• Occupation Overview
• Future Growth Opportunities
• Job Description

II. Job Requirements/Prerequisites:

• Skill Requirements
• Experience Prerequisites
• Education/Training Required

• Bay Area Education/Training Resources

IV. Getting A Job:

• Employers Who Are/Will Be Hiring
• Recommended Job Search Strategy

V. Back To Career Guide Home Page

Skill Requirements

Intellectual - basic

• Attention to Detail

Intellectual - specialized

• An extensive medical vocabulary.

• Good English grammar and punctuation.

• Familiarity with computers, word processing, and specialized software.

Social

• Able to work on one's own.

• Able to take direction from others.

Physical

• Ability to type at least 40 words per minute. (This is needed to enter some training programs.)

• Good listening skills (ability to decipher tape recordings).

• Requires working in a seated position, looking at a computer screen, for prolonged periods.

Skill Maintenance Requirement

• Low. Transcription tools might evolve every few years. Working at a new company might require learning a new specialized data entry system. One must stay abreast of changing medical procedures and terminology.

Experience Prerequisites

Entry-level positions are available for those without experience, provided they have completed medical transcription or medical terminology coursework.

Education/Training Required

A high school diploma is required. Employers prefer those who have completed a vocational or community college program. Becoming a Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) improves one's chances of finding a job. Information on certification, along with other career tips, is available through the American Association for Medical Transcription (www.aamt.org).

To get a complete list of training providers for Medical Transcriptionists in California, refer to the State Training Inventory (STI) website:

• Go to http://sti.soicc.ca.gov/sti/mainmenu.html.

• Select "Occupational Titles."

• Select "Clerical and Administrative Support Occupations."

• Select "Medical Transcription" in the Training Program column.

The above website will provide a list of the relevant training providers along with their addresses and telephone numbers.

The next section in this report ("Bay Area Education/Training Resources") provides detailed information on some of the training programs available for Medical Transcriptionsists.