Iowa Medical Transcription Training and Schools

About Medical Transcription Careers in Iowa

Healthcare is now an exploding field nowadays. Over the last several years the industry has created and provided many jobs and career opportunities. In the healthcare field there are many career opportunities an individual can pursue. Among the opportunities being available are practitioners such as physicians, nurses, and physician assistants. There are other jobs including physical therapists, medical assistants, medical billers, and medical transcriptionists.

What A Medical Transcriptionist Does

Medical transcriptionists creat and maintain documents. The transcriptionist listens to and types information that is given by a physician via digital/audio recordings. They need to type this information using medical referene materials in printed and electronic form in order to get all the information necessary including terminology, names and medications. Once the draft is completed, the document is then given to the originator for review and once it’s approved it is then signed off to become a finished document as part of the patients file. In this occupation unemployment is low, job growth is high and is expected to stay this way for the next 10 years. The median salary for a medical transcriptionist is $32,000. With this occupation, workers can either work full time, part time or be self employed with 67% working full time, 23% part time and 10% self employed.

Education and Training

Like many occupations medical transcription requires education and training in order to be qualified for employment an entrance into the occupation. There are a few ways to get this proper training but the most common is through a community college or vocational school. In Iowa there are a good six reputable educational programs for this field. Once the education is completed a person entering the field must get an internship and participate in it to get some practical experience.

List of Schools and Educational Institutions

In Iowa there are six educational institutions to get a degree in medical transcription. There is Indian Hills Community College located in Ottumwa, IA. There is Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs and Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. The other colleges that offer education and training in medical transcription are Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar and Southwestern Community College in Creston. The degree offered in these programs is an Associate’s degree.

Conclusion

Medical transcription is a very good field to get into sine there are many opportunities available for employment. With the proper education and training people will be able to get the training they need to have a fulfilling career the the health care field in Iowa.