Medical Transcription Career

Why Become a Medical Transcriptionist?

Medical transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other healthcare professionals using a transcribing machine and create corresponding reports on paper or as electronic files. It is also the medical transcriptionist’s responsibility to edit when necessary for grammar and clarity.

The demand for professionals trained to work in a medical transcription career is expected to increase, reflecting the rapid growth in the health care industry due to a population that is increasing in number as well as climbing in age.

Medical Transcription Career Opportunities

Working in the medical transcription career offers a variety of healthcare settings, including doctors’ offices, public and private hospitals, teaching hospitals, medical transcription businesses, clinics, laboratories, radiology and pathology departments, insurance companies, medical libraries, government medical facilities, rehabilitation centers, legal offices, research centers, veterinary medical facilities, and associations representing the healthcare industry.

The medical transcription career offers the opportunity to work with physicians and surgeons in multiple specialties. Transcriptionists work with pharmacists, therapists, technicians, nurses, dieticians, social workers, psychologists, and other medical personnel. All of these healthcare providers rely on information that is received, documented, and dispersed by the medical transcriptionist.

Some transcriptionists choose to work from home as employees of transcription businesses or hospitals. Others in the medical transcription career provide services as independent contractors.

Qualified medical transcriptionists who wish to expand their professional responsibilities may become quality assurance specialists, supervisors, managers, department heads, or owners of medical transcription businesses.

Experienced medical transcriptionists may become instructors working in schools to educate those working toward a medical transcription career.

What You Can Earn Working in a Medical Transcription Career

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical transcriptionists can earn up to $45,365 annually. It also lists the middle 50 percent of medical transcriptonists earning $38,584. High production employees have the potential of earning more in this field.

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook)