Tell me about the academic requirements to be a Medical Transcriptionist.

Tell me about the academic requirements to be a Medical Transcriptionist.

I am a student of 10+2 in science stream with Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I am tired of people trying to tell me that the only fields where a science student should go for is either medicine or teaching. I want to be none of these; instead I want to be a medical transcriptionist. I am good in English, both written and verbal. Please guide me with the right educational qualification and courses that I should pursue after high school to be a medical transcriptionist.

I appreciate the fact that you want to do what you think you can do best and do not choose to be a part of what everyone else is doing. However, a good understanding of medical terms is required to be a qualified medical transcriptionist. You will become completely apt to be a medical transcriptionist after the successful completion of postsecondary training through vocational schools, community colleges, and distance-learning programs. I would recommend that you should go for a 1-year certificate program or 2-year associate degree that covers studies of anatomy, medical terminology, legality in healthcare documentation, along with grammar and punctuation in English. Many of these vocational programs provide on-the-job experience under supervision of tutors. On-the-job training may be sufficient for those who have come from another medical ground, such as nursing or medical administration. You must make sure that you do these programs from a good institute or online source if you opt for one. An imperfect program, as some did prove to be in India over the past years, could be worthless.

You can consider studying abroad. The American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT) awards the voluntary Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) to medical transcriptionists who pass written and practical examinations. This certification will be a guarantee of your proficiency, just as it is customary to other fields. Medical transcriptionists are required to keep their understanding and knowledge of medical terms updated with developing technologies. CMTs are asked to earn regular education credits every three years in order to stay certified.