Medical Transcription, transcriptionists—a newbie's guide to the MT career. Getting starting with MT.

Welcome to this simple web page called "The Newbie's Overview of Medical Transcription." I felt the urge to write this little page, partly because I love to ramble (as you can see from the rest of this site), and partly because I hope to share some helpful information. I recently became interested in medical transcription and have spent the last several months learning more about it. I thought I'd share some of my conclusions and observations here. Bear in mind, this is just an overview—I can't possibly attempt to cover everything on this lone page!

I'm still somewhat of a newbie myself, so please keep this in mind when you read what I have to say on this page. While I sincerely believe I have provided some valid information here, I am not a professional medical transcriptionist—I'm still just a student. Please refer to the links I give and do your own independent research before coming to any final conclusions about medical transcription.

[What is Medical Transcription?] [What does it pay?] [What kind of education is needed?] [Issues and Concerns] [Concluding Thoughts] [Books, Links and Resources] [Computer Advice for MT newbies]

What is medical transcription?

Medical Transcription (also known as "MT") is a professional career—simply put, it involves listening to a doctor dictating medical reports and accurately transcribing them into a properly formatted and accurate medical document.

The US Dept. of Labor describes the duties of a medical transcriptionist this way:

Medical transcriptionists typically work on a personal computer (usually Windows-based). They should be accurate and reasonably fast typists, be familiar with word processing programs (Microsoft Word or Corel's WordPerfect are most popular) and have excellent referencing skills. (In other words, they need to be willing to look up the spelling on an obscure word and know where to look!) They should be able to sit quietly in front of a computer screen for hours at a time, listening and typing, typing and listening. Also, a good medical transcriptionist should enjoy working with words and perfecting their grammar. (I certainly am working on my less-than-perfect grammar right now!) Needless to say, it's not a job that will suit just anyone. But, when a person is suited for it, it certainly is a rewarding and enjoyable profession.

Transcription can be done in-house (in the hospital or clinic) or at home (on a personal computer). Transcriptionists may work directly for a hospital or doctor, or they may work for a service that offers transcription services to a variety of health care providers (either locally or nationally). They may be an "employee," (who may get benefits like vacation time and health insurance) or an "independent contractor" (a.k.a. "freelancer").

Often the geographical location of an MT is immaterial to her employment if she is working at home. As long as she is living in an area that gets Internet access (preferably high-speed access) then usually she is "employable" all over the US. For instance, an MT living in Omaha may work at home for an employer located in Los Angeles. Such arrangements are quite mainstream in the MT world.

The option of being a work-at-home medical transcriptionist is something that appeals to many people—particularly, it seems, stay-at-home moms. However, it should be stressed that this is not a "lightweight" job, or "easy money." It's not very easy to get much MT work done at home if children or other family members are constantly interrupting and demanding attention. Medical transcription can be difficult, sometimes stressful, requires an exacting education, patience, and concentration. A good medical transcriptionist should truly be interested in the work and all it entails.

Medical transcriptionists should have a good knowledge of medical terms, pharmacology, anatomy, laboratory medicine, disease processes, and much more. They need to be able to transcribe a report and know enough about what is being dictated to be able to recognize strange, obscure medical terms, (or, more likely, to know which reference book to look through to find out how the obscure medical term is spelled). There are a lot of things that a medical transcriptionist should know in order to be good at their job. It simply isn't enough to memorize some medical terms and be a fast typist.

There is so much to the knowledge of a medical transcriptionist (also know as "MT"). This page on AHDI's (formely AAMT, for American Association of Medical Transcriptionists) site will tell you more about some of the specifics of medical transcription.

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What does it pay?

Well, naturally since I am a mere student at this point, I cannot give any personal estimates. I am told that earnings can vary quite a bit. However, this link from the Dept. of Labor may be helpful. Bear in mind that average wages vary by area, and also by employer. Also, some employers will pay higher wages for transcriptionists who are Certified by AHDI (Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity).

AHDI did a poll in May 2002 of their members, and reported an average salary of $31,400. Another survey, less formal but a little more recent than May 2002, gave an average annual income of $29,732, while CMTs (Certified Medical Transcriptionists) made an average of $36,225 annually.

