Lack the skills to work as a remote medical transcriptionist? CareerStep is an online school that will train you to work from home in the medical transcription industry. Enroll at CareerStep, the preferred school when it comes to transcription and start a new remote career. You can also study at your own pace!
How to Work Remotely as a Home Based Medical Transcriptionist
If you have been contemplating a work from home job but cant seem to find one that appeals to you, you may want to explore the possibility of working from home as a medical transcriptionist. Medical transcription is not only a great online job, it’s a great career! If you are a fast typist with above average listening skills perhaps you should explore the possibility of becoming an at home medical transcriptionist. Figuring out how to find a legitimate and reliable home based job can be daunting, so lets take a look at how this can easily be done.
What is Medical Transcription?
Medical transcription is the act of listening to doctors dictate patient information. You listen carefully to what the doctor is saying, and type it accurately into a written document. That document is then added to the patients medical records, so being precise is key. Hospitals and medical clinics often outsource their transcription needs to outside companies, which means work from home medical transcription jobs are always in demand.
Where Do I Start?
Becoming a medical transcriptionist is not something you can just pick up and learn as you go. Specialized training is required, but the good news is that you can achieve this quickly. There are many online schools that offer the training necessary, and provide you with a certificate when you complete the course. If a company is willing to hire you without experience or a certificate you may want to avoid that company as their legitimacy could certainly be debatable.
How Much Do Work From Home Medical Transcriptionists Make?
Salary
The average salary of a medical transcriptionist according to ZipRecruiter is right around $48,000 a year, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median pay at $35,250. Some transcriptionists can earn as much as $70,000 a year depending on how motivated they are, and how fast they are able to type/edit, but this is a rare occurrence. Preparing to earn $30,000 – $40, 000 a year after completing your training is a more realistic expectation.
Average Yearly Work From Home Medical Transcription Salary
Work From Home Medical Transcription Salary Breakdown
Training
This is a necessary step, and any legitimate company will expect you to have a training certificate from a reputable school. Colleges offer training in the form of a 1 year certificate or 2 year associates degree, but I understand that this is not a realistic option for many. Taking into account the financial burden of a traditional college, and the time commitment required means that alternative training options may be best.
Career Step is a reputable online training school that will help you achieve the necessary skills to begin your career as a work from home medical transcriptionist. The benefit of Career Step is that they allow you to work at your own pace, and provide you with a certificate upon completion of the course. Career Step is widely recognized as the leader in online medical transcription training, and most companies will view a certificate from them as an asset. Most people will be able to complete the training and begin working from home as a medical transcriptionist within 3 – 8 months. They have flexible financing options for their programs, and you can acquire what you need to begin a long term work from home career.
CLICK HERE and Start Training For A Work From Home Dream Job.
What You Will Learn
- Medical Terminology
- Anatomy
- Ethical Practices (You Will be Dealing with Private Medical Records)
- English and Grammar
- Documentation Process
- The Legalities of Medical Transcription
- Proper Formatting and Report Writing
- Electronic Health Record Structure
Equipment
You will need a desktop or laptop computer, and a working internet connection to start with. On top of that you will need a headset that you will use to listen to audio files. There are many brands, but this is the one I use. It is affordable, and the sound quality is great. The last piece of equipment you will need is a foot pedal. You use this to pause, play and rewind audio files hands free. You can find some inexpensive ones on amazon. Just search foot pedal and have a look at the user reviews.
Benefits of a Work at Home Medical Transcription Job
Apart from avoiding that miserable morning commute, there are a lot of positive benefits when it comes to working from home as a medical transcriptionist.
Flexible Work Schedule
A lot of companies only require you to hit a “weekly or daily quota” which is the number of lines they expect you to type per week. Full time work from home transcriptionists can expect to type 1000 – 2000 lines per day depending on the company and account you are assigned to. This means you are not required to work set hours, and work from home on more of a deadline structure.
Spend More Time With Family
Parents will love this because you can come and go as you please. As a parent working from home myself the benefits of a flexible work schedule cannot be emphasized enough. I can prioritize my children, and my family without stressing about missed work. I simply work when I am able, and as long as I am meeting my deadlines my job performance doesn’t suffer.
Work Where You Want
Last summer my family and I planned a 2 week vacation. I was able to book a week off, but was not able to miss the second week of work. Instead of cutting our vacation short I simply brought my laptop with me, and set up shop at the beach using a WiFi dongle. Not too many jobs let you work while getting a suntan so I considered myself very lucky. It’s nice to know I can choose where I want to work, and if I find myself getting cabin fever from being stuck in the house all day I just grab my laptop and head to Starbucks or the Library for a change of scenery.
Be Your Own Boss (Sort of)
While you will have supervisors to answer to, all contact will be done through email or instant messaging. This means it is entirely up to you to manage your own time, and decide the kind of work environment to immerse yourself in. So while technically you aren’t your own boss, most of the time you’ll feel like you are.
Opportunities for Advancement
Many work from home medical transcriptionists go on to work as “team leads” in the transcription industry. This is more of a supervisor role, and you are responsible for making sure your team meets deadlines, submits accurate reports, and giving guidance when needed. This is normally a position that is paid hourly, and in 2008 when I worked as a team lead I was compensated $20 per hour.
How a Career in Medical Transcription Will Evolve
Technological advances over the past few years have changed the landscape of work from home medical transcription jobs. It use to be common place for a transcriptionist to be responsible for producing an entire hand typed transcribed report. However, while this is still practiced, the industry has been moving more and more towards speech recognition technology which automatically generates the initial report for you, and you are then responsible for the editing and accuracy of the auto-generated report.
Speech recognition technology will most likely not reach the point of replacing medical transcriptionists anytime soon. The accuracy of each patients medical record is crucial, and the technology is nowhere close to replacing a detail oriented human touch. In fact, the medical transcription industry is projected to grow by 6% between 2018 and 2022. The demand will only increase which is why working from home as a medical transcriptionist remains one of the best paying work from home jobs out there.
Final Thoughts
Medical Transcription is one of those rare work from home career opportunities. It provides financial stability and all the benefits of working from home while creating your own schedule. I have personally done this as a career on and off for the past 12 years.
Companies to Consider Applying to After You Have Completed Your Training
- Accentus
- M Modal
- Nuance Transcription
- Global Transcription Services
For more companies that hire remote based medical transcriptionists, check out our massive list of 40 reputable companies that will hire you to work at home with medical transcribing.
Alternatively, you can explore some free general transcription mini courses offered by Transcribe Anywhere. Simply click this link, and take advantage of their transcription resources. Many medical transcriptionists start off with a career in general transcription before transitioning.