4 Easy Ways to Improve Your Life as a Medical Transcriptionist

Medical transcriptionists have always played an important role in the healthcare industry. Their most basic role is to transcribe dictation received from a doctor and convert it into a written report. Transcription services help make a doctor’s life easier, but let’s not forget about the medical transcriptionists too! There are a variety of tools that can help improve a transcriptionist’s productivity.

Speech Recognition Software
This is one of the most well-known—and both loved and hated—tools in medical transcription. Speech recognition software converts speech to a text format.

This software has two options: front-end and back-end software. Front-end software allows the doctor to speak directly into the device and instantly converts it into text and generates a report. The doctor then takes the report to the transcriptionist who edits the report. Back-end speech recognition software, also known as delayed speech recognition software, records a doctor’s dictation but the document is automatically sent over to a medical transcriptionist for editing before the report is generated.

WAVpedal
The WAVpedal is a foot pedal that controls the recorded dictation sent to a medical transcriptionist. While a medical transcriptionist’s fingers are busy punching the keyboard, their feet can play, pause, rewind, and fast-forward the recording with the pedal. It’s actually quite fun—you almost feel like a drummer working the bass pedal! All you have to do is connect pedal to your computer using a USB port or Serial port, and you’re ready to go.

Noise-Cancellation Headphones
Listening to doctors can be tricky. And cutting out all of the noise in your surroundings makes all the difference with a difficult account. There are many noise-cancellation headphones on the market are amazing. They can completely silence everything going on around you and allow you to listen as closely as possible to the dictation. These are a great investment for any medical transcriptionist and can make big difference to your productivity.

Ergonomic Chairs and Leg Rests
If you are a medical transcriptionist, you have to be in front of a computer. This means a lot of sitting, which can be hard on your back and, surprisingly, your heart as well. Ergonomic chairs are a great investment because they fit the natural curve of your spine and help alleviate back pain. It has also been proven that raising and resting your feet from time to time takes stress off your chest and abdomen. Taking advantage of ergonomic chairs and leg rests are a subtle but important way to make a difference in how you feel if you sit for long periods of time.

If you’re already a medical transcriptionist share your favorite productivity tricks below in the comments! If you’re interested in learning more about this career and the training you’ll need to be successful, please consider CareerStep’s medical transcription training!