Which Medical Transcription Course or Institute to Join in India?

Medical transcription was a hot-selling cake in the 1990s and at the turn of this century in India. There were a lot of institutes offering medical transcription course. It created such a hype that every Tom, Dick, and Harry who couldn’t find a place elsewhere wanted to make hay in medical transcription, either as an employee or as an employer or at least as an educator! However, people failed to know that all that glitters are not gold. They ended up like flies drawn to the hot lamps getting fried up!

Which medical transcription course?

Even today, I get queries either in person or in e-mail asking me which medical transcription course should s/he join or to name an institute that has a good medical transcription course. Will you recommend joining the course at a particular well known educational institution, government or private? Else, the request would be to opine about some specific institution offering medical transcription course, or to suggest a reputed, reliable, good medical transcription coaching institute. Always I used to remain mum about such queries but this time there is a generalized question. I thought it would benefit everyone aspiring to be a medical transcriptionist in India and that I should answer and blog about. Here it is:

Question:

I have finished my schooling and awaiting the final exam results. Before joining any college for continuing education, while researching for the prospects of each job, medical transcription seemed to be an attractive career with relation to the subjects that I chose at school. I found a couple of schools, colleges and universities offering medical transcription courses in the local dailies and I’m confused a bit now. Which medical transcription training program is the best in India and which medical transcription education course should I choose, a one-year diploma or just a six-month certification program? Is medical transcription certification necessary to get on to a job?

Answer:

Okay, I will speak with reference to my experience and circumstances when I stepped into medical transcription (and please don’t take it as brag). But before that I will answer the last part of your question regarding the necessity of medical transcription credentials. The quick answer is a big “No.” You don’t even need the subjects biology, nursing, or pharmacy in your school or college. Take my example, my major was civil engineering. Even in the US, one doesn’t need a certificate, license, degree or diploma or rather credentialing of any kind to get on to a medical transcription job. There is still a great debate and opinion poll going on about its relevance. The state of Pennsylvania turned down the idea itself of licensing/credentialing. A credential like RHDS (Registered Medical Transcriptionist) or CHDS (Certified Medical Transcriptionist) may elevate the chances of getting chosen easily while changing companies but not a mandatory requirement to get hold of a medical transcriptionist job.

Requirements

So to begin a medical transcription career, all you need is good listening comprehension skills, good language skills (English), and the ability to be at seat for long hours typing. Hence I think you can choose and deviate to medical transcription career even after completing a graduation or postgraduation of any discipline of your choice. Why sacrifice your higher studies if you have a good academic track record just for the sake of a medical transcription job as it is just a typist’s job? You can make a decent living in this career in India but definitely can’t steer your way to riches or higher echelons of the society.

1999

And now regarding my experience on how I got on to this job and how you should steer yourself through a course to a job: It was towards the end of 1999 when only a handful of medical transcription companies had opened shops in India and most of them were in the initial phases of starting business viz., recruiting, training, trial production or just with some small amount of live work.

I was out of college in 1993 and by that time in 1999, all my business adventures flopped due to lack of experience, lack of sufficient knowledge in the fields chosen, lack of proper planning and guidance, and on the top of all these, overenthusiasm, and at last I was on a hunt-out for a job to sustain myself. Incidentally, I happened to be a passerby of a medical transcription motivational seminar, canvassing people to join a medical transcription training program. On successful completion of the course, the aspirants were offered to be absorbed into live jobs. As I have an aptitude to medicine and human anatomy, I decided to give it a try. However, this time I didn’t blindly jump into a conclusion but tried to do a little research on the same question, “Which medical transcription institute should I join?”

Is job guaranteed?

At that time, the institutions mainly indenting to put a live production center were offering courses. One or two private, scam educational institutions that were not at all concerned with live medical transcription production were also offering courses. I decided to get on to an institution which would pay me stipend while I’m learning rather than I pay fees for studying. Hence it is assured that I would be absorbed on finishing the course, as the company would be investing some money training me and would not let me down. It was my need of that hour too. I entered a contract with a respectful institution, joined the course, and the rest is history. May be I will opt out of this career once I’m back on track with my finances clear, as it is a tough life with all your senses and organs focused on work, completely dedicated, unable to turn this way or other, with fingers pounding on the keyboard for hours and hours nonstop.

2009

The scenario has changed a lot now from then. Irrespective of the sum people owed an institution given to them as stipend, on completion of the course, people used to jump ships breaking contracts. This put the production centers in a soup that they changed their stance now. They are now demanding security deposits before taking a student into a course and charge tuition fees.

Furthermore, the educational institutions offering medical transcription courses neither do not provide hands-on training on a live production center nor do they guarantee to place you suitably. You may end up nowhere on completion of such courses.

Conclusion:

It is tough for a non-experienced fresher trained in an educational institution to find a job. You will end up hunting for a job once you’re out of an academic institute. Hence what I would advise is to go for a live production center that offers to absorb the successful candidates on completion of the medical transcription course. They may demand a caution deposit from you. (Forget about the stipend or scholarship, as almost all the institutes have now dropped that idea.) It is better to pay the caution deposit at live production centers than paying a fee for a course offered by educational institutions.

So, find a medical transcription company that is into live production near to you. Find if it is offering training and guarantees absorption on completion of the course. Once you confirm these and satisfied after having a chat with the existing medical transcriptionists working there about the work atmosphere and prompt, regular payouts, proceed with confidence. Is the message clear?