To gain employment as a transcriptionist, it is necessary to achieve a medical transcription certificate from a relevant institution. Potential employers tend to hire those who have passed post secondary training from a vocational school, community collage or an on-line course.
Next, it is highly advisable (though not absolutely necessary) to complete an associate degree which takes two years, or a medical transcription certificate program, which takes a year to complete.
Medical transcriptionists are responsible for converting oral diagnostics and reports from doctors into permanent written and electronic records. The need for the work is increasing by around 11% each year as a result of an overall growth in the healthcare industry, largely due to an aging population.
Around 36% of transcriptionists work in hospitals and around 23% in physician’s offices. The rest work in various places including business premises, medical laboratories, clinics and outpatient centers. Around 105,200 people are employed in America as transcriptionists according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, making now a good time to get a certificate.
Whats Involved In Getting A Medical Transcription Certificate
A wide variety of subjects are covered, including anatomy, medical terms and phrases, relevant legal issues and English grammar; good punctuation and spelling skills are a must. Usually a student will get the opportunity to gain some on the job experience through work placement. Applicants must also have acute hearing and good listening skills, as well as a good eye for detail.
The Approval Committee for Certificate Programs (ACCP), established by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), offers places on programs that lead to achievement of medical transcription certificate.
The AHDI has two awards, both of which are voluntary; the Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) and Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT). The RMT Is awarded to students who pass the AHDI level 1 exam and have recently graduated from collage or have less than two years experience on the job.
To gain the transcription certificate requires at least two years work experience that includes multiple specialty, surgery areas and experience in using various format, report and dictation types. Candidates are also expected to sit and pass a medical transcription certificate exam.
As the field of medicine is constantly changing as a result of new treatments and innovations, regular refreshing of skills is required. RTMs must continue to gain credits to show their continued learning in relevant categories. Every three years, a CMT must pass an on-line course and pass an exam.
The point of getting and maintaining medical transcription certificate is that it is a recognition of competence and shows that the holder is capable of doing the job to a high standard.
Recently, many companies have been outsourcing their transcription work to poorer countries like the Philippines and India to take advantage of cheaper labor rates. However, the quality of the work produced in this way is often questionable so the need for home grown people with medical transcription certificates is not affected too much.