Medical Transcription Course
According to the 2002/2003 Occupational Outlook Handbook,
Medical Transcription is among the ten fastest growing occupations in the U.S. An MT will
often work for hospitals, outpatient clinics, physician offices, national transcription
services, or any other medical office. An MT will listen to dictated recordings made by
physicians and other healthcare professionals and transcribe them into medical reports
that eventually become part of patients' permanent files. Students must have excellent
editing and proofreading skills. Students should be proficient in keyboarding and have a
basic understanding of a word processing program. In this 160-hour Medical
Transcription course, students gain a working knowledge of medical terminology and skill
in the transcribing medical reports, learning the skills they need to obtain an
entry-level position as a medical transcriptionist.
A complete Medical Terminology course is included with the Medical Transcription
Certificate Program. Students will also be introduced to basic human anatomy.
Objectives
Upon successful completion of the Medical Terminology/Transcription course, the
student will be able to accomplish the following.
- Describe the importance of the confidential nature of
medical reports.
- Describe the content and purpose of the medical reports
used.
- Transcribe medical reports using correct report format.
- Transcribe medical reports using correct capitalization,
number, punctuation, abbreviation, symbols, and metric measurement rules
- Spell correctly the English and medical terms in addition
to the abbreviations, either by memory or by using a dictionary/reference book.
- Define the medical terms and abbreviations presented,
either by memory or by using a dictionary/reference book.
- Define the prefixes, combining forms and suffixes
presented and use them to build medical terms.
- Identify and/or define the knowledge, skills, abilities,
and responsibilities required of medical transcriptionists.
- Understand networking through the professional
organization as well as career opportunities.
Prerequisites:
Students should be proficient in keyboarding, have a
basic understanding of a word processing computer program, and have command of English
grammar and punctuation. No previous medical experience is required.
Audience:
The intended audience for this program is individuals
interested in gaining the education and skills necessary to enter the Medical
Transcription field or those interested in changing careers to become a medical
transcriptionist.
Materials:
The student will be provided each with an Olympus AS 2000
PC Transcription Kit. This is known as digital transcription equipment and will play most
types of digital voice files (.WAV or .DSS). This equipment is compatible with both PC and
Macintosh computers; however most medical offices use PCs or IBM compatible computers. In
order to use the digital equipment you must have:
- Windows 98 or later OR Mac OS 9.0 or later
- 32 MB RAM
- 25 MB hard disk space (additional space required to store
voice files)
- Display mode set to 800x600 pixels with 256 colors or
higher
- Double-speed CD-ROM
- USB port or Serial port
Accent Learning will also provide the required textbooks
for this class. The following textbooks are included: Hillcrest Beginning Medical
Transcription (with audio), Stedman's Concise Medical Dictionary (with CD ROM), Medical
Terminology Made Easy (with audio), Medical Abbreviations, and a Grammar and Punctuation
Guide.
Note for Mac Users: The Hillcrest Beginning Medical Transcription textbook includes a
floppy disk that includes templates you will use for transcribing. This diskette is only
compatible with PC computers. (You will need a word processing program that is compatible
with MS Word).
