Obtain information from various community colleges at a local level or online if you plan to take the course through distance education on their medical transcription program for comparison of programs. Most will send you an information package via email or postal mail so that you can review information about: the training course curriculum, the tuition, and what services the school offers their students.
Consider making a checklist to compare each school. Find the answers to the following questions:
• Do the course offered at least forty hours of dictated training?
• Is there a variety of study areas including: vocabulary specific to medical transcription, various areas of medical specialty study that is separated by units, organizational skills and a final exam?
• How often is the course material updated?
• What is the tuition cost and what are the payment options?
• Is the medical transcription equipment needed for your course covered as part of your tuition or will you need to pay for it separately and if so, what is the pricing?
• How long will the course take to complete?
• Does the school offer job placement assistance?
Verify accreditation of each program to make certain the degree is accredited and will be recognized by potential employers. Depending on the country you live in, there may be an organization that can tell you if the medical transcription school is on a list of approved learning institutions. In the United States, you can check with the American Association for Medical Transcription for a list of approved schools. You may also want to check a resource such as the better business bureau in your area to find out if any complaints have been lodged against a prospective training school.
Determine which school fits most of your needs based on all the above factors and begin the admissions process.