Medical Transcriptionist job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

12

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

Postsecondary nondegree award

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$40,410

BLS May 2025

1. Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records. importance 4.9 of 5
2. Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material. importance 4.8 of 5
3. Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information. importance 4.8 of 5
4. Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology. importance 4.7 of 5
5. Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries. importance 4.7 of 5
6. Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine. importance 4.6 of 5
7. Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records. importance 4.6 of 5
8. Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians. importance 4.5 of 5
9. Take dictation using shorthand, a stenotype machine, or headsets and transcribing machines. importance 4.5 of 5
10. Perform a variety of clerical and office tasks, such as handling incoming and outgoing mail, completing and submitting insurance claims, typing, filing, or operating office machines. importance 4.3 of 5
11. Decide which information should be included or excluded in reports. importance 4.3 of 5
12. Receive and screen telephone calls and visitors. importance 4.2 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates and Processing Information.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records.
• Answer inquiries concerning the progress of medical cases, within the limits of confidentiality laws.

Knowledge areas: English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics and Medicine and Dentistry.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: eClinicalWorks EHR software, Microsoft ASP.NET, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a medical transcriptionist.

The most common answer among medical transcriptionists surveyed by O*NET is a post-secondary certificate (39%).

Job title: Medical Transcriptionist
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Medical Transcriptionist to transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
- Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
- Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
- Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
- Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
- Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
- Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records.
- Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in active listening, reading comprehension and writing
- Working knowledge of English Language and Administrative
- [Software your team uses, e.g. eClinicalWorks EHR software or Microsoft ASP.NET]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $40,410 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $19.43. BLS estimates about 41,550 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of medical transcriptionists to decline 4.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,200 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full medical transcriptionist salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real medical transcriptionist posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only medical transcriptionist work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (active listening and reading comprehension).