Medical records clerk to medical transcriptionist
A medical records clerk already meets 63% of what the medical transcriptionist role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.7/ 100
1 How much of what a medical transcriptionist is expected to do is already part of a medical records clerk’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the medical transcriptionist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A medical transcriptionist role treats 8 of its required skills as things a medical records clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply organisational techniques
- archive healthcare users' records
- database
- health records management
- maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
- manage digital archives
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A medical transcriptionist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a medical records clerk background worth leading with.
- already held display medical problems communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held transfer medical information information skills
- already held participate in medical records' auditing activities information skills
- already held review patient's medical data information skills
- already held perform clinical coding procedures information skills
- already held use electronic health records management system working with computers
All 25 carried skills, including the 8 the medical transcriptionist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn edit dictated medical texts required
- still to learn apply grammar and spelling rules required
- still to learn execute working instructions required
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held use shorthand optional
- still to learn grammar required
- still to learn comply with legislation related to health care required
- still to learn transcribe medical data required
- still to learn use word processing software required
- optional, not held human anatomy optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a medical transcriptionist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 edit dictated medical texts practise this
- 02 transcribe medical data practise this
- 03 apply grammar and spelling rules practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 25 skills that carry over
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held archive healthcare users' records skill
- already held database knowledge
- already held health records management knowledge
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held manage digital archives skill
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held use electronic health records management system skill
- already held administrative tasks in a medical environment knowledge
- already held collect healthcare user's general data skill
- already held display medical problems skill
- already held handle paperwork skill
- already held health care system knowledge
- already held identify patients' medical records skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held participate in medical records' auditing activities skill
- already held perform backups skill
- already held perform clinical coding procedures skill
- already held process data skill
- already held professional documentation in health care knowledge
- already held review patient's medical data skill
- already held transfer medical information skill
- already held use databases skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held human anatomy optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held use shorthand optional
21 held skills the medical transcriptionist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role answer patients' questions skill
- not needed by the target role clinical coding knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect statistics on medical records skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role deliver case notes skill
- not needed by the target role document management knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role medical studies knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role send samples to laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role type on electronic devices skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn grammar required
- optional, not held human anatomy optional
Common questions about this move
Can a medical records clerk become a medical transcriptionist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A medical records clerk already covers 63% of what a medical transcriptionist is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 8 of which the medical transcriptionist role treats as required.
What skills does a medical records clerk need to become a medical transcriptionist?
7 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is edit dictated medical texts.
How hard is the move from medical records clerk to medical transcriptionist?
Its learning distance is 39.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.