Choosing a Quality Medical Transcription School

While searching for an online medical transcription school to sign up for, I did a vast amount of research on the options to be sure that I would make the right decision. Most medical transcription schools are not worth much in terms or training or their ability to prepare you to succeed in a career in the field. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize this until they have already spent their money and time on these programs and graduated—at which point they are unable to find a job. Employers know that graduates of many programs are not fully prepared to begin working, so they will not even consider their job application unless the individual already has years of working experience in transcribing medical records.


One key thing to remember is that if the medical transcription course seems easy, it is probably not going to prepare you for a job in the field. Despite what the TV commercials might have you believe, transcribing medical records is not simple, and the course that a medical transcription school offers must be difficult in order to prepare you. Also, any company that asks you to pay for software and training in order to get a job with them is probably a scam. Beware of TransAm, which is the most well-known medical transcription training scam.
There are two top online schools which are most highly regarded in the medical transcription community because they offer the most complete training for true career preparation. These are The Andrews School and M-TEC. Which of these you choose is completely a personal preference; you can’t go wrong with either one. Employers who are familiar with graduates of The Andrews School and M-TEC will often waive their standard requirement of two years’ previous experience in transcription for people who have completed one of these courses. M-TEC and Andrews are considered superior because they offer the necessary training in grammar and English skills, medical terms, disease processes, and professional issues, along with an adequate amount of actual transcription practice and detailed personal feedback.

Career Step is the third most popular online medical transcription school. Many people choose this route because it is cheaper and faster than the first two; however, the training it offers is not nearly as complete. Career Step students do not receive personal feedback as their work is graded by a computer, and they are pretty much left to their own devices in their studies. They do not receive as many reference materials with the Career Step package, which many graduates find they need to buy later for their work. Career Step may be an option for someone who is very disciplined and motivated, and who will take the time and effort to make up for what is missing in the Career Step course by seeking out other resources for further independent study. Andrews and M-TEC are more expensive, but their programs are better overall.
A community college course may be an option for someone who wishes to get a local job in medical transcription. National companies and far away employers will not be able to judge the quality of training received at a community college and might not be eager to take the chance on a new graduate. Most other online and distance learning transcription courses that have not been mentioned here are considered inferior, and most employers will not hire graduates of these schools without at least two years of experience because they don’t wish to train them from scratch.
There are many avenues that people have taken to break into a career in medical transcription. This field has been undergoing major changes in recent years, and its future is still undetermined in some respects. It is still possible to get into medical transcription through on-the-job training or succeed by going to a lesser school, but those situations have become few and far between—they now hinge on the luck of being in the right place at the right time. Attending The Andrews School or M-TEC is the easiest and most surefire route to becoming a medical transcriptionist. Before choosing any course, be sure to do research beyond the information that the school itself gives you.
Looking for companies that hire work from home medical transcribers? Check the big list in my directory here.