Is credentialing important? You better believe it!

Monday, August 18 was the day, the day that I was scheduled to take my RMT exam. Now you may wonder, is it really necessary to become an RMT? You just spent a year learning the ins and outs of medical transcription. Anatomy and physiology terms, disease processes, English grammar, drug names, instrument names, names of procedures- and you've been quizzed on them and tested on them and you've now seen these words in the reports you have been typing. Is 1 more test really that important? Can't you just sit back and revel in the feeling of accomplishment of graduating from the program? You could, but you would be missing out on so much.



Once you graduate from an MT program, you are now a professional. Wow!! You have mastered what you set out to do a year ago. You are now a vital part of the medical team. When you become credentialed, you are showing your colleagues that you take your profession seriously and that you are committed to being the best RMT that you can be. Your colleagues are not only other medical transcriptionists but also doctors, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, lab technicians, and I could go on. All of those other professionals must either be licensed or credentialed. Would you see a doctor who was not a part of the American Medical Association? It is time that medical transcriptionists stand up and say that we are professionals, too!!



Now the other reason that it is important to become credentialed is that employers are willing to pay you more if you are credentialed. Some employers will pay you more per line if you are credentialed, some will help pay for the cost of the test itself. Employers want to show their clients that they too take credentialing seriously. If 2 applicants apply for the same position and they both graduated from an accredited school but only 1 of them is an RMT, which one do you think is going to be offered the position? The RMT has taken that extra step to show potential employers that they take their job seriously.



Take pride in what you have done and all that you have accomplished. This is no small feat that you mastered. But please do yourself and our profession a favor. Show that you care about your career enough to sit for your RMT. You'll be glad that you did. I know I am!!



Tami LaGrelius, RMT