6 Reasons to Become a Medical Transcriptionist

Medical transcription has become a very popular career that's also lucrative. Here are 6 reasons why you should consider becoming a medical transcriptionist.

1. Assist in patient care. Even though medical transcriptionists don't work directly with patients, or go to medical school, their transcriptions make it possible to give patients proper care. If doctors' and other medical professionals' dictation were transcribed badly, patients' records wouldn't be as readable. As a result, patients may get the wrong medications, have allergic reactions, forget important facts about procedures, and more. Doctors are busy and can't remember every single thing they do--no one can. Becoming a medical transcriptionist means you can ensure patients' records are well-documented, correct, and easy to read.

2. Focused study. Most other degrees and certifications require you to take classes not directly related to your area of study. However, most medical transcription programs don't. You take Anatomy and Physiology, Pathology and Diseases, English and grammar classes as they apply to medical transcription, have units on medical terminology, and the last part of the program involves typing actual medical reports. You spend your time learning things directly related to transcription, instead of things you won't use working in the field.

3. Train cost effectively. A 4-year, full-time college education can cost $40,000 or more. However, there are medical transcription programs approved by the American Association of Medical Transcription (AAMT) that cost only $2000, and some even less. If you can't afford to pay in full yourself, you can sometimes receive grants, loans, or scholarships to these programs, just as with many other types of education.

4. Train in less time. Most medical transcription programs are less than one year in length. There are even some that can be completed in 4 months of full-time study.

5. Large income potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical transcriptionists earned an average wage of $13.12 per hour in 2003. The lowest 10% earned $9.67 per hour, and the highest 10% earned more than $20 per hour. As you can see, medical transcriptionists can make a good living, even if they only work part-time.

6. Train and work from home. There are online medical transcription programs like Career Step that allow you to train completely online and from home, studying whenever it's convenient for you. After you finish the training, you can go on to work from home as well. Some employers are extremely flexible about when you can work, which will give you time to pursue what's most important to you--whether you have children, hobbies, health problems, or other life circumstances to consider.

These are only 6 of the many reasons you should consider becoming a medical transcriptionist. If you want a flexible, lucrative career that you can train for in less than a year, you should seriously consider this interesting work.