Medical transcription schools: What to look for

The school you select will ultimately depend on what style of learning benefits you the most. All schools should cover a basic curriculum in order to prepare students for employment.

Prerequisites

Some transcription schools have a screening test. If they don't, you should review your skills yourself to see if you meet the basic prerequisite requirements for a successful career as a medical transcriptionist.

  • English comprehension, spelling, and usage competency (spoken and written) equivalent to that of a high school graduate.
  • Minimum keyboarding speed of 60 words per minute.
  • Intermediate word processing skills, including ability to create, save, format, and copy and paste documents.
  • Intermediate computer skills including ability to troubleshoot basic computer problems, install software, manage files, send and receive emails with attachments, and utilize the Internet for research purposes.
  • Normal hearing acuity.

    • A note about hearing acuity: If you have a hearing disability, however slight, you will experience difficulty in this career and it is not recommended for you. It is absolutely essential in medical transcription that you be able to hear and understand the spoken word as it is recorded on electronic media, sometimes not under the best of conditions and/or by the best of dictators. You will be required to not only know medical terminology, physiology and anatomy, you will need to be able to understand physicians who may speak accented English (English as a second language, or ESL); voices covering a wide range of types, volumes and ranges; recordings on substandard equipment; and recordings that include background noise.

    Instructor Qualifications

    Request a curriculum vitae of the course content developer as well as the instructors.

    Course content developers should have a current and valid credential, either Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) or Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT).

    The CMT credential is administered by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI).

    The RHIT credential is administered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

    You should contact the appropriate organization to verify that the credential is valid and current.

    Content developers and instructors should have a minimum of three years' experience in acute care or multispecialty settings.

    Textbooks and Teaching Material

    Obtain a list of required textbooks and teaching material prior to signing up for a medical transcription course.

    Dictation products should come from genuine dictation from a healthcare provider source, not professionally recorded readings.

    Course Content

  • English language, including grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure and medical style.
  • Medical knowledge, including core aspects of medicine, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, clinical medicine, laboratory tests, pharmacology, surgery, imaging techniques, and pathology.
  • Technology, including computer skills and transcription equipment proficiency, internet navigation and search, file transfer, word processing, as well as security and confidentiality issues.
  • Medical-legal aspects of the healthcare record, including format, content, purpose, and legal aspects; general knowledge of standards and regulations for healthcare documents, including HIPAA and risk management.
  • Medical transcription practice, emphasizing direct practice using genuine dictation. Practice dictation should include beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.

    • Job Placement

    A school that has an ongoing relationship with employers in the medical transcription industry is essential. Some transcription schools have agreements with various employers to offer graduates a position, others have actual placement services. This is an important aspect of successfully entering a career as a medical transcriptionist.

    In order to discourage individuals who may wish to obtain textbooks and other materials to teach themselves medical transcription, TranscriptionSchools.com will not provide a detailed list of textbooks and teaching material. If you have questions, please submit them by using the Contact form and they will be answered in the FAQ.

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