Medical Transcription Editor Certificate Program

Applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years of age

• Meet one of the following requirements:

  • High school diploma

  • General Education Development (GED) Certificate

  • Pass the Career Step Pre-Enrollment Assessment Test

The Medical Transcription Editor Certificate program is estimated at 640 completion hours. Included in the 640 hours are 41 hours of real-life doctor dictations included in the Medical Transcription program and the medical transcription section of the Medical Transcription Editor program. These dictations cover a wide variety of medical specialties and the full spectrum of doctor accents and dictation style. The Medical Transcription Editor program also includes 16 hours of additional dictation in the editing practicum section. Below is a breakdown of the program outline and the 640 hours.

• Program Orientation (1 Hr)  
• Medical Transcription Editing Industry (5 Hrs)
• Technology and the Medical Professional (5 Hrs)
• Keyboard Kinetics (10 Hrs)
• Medical Word Building (15 Hrs)
• Grammar and Punctuation (10 Hrs)
• Anatomy, Pathophysiology, and Disease Process – Block 1 (25 Hrs)
• Anatomy, Pathophysiology, and Disease Process – Block 2 (20 Hrs)
• Mastering Medical Language (5 Hrs)
• Pharmacology (15 Hrs)
• Healthcare Documentation (10 Hrs)
• Diagnostic Reports (20 Hrs)
• Focus on Medical Specialties (30 Hrs)
• Midterm (0.5 Hrs)
• Introduction to Transcription (13 Hrs)         
• Transcription Clinic Notes (105 Hrs)
• Transcription Basic Acute Care (100 Hrs)
• Transcription Advanced Acute Care (150 Hrs)
• Editing Theory (15 Hrs)
• Editing Technique (20 Hrs)
• Editing Clinic Notes (25 Hrs)
• Editing Acute Care (40 Hrs)      
• Final Exam Preparation, Expectations, and Policies (0.5 Hrs)

Since this program is completely self-paced, and the online training format allows you the flexibility to study as much or as little as your schedule allows, the time it takes you to complete the course will differ from other students. Some students can complete their 640-hour training program in as little as 4 months (working on the course full-time, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week) while others, who are more limited in the time they can devote to the course, take longer. Students who can devote about 20 hours a week can finish the 640-hour Medical Transcription and Editing Certificate program in about 8 months.

Every student who enrolls in Career Step’s Medical Transcription and Editing Certificate Program receives an initial 4-month period of enrollment. Though the programs are designed to be completed in 4 months of full-time study, you'll have a full year to complete your training. If you need extra time to complete the course after your initial one-year enrollment, we have 4-month extensions available for purchase.

Your enrollment includes everything you will need to train for a successful career in medical transcription.

*The Medical Transcription and Editing Certificate program includes a third-party software tool that makes the training only compatible with Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer 7.x, 8.x., or 9.x.

Your enrollment includes:

• Access to expert-created curriculum
• Technical support
• Transcription foot pedal (device used to control audio playback when transcribing)
• 15-month membership to the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI)
• 15-month subscription to Benchmark KB (an online database that includes a dynamic medical dictionary, AHDI Book of Style, and many other medical transcription resources)
• One-on-one help from student support
• Valuable graduate resources
• Complete ebook library

Since this program is completely online, your computer will play an important role in your learning experience. We recommend the following minimum computer system specifications:

Hardware

• Active internet connection (high speed/broadband connection recommended)
• 800 X 600 minimum display resolution (1024 X 768 or higher recommended)
• Sound card and speakers (headphones recommended)
• USB port

Software

• Adobe Flash Player (ver. 10 or higher)
• Windows Media Player (ver. 10 or higher) or Quicktime Player (ver. 7 or higher)
• PDF reader

Browser

• Internet Explorer 7.x/8.x/9.x
• Firefox 3.x
• Safari 4.x or greater (Mac only)
• Javascript and cookies must be enabled

Operating System

• Microsoft Windows (XP®, Vista®, 7, with latest service pack)
• Mac OS X (10.4.11 or greater)

Note: Mobile browsing devices are not currently supported. However, Career Step is investigating the implementation of mobile device support, and these specifications will be updated once a decision has been reached.

The Medical Transcription Editor Certificate program was designed by medical transcriptionists for medical transcriptionists. In addition to developing medical transcription skills, you will also train as a specialized medical transcription editor, preparing for the future of the industry. With our affordable pricing, you get quality online training with one-on-one support from dedicated trainers and career support advisors – available by phone, email, and chat – every step of the way. The learning objectives outlined below provide a map of knowledge and skills you’ll gain as you complete each module. 

Program Orientation (1 hour)

• Identify the elements, expectations, and requirements of the program.
• Navigate the program using the pages, menus, and buttons provided.
• Use the program tools, including the study planner, gradebook, and completion report as well as be able to contact Career Step using various communication tools, including phone, email, forums, chat rooms, and social media.
• Identify and use program-specific resources, including Benchmark KB.

Medical Transcription Editing Industry (5 hours)

• Develop awareness of the Medical Transcription Editing industry and occupation.
• Identify industry basics, tools, and trends, including the use of speech recognition technology.
• State the occupational conditions and expectations of Medical Transcription Editors.

