Medical Transcription Training

Medical Transcription is a field in which a medical transcriptionist (MT) ‘transcribes’ reports dictated by doctors and physicians into a voice recorder. The transcribed document, which is considered to be a legal document is then added to the patient’s record and may be pulled out for future reference. MTs are not allowed to edit anything or paraphrase if they cannot understand what the dictator is saying. They can instead flag the document which signifies that some detail is missing from the document which may then be added by the physician later. 

Medical Transcription Training
Apart from some countries where 18 months to 2 years of training may be required, postsecondary medical transcription training is typically expected for working as an MT.

There are many routes students can take when pursuing medical transcription training. They may opt for a associate program or a certificate-based medical transcription training program. Some people may also opt for on-the-job training that some hospitals provide. The minimum requirement for enrollment for medical transcriptionist training is a high school diploma or equivalent.

Another form of medical transcription training is admission to a certification program which results in one becoming a Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS). It is required that a person has two years of experience working as a medical transcriptionist before he/she can qualify for this certification. The CHDS exam is conducted by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI). It contains an objective section that tests a transcriptionist’s knowledge and a practical section where candidates are required to demonstrate their skills. This exam can be taken any time in the year and certification must be renewed after three years.

Online Medical Transcription Training
Medical transcription training is also available online both as an associate degree and as a certificate program. These are suitable for students who also hold a day job and may not be able to take full time classes. 

Skills Acquired in Medical Transcription Training
All medical transcriptionists are expected to have a certain set of skills that make them eligible for their job. Medical transcription training seeks to develop and enhance these skills in students. Some of the skills developed in a medical transcriptionist training program include:

• Knowledge of terminology used in medicine;
• Good typing speed;
• Accuracy;
• Superior grammar and spellings;
• Ability to efficiently use transcribing equipment;
• Good memory; and
• Inclination to give attention to detail.

An understanding of different accents can be an added ability for transcriptionists who may otherwise have to mark a document as flagged because of an unintelligible pronunciation.