can do that if it’s within your financial reach, but it’s not the right choice for everyone.

The first thing you should look at is what the school of your choice offers. Many have a payment plan available. Some have Sallie Mae loans available. Some programs offer their own tuition reduction for students who need the financial help.

You should also check with your state’s Department of Education website. They may have grants or other aid available to you. Some will one work with Pell Grants, but check to see what is required in your state. There may be assistance available for students of occupational and vocational programs.

The school may be able to help you find aid in your state as well. Check their website for information on programs they’re approved for in your state.

You can also check with your bank to see what kinds of loans they offer. These aren’t as nice to have as a grant or money off your tuition, but learning a skill like medical transcription is an investment in your future.

An important thing to remember is that you may be able to pay back the money you spend on your education fairly quickly once you have a job if you worked hard in your studies. A good medical transcriptionist will earn back their tuition easily. The pain of spending the money should be only a temporary issue.

What If You Don’t Get a Job Quickly After Graduation?

Not everyone finds their first transcription job immediately after graduation. That’s something you’d face no matter what kind of job you’re looking for. How often do you really find a challenging job within the first few positions you apply for?

You should be prepared for the possibility of a job hunt that takes several months. If you stretched yourself just paying the tuition this isn’t a pleasant aspect to deal with. If you have loans to pay back after graduation, it can be even more painful.

Have a backup plan for if you don’t start working right away. If you don’t need it, great, but if you got a loan, need to pay back your credit card or need to keep up on your payment plan, you’re going to want to have some idea as to how you will manage all that. If you’re married, this is something to discuss with your spouse so that expectations are realistic. If you have family who are willing to help you if you need it, talk to them. If you might have to get a lower level job for a time while you hunt for a good transcription job, do it.

If you know you choose a good medical transcription school and did well in the program, you should be able to find a job in the field eventually. How long it takes depends on the job market at the moment, your transcription skills and how hard you search. Keep trying and the investment in your education will be worth it.

Check out Career Step for your medical transcription education. They have a few options that may help you pay for their medical transcription education program.

Is There Such a Thing as Legitimate Free Medical Transcription Training?

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on Is There Such a Thing as Legitimate Free Medical Transcription Training?

So you want to be a medical transcriptionist but the expense of paying for classes is getting you down. Then you hear about a free training course. Shouldn’t you just go for that?

Odds are that no, you shouldn’t.

The simple problem is that most free training courses are in fact scams. They’ll probably try to sell you software while claiming that the training itself is free. But then their training won’t be enough to get you an actual job as a medical transcriptionist.

There’s a very good reason why most medical transcription training costs significant money. Your teachers need to be paid for their efforts, and if they’re teaching at a good online school, they were probably excellent medical transcriptionists before. Their knowledge and skills are worth money to you and to them.

The free medical transcription training scam is most common as a part of a work at home job scam. They’ll say that the company will train you on the job for free if you just buy their software for a $300 or so. But you’ll never meet their quality standards to become a paid employee, assuming you even get the software working. In the meantime you’ve lost some money and are wasting time you could have better spent learning real medical transcription.

Top it off with the simple fact that legitimate employers are picky about who they hire as medical transcriptionists. You’ll be working with people’s private medical information. They need well trained employees who really understand the kind of work they’re doing and the absolute need for accuracy and privacy. Employers want employees who are either experienced or who have gone through a trusted training program. There aren’t any free programs that meet that criteria for any employers that I know of. At least not legitimate employers.

It may amaze you to hear that free can be a scam. That’s the simple, sad truth about working at home. There are many people who know just how desperate others are to work at home, and they have no problem with taking advantage of the situation.

Paying for a high quality course may be difficult. Many people who want to work at home want to do so in part because they’re desperately short of money. But paying for a course is an investment in your future career. Do your research before signing up for any training program and look for the payment plans they may have available. In many cases you won’t need to come up with all the money upfront in order to take a high quality medical transcription online course.

It’s not free, but Career Step’s medical transcription course is a great value if you’re ready to get serious about a great career as a medical transcriptionist.

Are All Online Medical Transcription Resources Accurate?

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on Are All Online Medical Transcription Resources Accurate?