Technology and the Medical Professional (5 hours)

• Identify basic computer hardware and interpret system requirements.
• Navigate a Windows operating system environment as well as install and operate basic software utilities.
• Use a web browser to navigate between websites in multiple tabs or windows, send and receive email, and access search engines to find information and troubleshoot basic computer problems.
• Recognize basic technologies related to a medical office environment.

Medical Word Building (15 hours)

• Use Benchmark KB and other resources to verify medical terms.
• Accurately define and combine common medical prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Create basic, logical, financial, and text formulas.

Grammar and Punctuation (10 hours)

• Identify and correctly use each of the parts of speech.
• Recognize proper sentence structure and formatting, including punctuation and capitalization.
• Properly spell words that are commonly misspelled.

Anatomy, Pathophysiology and Disease Process – Block 1 (25 hours)

• Identify and classify basic disease terms, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments.
• Identify and describe the basic structure, organization, and functions of human body systems.
• Identify, define, and accurately spell basic anatomical terms related to the basic structure and function of human body systems.

Anatomy, Pathophysiology and Disease Process – Block 2 (20 hours)

• Identify and describe the basic structure, organization, and functions of human body systems.
• Identify, define, and accurately spell basic anatomical terms related to the basic structure and function of human body systems.

Mastering Medical Language (5 hours)

• Define common medical slang, jargon, and foreign terms.
• Distinguish between common similar medical words and word parts.
• Recognize common medical abbreviations and their meanings.

Pharmacology (15 hours)

• Distinguish between different categories of drugs and their basic actions and effects.
• Identify common drugs and their basic functions from the following categories: cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, immune, pain management, psychological, and respiratory.
• Use legitimate resources to find drug definitions, dosages, pronunciations, and other related information.
• Properly interpret medications, dosages, and instructions for medication administration.
• Correctly spell commonly prescribed medications. 

Healthcare Documentation (10 hours)

• Identify basic types of medical records, including work types, components, formatting, and documentation standards.
• Define HIPAA compliance and other related regulations, as well as the role of healthcare documentation workers in preserving patient confidentiality and managing risk.

Diagnostic Reports (20 hours)

• Identify the basic elements of a diagnostic report, including identification of an illness/condition and any present therapeutic components.
• Use common terms and references related to the specialties of emergency room, physical medicine, radiology, and pathology.

Focus on Medical Specialties (30 hours)

• Determine the correct use of specialty-specific information related to medical terminology, abbreviations, phrases, conditions, and treatments.

Introduction to Transcription (13 hours)

• Identify the necessary tools and skills for efficient transcribing, including foot pedal, headphones, listening skills, keyboarding, and word expander software.
• Identify methods and techniques of transcription, including the 3-pass technique, using context, effective research methods, and editing techniques.
• Transcribe sentences, short paragraphs, sections of medical reports, and full medical reports. 

Transcription Clinic Notes (105 hours)

• Accurately transcribe clinic notes and progress notes dealing with general practice, cardiology, gastrointestinal, OB/GYN, orthopedics, etc. using resources such as Steadman’s array, contextual clues, and internet searches.

Transcription Acute Care (100 hours)

• Transcribe basic acute care notes from several medical specialties, including cardiology, gastrointestinal, OB/GYN, and orthopedics, according to specific account instructions.
• Identify typical formatting components of basic acute care hospital reports, including radiology, emergency room, discharge summaries, operative reports, etc.
• Effective office and reception management, including opening and closing the office, managing a waiting room, and greeting and registering patients.
• Schedule patient appointments.

Transcription Advanced Acute Care (150 hours)

• Accurately transcribe advanced acute care notes from multiple specialties in compliance with account instructions.

Editing Theory (15 hours)

• Identify the components and account specific considerations of a speech recognition draft.
• Use scanning techniques to identify and correct errors while avoiding over editing. Recognize and correct common technology-created errors in a draft, including misrecognition, substitution, addition, deletion, homonym, enunciation, and nonsense errors.

Editing Clinic Notes (45 hours)

• Accurately and efficiently edit computer-generated medical report drafts.

Editing Acute Care (40 hours)

• Accurately and efficiently edit computer-generated medical report drafts.

Final Exam Preparation, Expectations, and Policies (1 hour)

• Identify the steps they need to take to be eligible for and effectively prepare for and access their final exam.
• Identify the format, restrictions, and policies of final exams, including scoring, retakes, allowed resources, and time limits.
   

Medical Transcription Editor Objectives (PDF)

The Medical Transcription Editor Certificate program is completely online and provided by our partner, CareerStep. Once you are registered with CareerStep, your password and access information will be emailed to you. Through the CareerStep portal you will have access to:

• Readings

• Homework assignments

• Quizzes / tests

• Technical support

• Discussion boards

• One-on-one help from instructors

• Additional resources

The Medical Transcription Editor Certificate program costs $3,799.

We understand that one of the biggest concerns tied to furthering your education is how to pay for it. To help, CSU Bakersfield and Career Step offer low tuition prices that provide big payoffs. We’ve also designed multiple tuition payment plans, allowing you to choose the funding option that best fits your needs.

We currently offer:

• A discount when you choose to pay your tuition in a single payment

• An interest-free, 3-month payment plan

• A low interest, 12-month payment plan

For more information on tuition and funding options, please contact us at (877) 225-7151.

 

Note: Program is not eligible for FAFSA-based financial aid.