Overview
Medical transcription is among the most popular career options for individuals who admire working in the healthcare sector and for reasons. It offers reasonable payment and a flexible schedule.
Besides, you can become a valued healthcare team member by helping physicians and other medical professionals provide their patients with the best possible healthcare services.
Medical transcriptionists play a vital role in documenting patient care and diagnoses during medical procedures. If you wish to become a medical transcriber in Texas, this ultimate guide is right for you. It will discuss everything you need to know about becoming a medical transcriptionist in Texas.
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Career Overview
A Texas medical transcriber takes audio tapes made by physicians and transforms them into well-formatted and professional documents.
They also review, proofread and edit these documents for clarity, context, and consistency. As they do so, they must pay close attention to the details because transcribed reports must be 100% accurate.
Part of the medical transcription training deals with sentence structure, composition skills, and grammar. The training has many aspects and also spreads to other areas.
Medical transcriptionists get taught how to use medical terminologies correctly and identify medicines, treatments, and medical abbreviations.
In addition, they must have an excellent level of keyboarding skills to do these tasks. So medical transcribers learn how to type fast and accurately while focusing on each dictation word.
Skillsets
After entering the workforce, a Texas medical transcriptionist must use different skills to fulfill their duties. In other words, it takes more than one skill to become a successful medical transcriber.
For instance, medical transcribers in Texas must be flexible enough to work in different settings. A medical transcriptionist must be anywhere a physician dictates notes, ready to convert the recorded dictation into a document. It could be in hospitals, medical facilities, doctor’s offices, etc.
Boasting unique skills, Texas medical transcriptionists’ demand is pretty high. Most of them work remotely from home and can control their work hours. These professionals contribute a lot to the health care field and are excellent multitaskers.
What Medical Transcribers Do
Medical transcriptionists convert health care professionals’ audio recordings into written documents. They listen to the voice recordings using a headset and pause using a foot pedal. Then, they interpret medical abbreviations and use correct terminologies to create written reports with proper grammar and spelling.
Once they finish transcribing, they proofread the transcriptions to check and correct mistakes and enhance their clarity. Finally, they submit the documents for approval.
Other medical transcriptionist roles include:
- Listening to audio recordings created by doctors and accurately typing their dictation into a document
- Reviewing and editing transcriptions for clarity
- Using their knowledge of medical terminology to proofread and edit the reports accurately
- Submitting and filing the final documents based on their employer’s rules
Medical transcriptionists handle a wide range of medical information like:
- Autopsy reports
- Consultation reports
- Diagnostic imaging studies
- Discharge summaries
- Medical history reports
- Operative reports
- Progress notes
- Physical examination reports
- Referral letters
Training
What Training Programs or Schooling Is Required?
To get a medical transcriptionist certification, you must study and graduate from Texas’s accredited medical transcription school. You’ll find many of them located all over the state, meaning you can find a training program that’s best for you.
In most cases, your degree programs, diploma programs, or certificate programs will fall into two categories:
1. Typing Skills
Transcribers must have excellent keyboarding skills. So you’ll learn to type fast and accurately edit the documents. It’s a pretty specialized skill, but Texas medical transcription schools boast proven techniques for improving your keyboarding abilities.
2. Medical Terminology
The remaining courses will focus on medical terminology and the fundamentals of healthcare administration. You must understand what the healthcare professional is describing to create accurate and usable documents.
Texas medical transcription schools will teach you the medical terminologies required to understand a physician’s instructions.
Here are some medical transcription course subjects you’ll get trained on:
- American English Grammar
- Anatomy
- Medical Terminology
- Medical Law
- Physiology
- Typing
- Computer Skills
- Hands-on Transcription
- Human Diseases
- Pediatrics
- Health Records
Courses
What Medical Courses Can You Take?
Medical transcription courses are available in different degree programs. You’ll attend classes for medical transcription and prerequisite lessons, but that will depend on the degree’s program level.
The medical transcription courses will train and provide you with the required knowledge relating to the field. So you’ll transcribe actual healthcare recordings, making you ready for the exact work your career involves.
Below is a list of the main medical transcription courses you can pursue in your favorite school:
- Medical Terminology: These courses provide you with the basic and advanced medical terms you’ll encounter in your career. The terms could relate to diseases, medicine, and medical equipment.
- Computer Literacy: You’ll attend various classes to learn how to operate a computer, including the language related to hardware and software components.
