Career choices exist in many different forms and deciding on a future is always an 
important decision. That’s why a job that offers competitive pay, flexible hours, and job stability appeals to most people in search of a profession. A career as a medical transcriptionist meets all three of three of those criteria as health care facilities continue to look for new employees in this ever-expanding field.
Medical Transcriptionist General Career Overview in Alaska
The health care profession is one that gets busier by the day and that quick pace requires physicians and other professionals to create a multitude of audio recordings. That brings about an ongoing need for those recordings to be converted into documents. That need has called for a higher demand of Alaska medical transcriptionists as they are the ones who handle that conversion. Medical transcriptionists rely on a variety of skills to turn audio recordings into professional documents that reflect that dictation with 100% accuracy.
Medical transcriptionists in Alaska master a wide range of skills in order to complete their daily assignments. The art of keyboarding combined with top-notch listening skills enables Alaska medical transcriptionists to produce documents with 100% accuracy. These professional medical transcriptionists are also computer proficient and are well-versed in proper health care documentation.
The medical aspect of the job requires a firm grasp of the appropriate terminology, abbreviations and jargon used by doctors and other health care professionals. This is attained through certification training programs that cover basic anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, medicines and other pertinent subject areas. Once a medical transcriptionist in Alaska has mastered all of the necessary skills, employment is available in hospitals, doctors’ offices, medical centers, diagnostic labs, and other health care facilities.
Some medical transcriptionists in Alaska work for insurance agencies and private transcription services while others work from home. The characteristics of all of those working professionals include reliability, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently. Alaska medical transcriptionists are also capable of adhering to strict deadlines and reviewing and editing their work for proper grammar, context and clarity.
Medical Transcription Education Requirements
A high school diploma or GED equivalency is needed to start out a career path as a medical transcriptionist in the state of Alaska. There is also an age requirement as medical transcriptionist education is only available to those who are 18 years of age or older. Drug tests and criminal background histories are also conducted on new medical transcriptionists and failing either of those will exclude them from starting out in this profession.
Medical Transcriptionist Certification Requirements
A medical transcriptionist certification is the standard qualification needed to work in most health care facilities throughout the state of Alaska. There is not one universally-accepted certification issued by the state of Alaska, although there are a variety of post-secondary schools that feature certification programs. The completion of these respective programs results in the awarding of a certification. These program curriculums cover everything a medical transcriptionist needs to complete their daily work assignments.
It is important to look into a certification program before enrolling in a post-secondary school to ensure that the school is accredited. Most employers won’t accept non-accredited certifications. Technical institutes, community colleges and vocational schools are examples of accredited post-secondary schools that offer medical transcriptionist training programs. An Associate’s Degree with a specialization in medical transcription will also meet the standard job requirements to work in the state of Alaska.
Most certification programs will last an average of 12 months, with some finishing up in as early as nine months. An Associate’s Degree is a little more extensive as it takes two years to complete when attending on a full-time basis.
Alaska State Licensing Requirements
There is no requirement for medical transcriptionists to obtain a license in the state of Alaska. A certification is generally required to gain employment as an Alaska medical transcriptionist, although certifications do not qualify as licenses. That also means there are no annual renewals or fees that have to be maintained by medical transcriptionists in Alaska.
Medical Transcription Job Prospects and Potential Pay
The state of Alaska features an average medical transcriptionist salary that exceeds the national average. On an annual basis, medical transcriptionists earn an average salary of $36,590 per year. More experienced medical transcriptionists can earn as much as $56,000 per year working as a medical transcriptionist in Alaska. Medical transcriptionists in Alaska have experienced an increase in overall job growth and that trend looks as though it will continue into the future.
Resources
Medical Transcriptionist Jobs in Alaska
The medical transcriptionist job listings in the state of Alaska can be located on this website. There is also the option of applying for one of these jobs online.
Look through all the medical centers and hospitals throughout the state of Alaska with links that lead directly to each center’s respective website.
Browse through job listings, stay updated on the latest news and utilize a variety of other Alaskan health care resources on this website.
Alaska Medical Group Management Association
Use this website to connect with medical professionals and learn about local events, workshops and more.