A medical transcription credibility kit is a notebook that contains documentation vital to setting yourself apart from other medical transcriptionists vying for the same medical transcription job. Get yourself a notebook and divide it into the following sections:

1) Resume

2) Letters of Recommendation

3) Employee Evaluations

4) Samples of Work

5) List of Accomplishments at Each Job

6) Course Completion Certificates

7) Outside Activities

Resumes:

Have several copies of your current resume in the notebook. This comes in handy at the interview in case more than one person is interviewing you or if your resume has been lost or misplaced.

Letters of Recommendation:

Each time you leave a medical transcription job, get a letter of recommendation. This establishes your value to each past employer, whether it is a hospital, medical clinic, or private practice doctor’s office. These carry a lot of weight in my opinion. Not all prospective employers want to see them, but have them available nonetheless. I am more than happy to give them to a prospective employer so copies can be made.

Employee Evaluations:

Once again, these establish your value to past employers and your current employer. Having copies of evaluations, as well as letters of recommendation, show that you are being transparent. You have nothing to hide because you are a good catch as an employee. You want to make it easy for someone to realize your value and how much you can contribute to the company.

Samples of Work:

In all cases, when including sample medical reports, the names of patients must be deleted. I sanitize the reports, changing the name to John Doe or Jane Doe. I also change the name of the employer to ABC Company.

I have had so much fun on job interviews simply because I brought samples of my work. I used to transcribe for an orthopedic surgeon in the workers’ compensation arena who dictated convoluted sentences. In fact, prior to being hired as his medical transcriptionist, I was told the company was specifically looking for someone who could compose his dictation which would otherwise get him “laughed out of court.” This job was right up my alley, and I took full advantage of the situation.

In my medical transcription credibility kit, I include a copy of the doctor’s dictation verbatim and how I edit it so future prospects can see how well I can edit without changing the content and meaning of the dictation.

For example, the doctor once dictated: “In the incident of August 2, 1999, in which the patient struck his body with a forklift, he was thrown to the ground and found to be injured in the low back.

(Can you imagine a man taking a forklift and striking his body with it? Bam! Bam! Bam!)

I typed: On August 2, 1999, the patient was struck by a forklift. Consequently, he was thrown to the ground and sustained a low back injury.

On interviews, I give a copy of this work to the interviewer in case any other medical transcriptionists want to see it (for a good laugh and to see the quality of my work). Again, remember I am establishing credibility with all the information I present. In essence, I am trying to get them to see that I am THE one they want.

I put one of each report type in my notebook. Since I have typed for several doctors, I have had to weed it out every few years. I include the most complicated and interesting medical reports. I have also reviewed medical records, so I include a medical records review in my medical transcription credibility kit.

List of Accomplishments at Each Job:

Employers like to see if employees will go above and beyond what is expected. Never fail to let them know that you are such a person by listing your business achievements and the benefit derived from them.

Here are examples of what I have listed on my past resumes as my accomplishments:

1) Created a WordPerfect 5.1 macro menu-driven system that is used to take patient histories in a medical office, thereby increasing the efficiency of the process and quality of the work.

2) Designed a Q&A database that was used for marketing purposes and to generate more goodwill.

3) Expedited daily operations for both historians and transcriptionists by creating 100+ WordPerfect macros.

4) Trained historians and medical transcriptionists in the use of WordPerfect functions and the creation of WordPerfect macros, increasing employee productivity.

5) Organized and standardized computer procedures. Implemented back-up and disaster recovery protocols.

Employers love to save money and time! So let them know exactly what you can do for them to save time and money as well as increasing medical personnel output.

Course Completion Certificates:

Self-explanatory.

Outside Activities:

Indicate your membership in the American Association of Medical Transcription. In my medical transcription credibility kit, I include a copy of the Membership Directory that I created for my local chapter, OCC-AAMT; a copy of the Q&A database that I created to keep track of those who did pay their annual dues; and that I held a board position as Corresponding Secretary for the Orange County Chapter of the American Association of Medical Transcription in the 1990s.

A medical transcription credibility kit is much more than a notebook filled with paperwork; it is a compilation of your medical transcription work and accomplishments as a medical transcriptionist.. So make your case and run rings around your competition by using a medical transcription credibility kit!

MT Mastery Center contains a wealth of information not only about medical transcription but also about how to write a medical transcription resume, conduct an information interview, research on the Internet for employer data, and network with other medical transcriptionists so you can get that medical transcription job you want and get it now!