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Medical Transcriptionists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.

Related: Emergency Medical Technicians Health Information Technologists & Medical Registrars Medical Assistants Medical Records Specialists Word Processors & Typists

Industries: Health & Counseling Administration & Support Services

Summary
Details

Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records.
Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians.
Decide which information should be included or excluded in reports.
Perform a variety of clerical and office tasks, such as handling incoming and outgoing mail, completing and submitting insurance claims, typing, filing, or operating office machines.
Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians.
Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
Take dictation using shorthand, a stenotype machine, or headsets and transcribing machines.
Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records.
Perform a variety of clerical and office tasks, such as handling incoming and outgoing mail, completing and submitting insurance claims, typing, filing, or operating office machines.
Receive and screen telephone calls and visitors.
Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records.
Set up and maintain medical files and databases, including records such as x-ray, lab, and procedure reports, medical histories, diagnostic workups, admission and discharge summaries, and clinical resumes.

Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.

Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

37120/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

17.85/hr

Currently Employed

1,250

Yearly Projected Openings

210

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Independence
Cooperation
Persistence

Desktop computers
Dictation machines
Franking or postage machines
Laser fax machine
Laser printers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Special purpose telephones

Accounting software
Calendar and scheduling software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop communications software
Electronic mail software
Information retrieval or search software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spell checkers
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Voice recognition software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Medical Transcriptionists

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