Pinoy Medical Transcriptionist: You Want To Know How to be a Medical Transcriptionist? Here are some tips

A medical transcriptionist is an individual
who performs medical transcription.

The Basics

Medical transcriptionists must understand basic anatomy and physiology, disease process, laboratory medicine and pharmacology in order to select the appropriate terminology since there are many sound-alike words in the medical language.

Medical transcriptionists must also have knowledge of medical procedures and a multitude of medical instruments and equipment.

Medical transcriptionists must employ knowledge of English grammar, punctuations and editing on at least a college level in order to properly translate and document patient care records.

Medical transcriptionists must have basic and advanced knowledge in computers and related technologies.

Medical transcriptionists must have basic MS know-how.

Education and Training

To be a medical transcriptionist you need to be at least a high school graduate with a certified medical transcription training program, usually a 6-month to 2-year certificate, diploma or associate's degree program.

If you've finished college level, the training usually lasts 3 to 5 months if your course is medically related; 3 to 7 months if non-medical.

If you've finished your bachelor non-medical degree, the training usually lasts 3 to 5 months .

If you've finished a medical bachelor degree, most of the companies don’t ask for any training. They just hire you and train you as you go along (so you can skip this one if you’re a medical or medical allied graduate).

Certification

Although certification is not required, some medical transcriptionists choose to become certified (as it can boost their profile). The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity offers two certifications: Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) and Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT). Unfortunately though, these are not offered yet (I believe) in the Philippines.

Although having a medical degree is favored for employment in the medical transcription industry you don’t necessarily need to have one. As long as you're good, has an open mind and willing to learn, you can still work as a medical transcriptionist and excel at it.