Will I be able to get a job after
graduation?
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics
for 2007
Job opportunities will be good. Employment of medical
transcriptionists is projected to
grow faster
than average for all occupations through 2014. A growing
and aging population will spur demand for medical
transcription services.
The median hourly salary nationwide in May 2006 was $14.34.
The BLS also breaks down salaries for the metropolitan
areas. For the Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan area had
a mean hourly wage of $16.69.
Transcriptionists with experience usually make more than
this.
Contracting out transcription work overseas and advancements
in speech recognition technology are not expected to
significantly reduce the need for well-trained medical
transcriptionists. Outsourcing transcription work abroad—to
countries such as India, Pakistan, Philippines, and the
Caribbean—has grown more popular as transmitting
confidential health information over the Internet has become
more secure; however, the demand for overseas transcription
services is expected only to supplement the demand for
well-trained domestic medical transcriptionists. In
addition, reports transcribed by overseas medical
transcription services usually require editing for accuracy
by domestic medical transcriptionists before they meet
domestic quality standards. Speech-recognition technology
allows physicians and other health professionals to dictate
medical reports to a computer that immediately creates an
electronic document. In spite of the advances in this
technology, the software has been slow to grasp and analyze
the human voice and the English language, and the medical
vernacular with all its diversity. As a result, there will
continue to be a need for skilled medical transcriptionists
to identify and appropriately edit the inevitable errors
created by speech recognition systems, and to create a final
document.
SETT will provide students with contacts for positions known
to hire new graduates. Students will take fill out the
applications and take the required English, medical
terminology, and medical transcription tests. Many of these
applications and tests can be done online. Interviews are
either in person or by telephone. SETT has a 100% placement
rate for graduates.
Where would I work?
Hospitals will continue to employ a large percentage of
medical transcriptionists, but job growth there will not be
as fast as in other industries. An increasing demand for
standardized records should result in rapid employment
growth in physicians’ offices, especially in large group
practices.
Most SETT students work from home after graduation for
medical transcription services who contract with physician
offices to do office notes or hospitals for overflow
transcription.
Positions are also available in clinics, healthcare
organizations, pathology laboratories, x-ray facilities, and
physical therapy offices. This profession also has he
entrepreneurial possibility of setting up your own business.
Would I be certified after
graduation?
You would receive a certificate of completion after
graduation. This shows you successfully completed the SETT
program. This is not the certification given by the American
Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI),
formerly American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT).
For new graduates, the AHDI offers the Registered Medical Transcriptionist
(RMT) exam to test for proficiency skills of a Level 1
Medical Transcriptionist. Recent graduates do not qualify
for the CMT exam.
The Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) exam requires 2
years of acute care experience. The exam tests the skills of
a Level 2 Medical Transcriptionist. For more details, go to
www.ahdionline.org.
Will I get any support during the
online course?
SETT provides feedback for students on lessons and answers
questions during regular office hours by E-mail (preferred
so you will have documentation) or telephone. Office hours
are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday except for holidays and
vacation.
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