WHAT IS A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST
Medical transcriptionists transcribe the audio dictations that medical professionals make when they see a patient. This field can earn you lots of money if you are good at it (it usually pays by the line if you are working at home, and could pay by the hour if you work in a medical institution).
HOW TO QUALIFY YOURSELF FOR MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION
If you want to become a medical transcriptionist, you need to take a qualifying medical transcription course. Usually, this would be a course from a company listed on the American Medical Transcription (AAMT) site
. There are many scams out there on the Internet and just because a course claims to teach medical transcription doesn't mean anything. One lady that the founder of Career Step spoke of shelled out $6,000 for an MT course, but was not able to do even one tape for a doctor when she tried to work.
I WAS SEARCHING OUT OPTIONS, FINDING A GREAT ONE, BUT STILL WAITING
I was about ready to take the course from Career Step
, as it was affordable and provided hands on dictations and it was certified with the AAMT. Not all courses provide hands-on dictation and if you don't choose the right course you will spend a lot of money and still be unable to transcribe real dictations. Career Step was highly recommended by employers because it is sort of like an apprenticeship program. You're thinking, "How hard can it be, right?"
IT TAKES INTELLIGENCE
The patient's records are legal records and can be used in court. You not only have to understand what you hear, amidst background noise, but you must be able to spell long words, and typing fast helps you to make enough money to make it worth your time.
You must understand what the medical terms mean and you must be very good at the language it needs to be typed in. If you typed, for example, that the patient had a hernia in their gluteous maximus this would be totally wrong. By providing accurate records of treatment you also support a patient's healing process. If you were to get the information wrong, it could be a liability issue.
Training includes learning medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, drug names and uses, and also includes doing practice dictations. A college degree in anything, not only medicine, would, I am sure, be impressive, to medical transcription employers, as it proves that you can learn.
UNCOVERING A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION SCHOLARSHIP!
I would have taken the Career Step course but in the middle of the night when surfing in desperation for leads to what else I could do besides the work I am doing, I ran into the scholarship program at CAI Transcription, Inc. The website is http://www.caihometype.com/ (click on the scholarship link). I researched medical transcription up one side and down the other for several days, and determining that I had most of the skills, but not the medical terminology. I decided to make a run for it. What did I have to lose? I could win a full scholarship, not just a partial scholarship like other programs offer. A friend offered to loan me money for Career Step but I waited the time out to see if I would win.
THE PROCESS OF APPLYING
The process of applying was that I quickly got references from two people who knew my abilities that were related to medical transcription skills, and in answer to their question about what skills I had already and why I thought I would be a good transcriptionist, I deeply analyzed myself and put down some of my best qualities and abilities that related to medical transcription, based on the research I had done online as to what skills were needed in this type of work. I took an online typing test (at Career Step's website, I think?), and found that I could type 83-88 words per minute.
I gave them a summary of my budget, as asked for, showing that financially I merited this. At the beginning of the letter I provided a brief reason why I wanted to get into medical transcription, not going into any personal circumstances, basically stating that I was qualified in many ways to do it, needed the education but could not obtain it without going into perilous levels of debt. I printed it on good paper, and waited the whole time patiently without contacting them (you would be disqualified if you contact them before the winners are announced).
STUDYING IN PROGRESS
I am impressed with the materials thus far and hope that this free scholarship is the ticket. The course is worth $1325.00, the shipping is $25, but I didn't have to pay any of that. I just have to come up with a foot pedal to go with the free transcription software called Express Scribe that is at www.nch.com. They can help to place you working at home with telecommuting companies in medical transcription (although, that's not guaranteed that you will get a job for sure ... that depends on YOU).
CONCLUSION
So for what it's worth - if you want to try for a medical transcription scholarship, now you know where to go. They choose a winner each quarter, I believe.
