A beginning medical transcriptionist would probably find it more beneficial to work in a clinic or hospital before attempting to work from home. You can get some good individual training and one-on-one help. When you are working from home you are on your own. It can be a little scary at first and rather daunting to know that you are responsible for accurate medical transcription if you have just graduated from your MT course.
I started at home as soon as I graduated from my course, but I was mentored all the way by the company that hired me. My work was checked every day and I was sent the corrections so that I could learn from my mistakes.
You have probably heard me saying this time and time again in my articles but it is a very big decision to make. Some clinics and hospitals prefer new MTs to work in-house so they can monitor closely on a daily basis the accuracy and skills of the transcriptionist. So sometimes you will not have a choice but just consider this one of the paths you will need to take on your journey to becoming a home-based medical transcriptionist.
You will start with much more confidence if you know your work will be checked over before going into a patient's permanent chart.
Eventually you will know when you are ready to work from home. Your listening skills would have improved, your speed improved, and your medical vocabulary would have grown immensely.
Of course, with the current gas prices it is even more attractive to be able to work from home.
This is a great profession and I have enjoyed it very much. I wish you luck if you decide you want to be an MT in an exciting field.
Marilyn Roberts
Medical Transcriptionist
Showing posts with label medical transcription beginners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical transcription beginners. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Friday, September 28, 2007
Beginning MT Requirements
I get questions all the time about becoming a medical transcriptionist. Some people think all you need is to be able to type and spell. I have listed below some basic requirements that are important to become an MT.
1. You must be able to type! If you don't know how to type or you have not typed for some years, then you need to get a typing program and start learning and practicing. Some of the jobs require a certain speed starting at least at 60 wpm and up. For a new medical transcriptionist quality is much more important than quantity (yes, you do need to spell those drugs correctly) but your speed will pick up as you do more and more work.
2. Take a medical transcription course. I truly don't know how someone can do it without take an MT course. Maybe someone who is already working in a medical facility and already familiar with the medical terms could do it but the average person needs specialized knowledge for this type of work. There are many medical transcription schools out there. Start researching them and find one that suits you financially and academically.
3. I have only worked for clinics. Hospital transcription requires a more advanced course. You could talk to personnel at some hospitals and see what their requirements are. A lot of schools offer complete training that would qualify you for hospital and specialties transcription.
4. Even though you work at home you must see this as a real job requiring many hours at the keyboard. Most doctors and hospitals require 24-hour turnaround. In the beginning it will take a long time to transcribe as you will have to be looking up a lot of things so you will be pretty slow. As you get more experience your speed will pick up and you will then be able to make more money as you can take on more and more work.
Marilyn Roberts
Medical Transcriptionist
1. You must be able to type! If you don't know how to type or you have not typed for some years, then you need to get a typing program and start learning and practicing. Some of the jobs require a certain speed starting at least at 60 wpm and up. For a new medical transcriptionist quality is much more important than quantity (yes, you do need to spell those drugs correctly) but your speed will pick up as you do more and more work.
2. Take a medical transcription course. I truly don't know how someone can do it without take an MT course. Maybe someone who is already working in a medical facility and already familiar with the medical terms could do it but the average person needs specialized knowledge for this type of work. There are many medical transcription schools out there. Start researching them and find one that suits you financially and academically.
3. I have only worked for clinics. Hospital transcription requires a more advanced course. You could talk to personnel at some hospitals and see what their requirements are. A lot of schools offer complete training that would qualify you for hospital and specialties transcription.
4. Even though you work at home you must see this as a real job requiring many hours at the keyboard. Most doctors and hospitals require 24-hour turnaround. In the beginning it will take a long time to transcribe as you will have to be looking up a lot of things so you will be pretty slow. As you get more experience your speed will pick up and you will then be able to make more money as you can take on more and more work.
Marilyn Roberts
Medical Transcriptionist
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