The internet is a wild place in many ways. Anyone can put up a website saying anything they want. You have to know which resources you can trust.

This is a problem you may have noticed as you researched medical transcription schools. There are fake schools out there that exist only to take your money. There are low quality schools that send you a few poorly written books and say in essence, "You’re on your own now. Go study!" And there are a few really good schools that make the expense worthwhile. It makes choosing a good school a frustrating process for many.

The same situation persists as you look for resources to help you understand new and unfamiliar medical terminology. There are people out there who will post anything, regardless of its accuracy.

How do you pick the quality resources when there are so many websites out there?

Start out with any resources you learned about while learning medical transcription. You can often buy a membership for access to online versions of printed resources. These may be kept more up to date, as it’s easier to change a page on a website than it is to issue a new book.

Add in a good quality medical transcription forum. Your fellow medical transcriptionists are often a big help in figuring out terminology and in finding good resources to learn more.

The AHDI website is another good choice, both for information and to join as a member. This is an association of healthcare documentation professionals.

Sites run by the government are good choices as well, such as Medline or cancer.gov.

Don’t trust forums run by people who have a particular condition. Some provide bits of good information, but too often it’s cluttered by theories and imperfectly understood information.

You should be cautious of information posted on personal websites as well. They aren’t always accurate. When you’re trying to be a professional, you should focus on professional resources.

Remember that a professional look to a site doesn’t make it a quality resource. An outdated look doesn’t make a site a bad resource. You have to consider the quality of the resource, not its appearance.

The quality of the resources you use in your work make a big difference in your success as a medical transcriptionist. Too many mistakes can endanger your job or profession reputation. Make sure you take the time to use accurate resources so the reports you transcribe are accurate.

Check out the Career Step training program and decide if this is the right work at home opportunity for you.

What Matters Most on Your Medical Transcription Resume?

January 8, 2011 / / Comments Off on What Matters Most on Your Medical Transcription Resume?

One of the most important tools you have when you’re hunting for any job is your resume. It’s what tells potential employers that you might be worth hiring. But what are they looking for when hiring medical transcriptionists?

1. Education

This is particularly important when you’re trying to land your very first job as a medical transcriptionist. If you don’t have the educational background, employers aren’t going to be even remotely interested in you.

This is where choosing a good medical transcription school counts. If you didn’t complete a good program, it’s going to be much harder to land that first job. You want a school that is trusted by employers, so you can get past that experience requirement on the basis of the quality training you’ve gone through.

It can help to note your scores, particularly if you had high ratings on your classes. This tells employers that you worked hard on the course and really learned what they had to teach.

2. Certifications, if any

If you’ve tested and gotten your RMT or CMT, make sure to mention it! These certifications demonstrate your level of knowledge and competence as a medical transcriptionist. With some companies you can earn a little extra for being certified.

3. Experience

Any medical transcription experience you already have is vital to list here. You can also list any experience you have in the medical industry on the whole, but anything to do with transcription is most important.

If this is the first medical transcription job you’re looking for, you may not have anything directly relating to medical transcription to list here. As with other resumes, you can list other jobs you have held in the past.

4. Equipment

It’s good to note that you have the basic equipment required for the job. Take a look at the job listing and employer’s website so that you can list any equipment they expect you to have that you already own. This can include information such as the type of computer and operating system you have and the type of internet connection you have.

The software you have available may matter as well. Some companies will expect you to have Microsoft Word, for example. Others will provide their own software to you.

You may not need to own things such as a foot pedal already. Sometimes employers will provide one for you, to be certain that it is compatible with their software.

No matter how much you love your basic resume, pay attention to the individual needs of different employers, and customize it to emphasize the skills you have that they’re looking for. This can make a big difference in your job hunt.

Ready to train as a medical transcriptionist? Check out Career Step’s online training program.
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Top Medical Transcriptionist Training Articles

Why Should You Choose an AHDI Approved Medical Transcription School?

Choosing the Right Medical Transcription School

Is There Such a Thing as Legitimate Free Medical Transcription Training?

How Much is Medical Transcription Training Worth?

Is a Self Paced Medical Transcription Course Right for You?

Is Medical Transcriptionist Training a Good Choice for Military Spouses?

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