Here at TalentMed, one of the most frequently asked questions we receive is: ‘is touch typing required?’
The answer is no, it isn’t! As you progress through the course, your typing speed will improve. In fact, when working as a medical transcriptionist, accuracy is much more important than being able to touch type!
However, we understand that you may want to improve your typing, and that touch typing might be your goal. Therefore, we have all you need to know about touch typing below!
What is touch typing?
Touch typing involves being able to type without having to look and sight the keys on the keyboard, (known as the hunt and peck approach). A touch typist will learn the location of the keys on the keyboard through muscle memory.
Some of us may already have a good typing speed, however, we do not use all of our fingers. Therefore, we are not utilising the full potential of our typing abilities.
The idea of touch typing is to place eight fingers in a horizontal line along the middle of the keyboard. Therefore, each finger has its own section of the keyboard where it can reach the surrounding keys.
What are the benefits of touch typing?
Is there an alternative to touch typing?
If you want to become a medical transcriptionist, you don’t just have to be a touch typist to be efficient! In fact, a lot of our students use a text expander.
What is a text expander?
A text expander is a software program that links into any platform that you use on your computer. It will assist you with typing words, phrases or paragraphs much faster, by using snippets.
To break it down, text expanders allow you to abbreviate your typing by only using a few letters to completely write either a whole sentence, phrase or even a paragraph of text. You can even create glossaries that will help you with the words and phrases you use often. There are a lot of different software packages out there for all different types of computers and at different prices. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to do your research to get a text expander that meets your needs.
In fact, TalentMed’s Diploma of Healthcare Documentation includes 3-month access to award-winning text expander software!
Some of the benefits for using a text expander are:
From a recent study, 30% of medical transcriptionists found that using a text expander saved 30% of keystrokes, and another 15% said it saved up to 50%! Therefore, this is a great alternative to touch typing.
How can I get started?
At TalentMed, our Diploma of Healthcare Documentation is designed to take you through everything you need to kick-start your career as an efficient medical transcriptionist. It is currently the first and only nationally recognised course in Australia that provides both medical typing and editing training. In addition, we have qualified trainers available from the moment you start the course, all the way through until you complete your course!
If you would like more information on how you can start your career as a medical transcriptionist, you can register for a free consultation with one of our Course Advisers below!
Want to find out more?
Enter your details below to receive a free information pack instantly.
