Bursting Myths On Transcriptionists

There are myths associated with the role of a transcriptionists. These mythspose challenges in recognising the work of a transcriptionist or "transcription as a profession".

To begin with, they have been misclassified as typists, secretaries or stenographers. Individuals who perform a transcripton must be able to type quickly. However, a pure typing requirement is quite rare these days.

Today’s transcriptionists have to be domain-language specialists or well versed in the language of the industry. They need to have a practical knowledge of domain-related terminologies and domain-related writing styles because transcriptionist use their skills in a variety of industries, including education, health, insurance, research, law, etc.

Similarly they work alongside specialised professionals who rely on the judgment and deductive reasoning of experienced transcriptonists. In other words they must be able to detect inconsistencies in dictation. For example, a medical transcriptionist should be able to tell if the diagnosis of a patient is inconsistent with the patient’s history. In case of a mistake, the medical transcriptionist must question, seek clarification, verify information and enter the correct information into the report. Once the dictation is completed, the transcriptionist must then refine the rough, unedited draft into a finished document.

To document efficiently, transcribers must be effective communicaters and must have a good memory. They are required to have a sound knowledge of spellings, punctuation and grammar. They must have advance proofreading and editing skills, ensuring accuracy of dictation. They should have the ability to sort, check and count numbers with accuracy too. They must demonstrate skills in the use and operation of computers and other transcription equipment. They must also have the ability to follow verbal and written instructions. They must maintain a repository of important domain-concerning-information in a systematic way because transcribed materials are used for legal citations or to serve as reference for scientific research.

Some people are also of the view that transcription is a low-stress work. But this is false. It is actually a lot harder than you can imagine because you’ll be shocked by what comes across headphones. Dictation often arrives with a stock of background noise, interruptions and a mouthful of cracking voices. It includes words you haven’t heard before or have no idea how to spell. The foreign accents alone will generously make it difficult for a person to understand what the speaker is saying. So let’s just say clarity isn’t always the best, and for these reasons transcriptionists require excellent auditory skills to cut through the clutter and type the exact spoken word.

The scope for transcriptionist is wide. They move up the professional ladder as editors,quality assurance specialists, department heads, supervisors, managers or owners of their own transcription businesses. They can also take up teaching, working in schools and colleges to educate future transcription professionals.

Hope this article has been successful in educating you about transcriptionists and removing all your misconceptions and misinformation floating around a career in transcription.

Delnaz Edulji, the founder of Stylus aims to characterize documentation through her learning and contributions to the industry in her role as a writer for a start-up firm, moving on to a team lead and project manager at a CMM Level 5 US based company