If you are considering a career in healthcare documentation as a medical transcriptionist, medical editor, or speech recognition editor, it is important to take a comprehensive look at the industry into which you are seeking entry to practice and to be fully informed about the industry, the profession, and the educational process for your career. To assist you in an organized approach to gathering that information, we’ve provided a step-by-step process below for ensuring you make the most informed decision about the career and selecting an educational program for entry into the field.
Before contacting the association with questions or requests for further information, we ask that you have gone through the following steps for accessing the information we’ve gathered to assist you.
Step 1: Learn about the profession and the industry. Download and read our About Medical Transcription informational packet, which will provide you with a wide array of information about the profession, including:
- What a medical transcriptionist does
- What skills and abilities are required of a medical transcriptionist
- Information about the current state of the industry and where the profession is evolving
- Criteria for choosing the right MT school
- List of AHDI approved schools and why choosing an approved school is important
- Information about the RMT credentialing exam for entry to practice
- Information about post-graduate apprenticeship
- Career path and professional development information
Download the About Medical Transcription packet.
Step 2: Purchase our “A Career in MT: Everything You Need to Know” e-book. This invaluable resource can help guide you through the early decisions for stepping in to the dynamic profession of healthcare documentation. How do I find a school? What equipment will I need? What do I have to know? All of these questions, and more, are addressed in this electronic resource, written by MTs with extensive experience in medical transcription and medical transcription education.
Purchase and download the A Career in MT: Everything You Need to Know e-book.
Step 3: Talk to professionals in the industry who can give you personal insight and experience. The best advice about the industry will often come from working professionals. Make contact with a working MT to discuss your career plans and ask questions. Consider posting a question on our Professional Practice Network in the open forum to get feedback from the MTs who network through that online community.
Step 4: Become a student member of AHDI. Once you've made the commitment to step into the profession, have selected an approved school and begin your course of study, invest in student membership in this association. Student members receive almost all of the benefits of professional membership and also have access to our E-mentoring program, where students are paired with a working MT in a mentoring relationship. Students can also join our Student Alliance, the special interest group run by and for MT students.