Medical Transcription Training Curriculum

The goals and values of Ashworth College; time management; creating a realistic weekly and monthly study schedule; the nature and purpose of assessments; how to study effectively to prepare for and take an online examination; developing the skill sets necessary for success in the twenty-first century.

Introduction to the basic operations of allied health careers and the legal and ethical issues students may encounter while working in the different venues available for these fields.

Fundamentals and origins of medical terms; analyzing, defining, and creating medical terms; identifying major body structures and directional terms.

Anatomy, physiology, and basic terminology related to the integumentary, musculoskeletal, digestive, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, endocrine, and nervous systems.

Anatomy, physiology, and basic terminology related to the urinary and reproductive systems; gynecology, obstetrics, and neonatology terms and conditions; anatomy of the eyes and ears.

An overview of the terminology related to major chronic and infectious diseases as well as surgical treatments for those diseases.

Meaningful text; common abbreviations; career opportunities for documentation specialists; electronic health records; public policy regarding healthcare documents; demographics; clinical quality measures; productivity tools; research skills; proofing and editing.

Style conventions; homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, heteronyms, and eponyms; similar sounding words; abbreviations; brief forms and slang; capitalization, grammar, and punctuation.

Types of reports; formats and headings; second and continuing pages; numbers; additional abbreviations, terms, and phrases; completing and editing reports; turnaround times.

Drug names, classes, forms, and administration routes; vitamins, herbal medicines, and supplementary products; bioavailability; commonly transcribed anatomical terms, symptoms, conditions, procedures, treatments, and equipment related to the cardiovascular system; introduction to genetics and DNA; gene nomenclature and symbols; commonly transcribed genetic conditions.

Elements of blood; common blood disorders and treatments; abbreviations for laboratory testing; neoplasms and cancer grading systems; structure, function, and common terms related to the skin; allergy therapy, tests, and treatments; terms and conditions related to the immune system.

Skeletal anatomy, testing, condition, and procedures; nervous system anatomy, testing, conditions, and procedures; female genitourinary anatomy, gynecological conditions, issues relating to childbirth, and common procedures; definition of pediatric population; common pediatric conditions and procedures; immunizations; pediatric classification scales.

Ocular anatomy; specialized testing and equipment; ophthalmologic conditions and procedures; nomenclature and taxonomy; bacteria and viruses; psychiatric testing, diagnoses, and classifications.

Pulmonary anatomy; ventilation terminology; conditions and treatments; classification scales; common internal medicine conditions and treatments; common geriatrics conditions and treatments; common otorhinolaryngology conditions and treatments; common endocrinology conditions and treatments.

Working from home versus working in an office; split shifts; security; voice recognition (front-end and back-end); overseas outsourcing; technology advances; EHR guidelines; transcription platforms.

Education, experience, job searching.

Editing challenges due to accents and voice recognition software; the mechanics of editing; decisions about the extent of editing; style; quality assurance.