- Anatomy & Physiology: These classes aim at teaching you about human anatomy in vast detail. They’re vital for understanding and learning different anatomical terms for easy transcribing.
- Transcription: This course involves using actual physician records to practice transcribing. So you’ll have first-hand experience in the type of work you’ll be handling.
Laws and Ethics: These medical transcription courses are essential because you’ll be handling confidential medical files. They will teach you privacy laws concerning patient records and other work documents. - Typing: You’ll take classes meant to help improve your typing and word processing skills. These courses will teach you everything you need to type fast and accurately.
Educational Requirements
Texas medical transcriptionists must be 18 years and above. You must have a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) equivalency to begin a medical transcription career in Texas. Besides, you must pass criminal background checks and drug tests. And be proficient in MS Word and have basic keyboarding skills.
Certifications in Texas
Texas doesn’t have state-approved certification for certifying medical transcriptionists who wish to work in the state. But many post-secondary schools are offering medical transcription certifications.
Medical transcription certifications are a top requirement for job qualifications in many healthcare facilities in Texas. They can help you secure a promising medical transcriptionist career in the state. Without one, you’ll get eliminated from the job application immediately.
After completing a medical transcriptionist program offered in an accredited school, you can get certifications. Many post-secondary schools, vocational schools, community colleges, and Technical institutes in Texas have apt accreditation required to provide medical transcriptionist programs and courses.
How Long Does a Training Program Last?
Depending on the curriculum, the medical transcription training duration varies. For instance, a certificate program can last for about 6 months (full-time) to 18 months (part-time). An Associate Degree program lasts 2 years (full-time study) and longer for part-time students.
Can You Learn From Home?
Yes, many medical transcription schools in Texas offer online training and lessons in this field. So you can flexibly schedule to attend the classes and get certification to get your dream job. The training can last about a year or less, depending on your curriculum.
Career Outlook
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for transcription services will grow steadily up to 2029. Even with the rise of technological advancements like speech-to-text recognition software, medical transcription is unshakable. That’s due to the complex and unique terminologies that require great accuracy. In addition, medical transcriptionists earn about $16 hourly or $33,380 annually.
Steps You Need To Take
Medical transcription is quite a lucrative career path to take. The field uses unique medical terminologies, meaning you don’t need to worry about speech recognition software rendering you jobless. The following steps will lead you to a successful medical transcriptionist career in Texas:
1. Get Educational Qualifications
This career requires you to earn a certificate, diploma, or degree at an accredited medical transcription school in Texas to get certified. You can also pursue a bachelor’s or an associate degree to increase your employment chances.
Many post-high schools, community colleges, and universities offer higher education degrees that you can pursue to get the required training and certification to get a job.
2. Gain Work Experience
Depending on your education method, you may get an internship or apprenticeship to supplement your training program. This offers you a great chance to transcribe actual physician’s dictations and gain experience in the career.
If not, consider seeking opportunities at the nearest healthcare facility. You can volunteer, work as a general transcriptionist, or do job shadowing to gain practical skills and experience in a work environment.
3. Get Certified
Certification is a crucial step to becoming a medical transcriber in Texas. Although getting certified is voluntary, it can help you secure a job in the industry. Ensure you meet work experience requirements and pass an exam to receive a medical transcription certification through the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI).
4. Start Applying for Jobs
Once you get the certification, you can look for employment at local hospitals or healthcare facilities. Besides, you can use an online job board like Indeed to apply for open jobs. You can also work from home on a freelance basis. But before getting the job, you must submit a resume and evidence of certification.
Interested in Medical Transcription Career?
Becoming a medical transcriptionist in Texas is easy. All you need is to be over 18 years, get education qualifications at an accredited post-secondary school or any medical transcription school in the state.
During your training, you’ll learn the human anatomy, medical terminology, physiology, and law & ethics in healthcare. This will help you understand what the doctor says and create accurate documents without issues. In addition, you’ll take proprietary classes to help boost your keyboarding, computer, and grammar skills.
The training may take anywhere between 6 months to 2 years, depending on your curriculum. After that, gain experience in a work environment through an internship, apprenticeship, volunteer, etc., then receive certification by passing the exams provided and meeting the requirements.
Once you have all the requirements, seek employment online and at physical healthcare facilities to secure a good-paying career. Feel free to find out more information on Texas medical transcriptionist job listings and openings and start making money today!