The SUM Program Demo 1.0

The acronym “SUM” stands for Systems Unit Method because SUM Program units are grouped by body system or medical specialty. The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training, developed by Health Professions Institute (HPI), is the leading medical transcription training program used in schools, hospitals, and transcription companies throughout the English-speaking world. The SUM Program is also available to individuals who are considering self-directed study.

Students who are serious about pursuing a career in medical transcription and are willing to work hard will find The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training challenging but effective. The SUM Program is used in accredited community colleges, vocational schools, and on-the-job training programs in hospitals, clinics, and transcription services; it has prepared tens of thousands of medical transcriptionists for the workplace. Other students are learning medical transcription from home through one of the highly-regarded distance education schools that use The SUM Program.

The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training uses authentic dictation, not simulated or “fake” script-read reports. Authentic dictation features natural background noises such as telephones ringing, papers rattling, nurses talking—even a dictator yawning or eating. It is spontaneous, peppered with “ums” and “uhs,” false starts, corrections, interruptions, and the run-on sentences characteristic of natural human speech. Script-read dictation, even if the readers are physicians, does not prepare students for the authentic dictation they will encounter on the job and undermines the training effort.

The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training includes a wide variety of voices and dictation styles—male and female, rapid and slow, organized and scattered, regionally and internationally accented, mumbled and clear, formal and informal. The more voices to which a student is exposed, the more prepared the student is for the workplace.

The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training prescribes a well-rounded course of academic study with readings and exercises assigned in respected college-level textbooks, including anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, human diseases, medical science, pharmacology, laboratory medicine, diagnostic and surgical procedures, and professional issues.

The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training is organized by body system and medical specialty, coordinating transcription practice with academic course work so that students can immediately apply what they have learned and more easily retain information. Concepts are sequenced from simple to complex, allowing students to build their fund of knowledge gradually throughout the program.

The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training is self-paced so each student can move at a comfortable rate. Students check their own work against transcript answer keys to provide immediate feedback and assure that mistakes are corrected before they become bad habits. (Teachers have the option of turning off the answer keys.)