What medical transcriptionist equipment is needed?
To get started in the field of medical transcription, you will need to have some basic equipment and materials. First, you are going to need a nice and quiet space with few distractions. Transcribing in a quiet room helps you hear the doctor’s voice and words more clearly. You will need an up-to-date computer (within the last few years). It doesn’t need to be expensive or a high end model, have access to Microsoft Word (at least 2007 or 2010), and should have high-speed internet access.
You’ll also need medical transcription equipment such as a foot pedal, headphones, and reference medical books. Additional medical transcription equipment/materials may be required later on, but this will be enough when you are starting out as a medical transcriptionist.
I’m going to explain to you exactly in detail what these highlighted items above are and where you can buy this medical transcription equipment for a good price. If you click on any image or links below it will take you directly to Amazon.com where you will find the best, reasonable, and cheapest price that is out there right now.
Foot Pedal:
You use a foot pedal to control the dictation. The basic foot pedal allows you to play, stop, rewind, and fast forward the dictation using your feet and keeping your fingers free to type. This will save you time and keep you from having to use the mouse every couple of seconds to start and stop the dictation. It’s really easy and basic to learn to use a foot pedal. There are many types of foot pedals and all of them work with different programs including Express Scribe.
Headphone:
This is a basic and affordable headphone that you can purchase through Amazon. The headphone is necessary so that you can hear the doctor’s voice and words more clearly and also block out other noises in the background. I usually prefer noise canceling headphones that fit over your whole ear. When looking for headphones pick a light weight, good sound quality, covers both ears, noise canceling, and get something that is comfortable since you will be wearing them the entire time you are transcribing.
Reference Books:
Medical transcription reference materials are what make the job as easy as it is. It’s practically like having all of the answers you need right in front of you at all times. These are some books that you should have at home when you first start off as a medical transcriptionist. I have been doing this since 2006 and still use them. A lot of this research can be done through the Internet and other types of research can be done through having the correct medical transcription reference books at hand such as the ones listed below.