Online and Distance Learning

Online medical transcription training provides the skills and knowledge that you require to start your career in medical or health care assisting.  This page gives you more information about what is involved, where you can find online medical transcription schools, and the job and salary prospects after completion.

A person who works in the medical transcription field will be listening to audio files of doctor reports and transcribing them into a text format. This is a very detailed oriented job because it is dealing with a patient's health. Just getting one word wrong could cause serious issues. A person working in this field also needs to understand the importance of confidentiality as well. For this type of profession it is important to go through medical transcription training.

Finding the schools and programs for medical transcription training

The following selection of schools have medical transcription programs or closely associated programs.  You can also use the search boxes on this page to find medical transcription colleges and programs.

Schools with an online medical transcription course or campus-based program in the USA

• Kaplan University Online
  • Case Management Certificate
  • AAS in Medical Transcription

• Virginia College Online
  
  • Certificate in Administrative Assistant
  • Certificate in Medical Assistant
  • Certificate in Medical Billing & Coding
  • Medical Office Administration
  • AAS - Healthcare Reimbursement
  • AAS - Medical Assistant
  • AAS - Medical Office Administration
  • AAS - Medical Office Management
  • AAS - Office Administration

• Herzing University & Herzing College
  
  • AS in Medical Assisting
  • AS in Medical Billing and Insurance Coding
  • AS in Medical Laboratory Technician
  • AS in Medical Office Administration
  • AS in Health Information Management
  • AS in Physical Therapist Assistant

• Kaplan College
  • Back Office Medical Assistant (Certificate
  • Dental Assistant (Diploma)
  • Medical Assistant (Diploma)
  • Medical Billing and Coding Specialist (Diploma)
  • Medical Office Specialist (Diploma)
  • Medical Practice Management (Associate's Degree)
  • Medical Assisting (Associate's Degree)

• Kaplan Career Institute
  • Medical Assistant (Diploma)
  • Medical Billing and Coding Specialist (Diploma)
  • Medical Office Specialist (Diploma)
  • Dental Assistant (Diploma)

• Everest College of Business, Technology and Health Care
  • Medical Office Administrator
  • Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician

• Minnesota School of Business
  • Associate Degree in Medical Assistant
  • Associate Degree Medical Administrative Assistant
  • Medical Assistant Diploma
  • Medical Administrative Assistant Diploma

• University of Phoenix Online
  • AA in Health Care Administration
  • AA in Health Care Administration-Medical Records

• American Intercontinental University (AIU)
  • Associate's (AABA) - Healthcare Administration
  • Associate's (AABA) - Medical Coding and Billing

• South University
  • Associate of Science in Allied Health Science

• Colorado Technical University
  
  • ASIHAS Associate of Science in Health Administration Services

• Keiser University Online
  • Health Services Administration, AA (Online)

On campus programs in Canada

• Vancouver Career College
  • Medical Office Assistant (MOA)
  • Medical Records Clerk (MRC)
  • Medical and Dental Office Assistant (MDOA)
  • Medical Pharmacy Assistant (MPA)
  • Pharmacy Assistant

• CDI College of Business, Technology and Health Care
  • Medical Office Administration
  • Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA)
  • Intra-Oral Dental Assistant (IODA)

• Reeves College
  • Medical Office Assistant (MOA)

What is involved in medical transcription training?

Medical transcriptionist training is a great way to get started in the health care profession. This is a great way to work in this field but stay on the back end away from patients. This is good for people who would love to work from home or for anyone who wants to start from the bottom and work their way up into the health care field.

The types of courses that are required for this type of training would include: Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Pathology and Medicine, Pharmacology, and Transcription courses. 

Online medical transcription classes are offered at a lot of schools but training can also be taken in regular campus-based courses. The online medical transcription courses  are great for the busy individual because they can be taken at your own pace and in your own place. It is beneficial to have good typing skills because a transcriptionist will be much more successful at their job if they type fast and accurate. It maybe be necessary to take a typing class as well.

Medical transcription training takes half the time it would take to get an associates degree. This is definitely for someone who wants to fast track into their career. No general studies courses are required, just the required courses that are mentioned above.

What are the salary and job prospects after completing medical transcription training?

A medical transcriptionist may work on site at a hospital or doctor's office. It is also possible to be able to work from home in this profession as well. That is what a lot of people in this profession like, the flexibility of an at home job. This is great for full time parents who do not want to put their children in daycare. Not to mention it saves on gas costs as well.

Medical transcription training can be a good start to working in a doctor's office as a receptionist, medical biller, or even an office manager at a health care practice. Of course, an office manager may need a higher degree such as in business management or health care management. A medical biller may need to take training for that particular field but this would give you an idea of whether or not you like working in the health care profession.

This is also a great occupation for anyone who may like to work in the health care field but does not necessarily want to work directly with patients. This occupation is more on the back end of things. At the same time though, since there are only a few courses required for this occupation, this would be a good way to start out in the health care field. A person can become a transcriptionist and do this as a part time or full time job while attending school to become a nurse or a doctor.

The job outlook for a medical transcriptionist looks good. The job market for this type of profession is expected to grow through 2018. The median salary in this profession is about $34,000 dependant upon the area. The lower end of the pay scale is going to be about $29,000 which would be accurate for anyone new to the profession and the higher end of the pay scale will be about $44,000 which would be for individuals who have been in the profession for a longer period of time.

For more information about medical transcription training

If you don't find what you want here, try using the search facillity on this site with online health care programs as your search term.