One thing I have seen repeated over and over again on various MT message boards is this: a "newbie" transcriptionist should not low-ball their wages just to get their foot in the door. Naturally, a newbie is not going to get paid as much as an experienced MT, but sometimes a new MT will be so eager to get work (and perhaps to have the enviable opportunity to work at home) that they will underestimate their professional worth. This does no one any good. These newbies devalue all MTs when they do this, by letting prospective employers get the impression that MTs don't have to get paid very much. A newbie MT with a good education is worth a decent wage—this is an important message and it is emphasized very frequently. I certainly intend to remember it when I start to search for my first MT job!

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What kind of education is needed?

This is the big question that everyone wants answered when they are considering the career of medical transcription. Medical transcription is a unique career because it is not necessary to get a special certificate or degree in order to get a job. However, a good education is still necessary to succeed in the business. Most local colleges will offer a medical transcription course and there are also many, many online medical transcription courses. So how do you wade through all these different options and decide what kind of education is best for you?

Well, firstly, the impression that I am getting is that that it is probably not best to do the "teach it yourself" route—meaning, just getting some books and struggling to learn it on your own. Oh, perhaps you could learn all that you needed to know, but the "certificate" you get from a genuine transcription course may very well open doors to employment that would otherwise be closed to you.

Many community and local colleges offer medical transcription programs, but their quality may vary. A good college will offer a well-rounded education (more than just the memorizing of medical terms) and will expose the student to the latest technology being used in medical transcription. The college should have a way to help the graduates get a job (or at least an "internship") after completing the program. Not all colleges offer a quality MT program, so be very careful and do a lot of research before enrolling at a local college. Don't assume that just because the course is being held in a brick-and-mortar college nearby that it is automatically superior to an "long-distance" (or online) MT course. Some long-distance courses are quite good.

When it came to online MT courses, my personal research kept on pointing to two schools that seemed to have great reputations for excellence: M-TEC and Andrews School. This may change in the future, but as of this writing (late 2007), these two schools both seem to be excellent bets for a good MT education. Another selling point for long-distance courses is that they are self-paced, and can often be completed in less time than the courses offered at a local college.

I have read many unhappy posts on MT message boards from graduates of some of the "other" online schools—they paid good money for the course, but were unable to find work after graduating. Unfortunately, there appears to be a "Catch 22" in this particular business. Most employers want to hire transcriptionists with some years of experience. But how can a newbie get experience if no one will give them a job? Well, if a student goes to the right school, there's a way to get around this "Catch-22." Schools like M-TEC and Andrews have made arrangements with certain employers who are willing waive their usual "two years experience" requirement and give these grads a chance at their first job. (But be aware, even though a very high percentage of grads from these schools will get jobs, the schools cannot offer any absolute guarantee of employment.)

The tuition for both these schools may be somewhat higher than other "lesser known" courses, but it appears that when it comes to MT schools, "you get what you pay for." What's the use of saving money on a lesser-known school if they won't or can't help you get a job after you finish the course? When choosing an MT school, be sure to find out what specifically they do to help their grads get a job. Don't settle for a school who gives you a diploma and then boots you out the door. Also, you might want to ask any prospective employers of MTs if they can recommend any specific MT schools. Some national employers have a list of "accepted" MT schools. (Not surprisingly, both M-TEC and Andrews are on their list!)

Even though I believe that either M-TEC or Andrews would be an extremely safe bet for MT training, I still urge anyone who is interested in MT to do their own independent research before choosing any school. The decision about what program to enroll in is a significant one and should not be made hastily. One caveat: Just because a school is recommended on AHDI's web site, it may mean that it only meets minimum requirements, not that it is equal to known schools like M-TEC and Andrews.

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Issues and concerns about the future of medical transcription:

Two hot-button issues on most medical transcription message boards are voice recognition software, and outsourcing to India. Let me explain a little further…

Voice Recognition Concerns:

As you probably know, voice recognition software can recognize the human voice and print out whatever is said onto a computer's word processing program. Such software would seem to be the perfect solution for busy doctors who want to save the step of having a professional medical transcriptionist listen to the dictation and type it out.

However, voice recognition software isn't close to being universally adopted. Many doctors don't want to take the time to go through this voice recognition process. Also, voice recognition software will not be able to discern "sound alike" words (like "there", "they're" and "their") or correct errors in dictation (saying left foot when really meaning right foot, grammatical errors, etc.). So, even when a doctor does use voice recognition software, some "cleaning up" and editing of the transcribed document is still needed. The doctor is usually too busy to do it, so an "editor" (someone like a medical transcriptionist) would be a likely candidate for the job.

