Medical Transcription

 

Career and Major Information
Earnings
Related Occupations
Related Web Sites

 

Career and Major Information:

Walters State's two-semester concentration in Medical Transcription is designed to prepare successful graduates for entry-level employment opportunities as medical transcriptionists.  The primary responsibility of those in this occupation is to understand medical terminology to help them accurately transcribe medical reports.  This is done by listening to dictated recordings and transcribing them into medical reports, correspondence, and other administrative material.  They will often work closely with the physicians or other healthcare professionals who dictate the reports for clarification.  Other duties may include proofreading and editing medical text that has been dictated and produced using voice recognition technology.  In some offices medical transcriptionists may also receive patients, schedule appointments, answer the telephone, and handle incoming and outgoing mail. 

Jobs may be found in physicians’ offices or hospitals, but many medical transcriptionists are working from home as independent transcription service contractors or subcontractors for hospitals. 

The minimum educational requirement is a one-year certificate program or an associate degree. Faster than average growth is expected through 2012 due to the expanding aging population.

 

Earnings:

The Tennessee Career Information Delivery System website lists the salary range for a beginning-level position in this field in Tennessee as $18,610 to $21,575 annually.  With experience, the range increases to $29,830 to $32,410.  The national average is higher by about $1,000 to $2,000 per year.  Salary figures quoted are based on national figures. Local or regional salaries may be lower.

 

Related Occupations:

Medical Transcriber

Medical Stenographer

Medical Secretaries

Medical Records Technician

Medical Records Clerk

Health Information Management Technician

Medical Secretary

Medical Coding Specialist

Health Information Coder

Medical Record Coder

Medical Insurance Specialist

Court Reporter

 

Related Web Sites:

American Association for Medical Transcription

            http://www.aamt.org

 

Much of the above information was collected from the 2004-2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor.  For additional information on these and many other careers, please visit the following web sites:

 

Occupational Outlook Handbook - U.S. Department of Labor

www.bls.gov/oco/

 

Tennessee Career Information Delivery System (TCIDS)

http://tcids.tbr.edu/.

 

 

For information regarding specific degree program requirements, curriculum, or faculty, please see the department website at http://www.ws.edu/health/default.asp.