It’s said, in medical transcription services circles, that the perfect transcriptionist is the linguist who has the best medical dictionary on hand, but she seldom uses it!
Not only should the good transcriptionist cover such basic branches as physiology and anatomy, but she must also be versed in the terminology of as many medical specializations as possible ─ from psychology to neurology, cardiology, urology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, hematology, hepatology, etc.
As many branches as possible! The good transcriptionist, it is said, is the one who frequently reads medical publications and journals with a view to keeping up with the new developments in the various branches of medicine.
Since the job is basically to prepare professionally written documents and reports for doctors and other medical professionals, there’s no doubt that a successful transcriptionist should have an impressive command of grammar and punctuation. Grammar mistakes in writing medical reports may expose the hospital, clinic, or medical facility to legal issues.