Entry level medical transcription jobs – what are employers looking for? Are medical transcription jobs no experience available? Search medical transcription job listings for entry level opportunities.
Employers aren’t as patient with new employee’s as they used to be. Usually the larger employers are the ones more likely to hire less experienced transcriptionists and allow them time to become productive.
Education Requirements
The education requirements for entry level medical transcription jobs are not formally defined. Most entering the field receive an education through vocational schools, diploma or certificate programs, online learning, or good old fashioned “on-the-job-training”. The formal programs can take anywhere from one to two years to complete.
Becoming a medical transcriptionist does not require certification or registration. However having these credentials does denote a certain commitment to the profession and level of competence.
Only those passing the Association for Heatlhcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) exam can use the title of Certified Medical Transcriptionist. This is an advanced certification for the experienced transcriptionist. They also administer the credential of Registered Medical Transcriptionist for entry level medical transcription jobs.
As a minimum, most entry level medical transcription jobs require a high school diploma or GED. Having some experience related to the medical field is also an advantage.
Skills and Abilities
Probably the key skills needed in medical transcription jobs no experience are knowledge of medical terminology. The following are also desired:
- Excellent spelling, grammar, and punctuation abilities
- Good verbal and written communication skills
- Good memory
- Ability to check, verify, and sort numbers
- Use computers and basic software applications
- Attention to detail
- Good typing skills
Duties
Here are some typical duties required for entry level medical transcription jobs. These are not absolute but give you a general idea of the duties of the job:
- Enters patient demographic information such as name, date of birth, sex, etc.
- Transcribes medical encounter information editing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
- Logs transcription tasks.
- May have to organize, sort, file, and sort, medical transcription records.
- Collects dictation records and distributes transcribed (paper or electronic) records.
- Follows up with doctors regarding late or missing dictation.
- Performs check of their own or others work insure quality is maintained.
Experience for Entry Level Medical Transcription Jobs
As far as medical transcription jobs no experience, there’s not many employers who are willing to train on-the-job unless you have previous experience in the medical field – such as a medical billing specialist, coder, or medical assistant. If you think about it, you are in competition with others in the job market. When selecting someone for a job, the employer is most likely going to hire the one who can get up to speed quickly. They don’t want to have to spend a lot of time and effort training someone.
The exception would be an apprenticeship program – but these are typically part of a formal medical transcription vocational program given as part of the curriculum. There are those who are self taught either through an online or distance learning program or on-the-job at a previous employer. This on-the-job experience typically occurs when someone is hired for an administrative position and assumes medical transcription responsibilities by learning from co-workers.
Almost all employers hiring for entry level medical transcription desire some minimum level of training or experience.
Guide To Medical Transcription
If you want to learn more about getting started as a medical transcriptionist, Michele Miller has written a great guide to medical transcription for those who desire to work independently. She operates a medical transcription business out of her home. It’s a comprehensive book describing what you need to know, education, finding work, etc.
Online Job Search
Indeed is one of the best websites to search for local entry level medical billing medical transcription jobs. They compile job listings from thousands of sources for both large and small local companies. They have a nice clean simple search – Give it a try –
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