Medical Office Receptionist Jobs: Salary and Career Facts
Do you enjoy helping people and managing information? Does the idea of reassuring patients interest you? If so, a career as a medical office receptionist may be right for you. Read more to learn about this career. Schools offering Medical Office Administration degrees can also be found in these popular choices.
What Will I Do As a Medical Receptionist?
Medical receptionists typically offer the first impression patients encounter when visiting a medical office. As a medical receptionist, you also provide administrative support to the doctors or dentists you work with. To succeed in the position, you should possess tolerance for stressful situations, solid customer services skills and the desire to help people.
As a medical receptionist, you can expect to greet customers, answer the telephone, set appointments and manage multiple calendars. Other tasks include scheduling lab appointments for patients and working with bookkeeping or medical billing records. You may also receive co-payments for services, update patient records and verify the accuracy of documentation in patient charts.
Some medical receptionists also function as office managers or medical assistants. If you pursue a position that requires clinical medical assistant training, you can expect to work more closely with patients. Clinical medical assistants collect laboratory specimens, take vital signs and assist physicians with other procedures.
What Education Might I Need?
Most employers require you to have a high school diploma in order to work as a medical office receptionist, but some positions may also require some post-secondary education or certification. Some colleges offer courses in medical reception that lead to a certificate of completion. Medical office work requires familiarity with medical terminology and billing. As a result, you can expect to take courses in medical coding, office procedures, health insurance and customer service.
Some employers may prefer to hire candidates with administrative medical assistant training. Vocational schools and colleges offer medical assisting programs. You can expect to take courses in anatomy, medical terminology, biology and federal law pertaining to healthcare.
How Much Can I Earn?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that medical secretaries earned an average of $31,820 per year in 2010, with most earning between $25,300 and $37,160 (www.bls.gov). Medical assistants earned an average annual salary of $29,760 in that same year, with most workers in the occupation earning between $24,370 and $34,450 per year.
To continue researching, browse degree options below for course curriculum, prerequisites and financial aid information. Or, learn more about the subject by reading the related articles below:
Subscribe to RSS feed for
Healthcare Administration FAQs