Another factor to consider is the quality of dictation some doctors give—some of them have been known to talk too fast, mumble, eat lunch, drive, or urinate (yes, you read that right), all while dictating reports. They use appalling grammar and fragmented sentences in their dictation, knowing that the transcriptionist will edit everything and make it "sound right" in the finished document. These doctors are "too busy" to sit down in front of a computer to carefully dictate. But even if they did take the time to dictate into a computer, the end result would still require a lot of correcting. (And what "busy" doctor wants to spend time typing in front of a computer when they can be seeing patients?)

Voice recognition has become more mainstreamed, but the document it produces is no where near finished (for many of the reasons described above). Therefore, some medical transcriptionists are required to become "editors," which many believe is not necessarily a bad thing—they are able to go through each document faster, and save wear and tear on their tired wrists and fingers from a lot of typing. Also, voice recognition software is sometimes used by the transcriptionists themselves—they can "re-dictate" a doctor's report into the voice recognition software and take a break from using the keyboard.

Concerns about outsourcing to India:

Ah yes, the other issue: Outsourcing to India. It is well-known that there is a definite shortage of qualified medical transcriptionists in the USA. Therefore, some healthcare facilities and doctors are now getting their transcription done offshore, in places like India. (Dictation files are transferred via a secure connection on the Internet.) These offshore services are often dramatically cheaper, since Indian transcriptionists are paid a fraction of what US transcriptionists are paid.

However, there are questions about the quality of the transcription from India, since these transcriptionists are not native English-speakers. They will not always pick up subtleties of speech that a native English-speaker may be able to discern when listening to the dictations. This will definitely lower the accuracy of medical documents transcribed by a non-English speaking MT in many cases.

There are other concerns as well with offshore transcription—about confidentiality, accountability, etc. A new US law regarding patient confidentiality (HIPAA) is really shaking things up in all medical fields. Some are speculating that the outsourcing of medical records may eventually be deemed to not be HIPAA-compliant.

While it's hard to predict the future of MT in regards to offshore outsourcing, I don't think there's any reason for the American-based MT to assume that the "sky is falling" and that India is destined to take over all medical transcription in the USA. Some transcription services and healthcare facilities are definitely not comfortable having their transcription done overseas. While others will only to think of cutting costs (and offshore transcription is usually cheaper), many doctors and healthcare facilities would prefer to have their transcription work done locally. I often see help wanted ads for MT positions that very emphatically state, "NO OFFSHORE." There are many employers of MTs that definitely prefer to hire domestic transcriptionists.

The impression I'm getting at this time is that US-based transcriptionists—if competent and well-trained—should be able to find work. A domestic (US-based or Canada-based) MT whose first language is English usually has some definite advantages when it comes to medical transcription.

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Concluding Thoughts:

During my extensive research on this subject, one concept that was constantly reinforced in my mind was this: there is a great need for good medical transcriptionists at this time. Many doctors and transcription services would prefer to use US-based (or Canada-based) transcriptionists. But the keyword here is good. They want to hire good transcriptionists—transcriptionists who are professional, knowledgeable, flexible, and dedicated. They need people who are not afraid to learn new things and new technologies. Medical transcriptionists don't need to be computer geniuses, but they should put an effort into learning more about their computers so they can be reasonably comfortable working with them.

There are a lot of medical transcriptionist newbies out there that are looking for work, but some of them are having trouble finding work. Many are simply not prepared, whether they realize it or not. They took an MT course with some fly-by-night school and now have been left high-and-dry with no one willing to hire them. Or, they have a fairly decent education, but their school wouldn't help open any doors for them when it came to employment. And, there are always going to be a few deluded souls who think that all they have to do is be a good typist and the rest will all fall into place for them.

The best thing for a person who is contemplating getting into medical transcription to do is to get a proper education. In addition, they need to make sure that they "know someone" (like a doctor, fellow transcriptionist, or MT school) who will help them make the right connections when it's time to look for a job. MT seems to be a profession where it's not only what you know (and you will be required to know quite a bit), but sometimes it's who you know. Trying to make it on your own (with no school or friend in the business to help you get your foot in the door) could a perilous course to take when you are an MT newbie.

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Books, Links and Resources:

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