If you've been thinking about becoming a medical transcriptionist you most likely have wondered if you need to become a Certified Medical Transcriptionist. Don't let the title frighten you away!scare you off from pursuing a great at-home career! Once you know some elementary facts about certification you'll know precisely what your next step should be. Here are the basics:
First, you may be asking what exactly is a Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT). It is a voluntary certification awarded by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI). (They were formerly called the American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT) and many people still use this name, though AHDI encourages people to use their new name).
Second, the most important thing you should know is that you do not need to be a certified medical transcriptionist in order to work at home as an MT. The reality is that most doctors still are not aware that certification exists for the medical transcriptionist! While some MTs have certification, most do not (estimates range that there are between 100,000 and 300,000 MTs in the United States and currently there are only about 3,000 certified medical transcriptionists). That percentage may change in the future as technological advances cause more MTs to transition to being MT editors, with a greater skill level needed to edit advanced healthcare documentation.
AHDI's purpose for trying to encourage all medical transcriptionists to be credentialed is to maintain high professional and ethical standards in the medical transcription industry. They figured that if there were certification it would be an assurance both to the public and to doctors that the transcriptionists who obtained it had worked and studied hard, really knew what they were doing, and had several years of experience to prove it!
If you decide to become a Certified Medical Transcriptionist you must take a test given by AHDI. While they don't actually require it, AHDI does strongly recommend that you have two years of acute care transcription experience before you sit for the CMT certification exam. They recommend this because they want to ensure that you are very ready to take and pass the examination the first time you take it. Those two years of experience need to include multiple dictators who speak English as a second language, various report types including surgery, and some specialty clinic work as well. If you have all that under your belt you will have a much better chance of passing the test the first time.
While you aren't required to become certified, many MTs find it brings greater pay, while others report no change at all in their financial picture. Some employers will grant pay increases to those MTs who have the CMT designation while others will not. It would be worth your time to review through the material on AHDI's web site to figure out if this is right for you to pursue in the future when you have the suggested experience. They recommend two years of acute care (or equivalent) experience before you are able to take the CMT exam, so you don't need to worry about this too much right now if you are just starting out in this career. You just need to know it is available and it's something to think about for in the future if it interests you.
It's not difficult to obtain medical transcriptionist certification, but it does require experience and diligent study time so that you are well prepared. In the meantime, though, not having certification will make no difference to you being able to embark on this new career path.
First, you may be asking what exactly is a Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT). It is a voluntary certification awarded by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI). (They were formerly called the American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT) and many people still use this name, though AHDI encourages people to use their new name).
Second, the most important thing you should know is that you do not need to be a certified medical transcriptionist in order to work at home as an MT. The reality is that most doctors still are not aware that certification exists for the medical transcriptionist! While some MTs have certification, most do not (estimates range that there are between 100,000 and 300,000 MTs in the United States and currently there are only about 3,000 certified medical transcriptionists). That percentage may change in the future as technological advances cause more MTs to transition to being MT editors, with a greater skill level needed to edit advanced healthcare documentation.
AHDI's purpose for trying to encourage all medical transcriptionists to be credentialed is to maintain high professional and ethical standards in the medical transcription industry. They figured that if there were certification it would be an assurance both to the public and to doctors that the transcriptionists who obtained it had worked and studied hard, really knew what they were doing, and had several years of experience to prove it!
If you decide to become a Certified Medical Transcriptionist you must take a test given by AHDI. While they don't actually require it, AHDI does strongly recommend that you have two years of acute care transcription experience before you sit for the CMT certification exam. They recommend this because they want to ensure that you are very ready to take and pass the examination the first time you take it. Those two years of experience need to include multiple dictators who speak English as a second language, various report types including surgery, and some specialty clinic work as well. If you have all that under your belt you will have a much better chance of passing the test the first time.
While you aren't required to become certified, many MTs find it brings greater pay, while others report no change at all in their financial picture. Some employers will grant pay increases to those MTs who have the CMT designation while others will not. It would be worth your time to review through the material on AHDI's web site to figure out if this is right for you to pursue in the future when you have the suggested experience. They recommend two years of acute care (or equivalent) experience before you are able to take the CMT exam, so you don't need to worry about this too much right now if you are just starting out in this career. You just need to know it is available and it's something to think about for in the future if it interests you.
It's not difficult to obtain medical transcriptionist certification, but it does require experience and diligent study time so that you are well prepared. In the meantime, though, not having certification will make no difference to you being able to embark on this new career path.
About the Author:
Susan Eliot is an excellent resource in this field and is the authority when it comes to medical transcriptionist work. She owns and operates her own transcription business and knows first hand all the details about medical transcription training.
