Medical Transcriptionist Program

What is A Medical Transcriptionist Program Degree?

Medical transcription is the allied health profession that involves transcribing medical reports that are dictated by a physician, a nurse, or another health care provider.  The transcriptionist takes the spoken words and puts them into the medical record of the treatment or prescribed plan. The medical record could include all kinds of data—doctor’s or nurse’s comments, test results, surgical notes, or referral notes from other doctors. Of course, all these notes have to be accurate and concise.

A Medical Transcriptionist Program might be a certificate program which can be completed in as little as 6 months, or it may be part of an Associate’s degree program.  The program will cover things like medical terminology, anatomy, medical procedures and treatments, and pharmacology, plus all the ethical and legal requirements for medical reports.  Transcriptionists are also responsible for making sure that the detailed reports are grammatically correct and that the terminology is used appropriately. If grammar isn’t your strong suit, you may need to brush-up in that area. Certification in the field is optional, although it’s preferred by many employers.  Maybe you’ve noticed that more and more doctors, nurses, and physicians’ assistants lately are carrying tablets into patient consultations, so they can take their own notes.  That practice doesn’t bode well for the future for medical transcriptionists.  It’s predicted that job opportunities in the field probably will shrink over the next 8-10 years.