Medical Secretaries & Administrative Assistants

Also Called: Medical Office Specialist, Medical Secretary, Unit Secretary, Unit Support Representative

Some College

usually needed

Not Available
(Students Only)
Match Percentage

$31,900

Entry Salary

Bright

Job outlook

What Medical Secretaries & Administrative Assistants do

Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.

  • Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
  • Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
  • Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.
Industry Areas:

Finance and Business • Health Care

Training Program Areas:

Health Unit Coordinator • Insurance Claims Processor • Medical Administrative Assistant • Medical Office Support • OCT-Only Finance & Business • OCT-Only Health Care • OCT-Only Transportation • Office Administration • Transportation Office Support

Expand For Additional Details

Work Context

  • Contact With Others
  • Telephone
  • Work With Work Group or Team
  • Face-to-Face Discussions
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate

Tools

  • Photocopiers
  • Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
  • Hospital intercom systems
  • Notebook computers
  • Premise branch exchange PBX systems

Technology

Medical software
Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
Henry Schein Dentrix
Word processing software
Google Docs
Microsoft Word
Accounting software
Billing software
Intuit QuickBooks

The Education & Training You Need

Skills

  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Service Orientation
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Coordination

Knowledge

Business
customer service
administrative services
Arts and Humanities
English language
Engineering and Technology
computers and electronics

Education

  • 41% Some college, no degree
  • 37% High school diploma or equivalent
  • 20% Post-secondary certificate

Experience

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

What are some related occupations at different educational levels?


Job Training Match

Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Educational Level

High School Diploma or Equivalent

 Job Training Match

Medical Secretaries & Administrative Assistants Currently Selected

Educational Level

Post-secondary, non-degree

Critical Care Nurses

Educational Level

Associate's Degree

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, & English as a Second Language Instructors

Educational Level

Bachelor's Degree

Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses

Educational Level

Advanced Degree

What are your training options on the pathway to this occupation?

Advanced Training

There are currently no advanced training opportunities for this career.

ACT & College

  • ABC Adult School

    Cerritos, CA

  • Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

    Tifton, GA

Apprenticeships

Earn while you learn. Apprenticeships combines paid training & specialized classes to help workers enter highly skilled occupations. Click here for to locate an apprenticeship near you.

Military

The Military offers exciting career opportunities that align with your interests. Click here to explore military careers and find a recruiter near you.

Are You a Good Fit?

Occupation Traits

    • Conventional (Organizer)
    • Social (Helper)

Work Styles

  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Cooperation
  • Dependability
  • Self Control
  • Concern for Others

Values

  • Relationships
  • Support
  • Working Conditions

Abilities

  • Verbal
  • Attention

This is what Medical Secretaries & Administrative Assistants across the country typically make.

$15.34 / hour
$31,900 /year

Entry Level

$19.54 / hour
$40,640 /year

Median Level

$28.05 / hour
$58,340 /year

Experienced Level

Income information reflects a regional average.
Income information reflects a national average.

This career’s National Job Outlook is

Bright

Please be sure to verify the outlook of this occupation with your instructor.

Search Jobs