UW Health Careers HomeEmployee Profiles: Ann Krier, Medical Transcriptionist
Ann Krier is a Medical Transcriptionist who works for UW Medical Foundation.
I'm mostly involved with documentation to patients' medical records. People think it's just typing, but in reality, it is much more than that. A transcriptionist needs to have a wide variety of skills in addition to typing: excellent attention to detail, accuracy, editing and proofreading while typing, the ability to thoroughly research new tests and new medications and new diseases, a wide knowledge of medical terminology and anatomy, exceptional grammar and spelling, and an understanding of the English language even with diverse accents and dialects.
After a provider sees a patient, the provider then dictates what happened during the patient visit, including reason for visit, past history, current treatment, social aspects of a patient's life that can affect health, medications and allergies, diagnoses, what future care the patient needs, etc. Reports can vary from regular checkups to X-rays and MRIs, surgeries, letters, etc. This dictation is transferred digitally, and we transcribe this dictation into a formatted report for the medical record.
No matter the type of report, this needs to be done quickly but accurately in order to ensure proper documentation in the medical record, to make the provider's note available to other departments in UW Medical Foundation that need to access this information, and to complete billing in an appropriate amount of time.
The transcription department is large, somewhere around 90 people, most of who work from their homes. Even though we do not have much face-to-face contact with each other, it is obvious to all of us that the group is very knowledgeable, helpful, and caring. We use e-mail as an outlet to the group to ask questions and get feedback and opinions. Currently, we are all trying to expand our knowledge even more by learning more about new specialties, and the team is an excellent resource.
I am dedicated, hard-working, motivated by challenges, and always willing to learn something new. More importantly, I am lucky enough to love my job, and I believe this makes me a happy employee who wants to go the extra mile for UW Medical Foundation (even when it involves getting my picture taken). I learn something new every day and apply it to my position in the best way possible.
I had been in customer service jobs most of my working life and really felt that I needed a break from it. At my previous position at UW Hospital as a receptionist, I overheard a few people discussing their jobs as transcriptionists. I was not exactly sure what transcription was, but it sounded interesting, so I checked into classes at MATC. Before I knew it, I was enrolled and beginning classes. Almost as soon as I started school, I knew I would like being a transcriptionist. I always liked grammar and language, and the medical terminology was a whole new language to me. I was learning so much and realized how interesting the medical field can be.
