Career Spotlight: Medical Office Assistant

What is the demand for a medical office assistant these days? Is this a career with growth potential you should pursue? Find out more now.

Looking to start a new career? If you have administrative experience, and if you’re drawn to the medical field, you might consider becoming a medical office assistant.

Medical office assistants are vital to the operation of medical organizations, handling a wide variety of responsibilities to ensure that everything is running smoothly at all times.

Interested in learning more? Then read on. We’re going to cover the specifics of this exciting career.

Responsibilities of a Medical Office Assistant

Medical office assistants have many responsibilities, often serving as the bridge between patients and healthcare specialists. Not only do they answer phones and check patients in, but they also keep medical records and maintain databases. Other responsibilities include interacting with physicians and nurses, helping patients with paperwork, and ordering office supplies, to name just a few.

Your exact responsibilities will vary based on where you work. The responsibilities of a medical office assistant at a hospital can be wildly different from the responsibilities of a medical office assistant at a clinic.

Skills Required By a Medical Office Assistant

Because they have so many responsibilities, medical office assistants must be quite versatile in their skillset. Not only must they possess top-notch social skills, but decision-making skills, organizational skills, bookkeeping skills, and writing skills as well.

Medical office assistants must be able to jump from task to task with little notice. At one minute they could be speaking on the phone, while the next minute, they could be running a report back to a physician.

How to Become a Medical Office Assistant

When compared to many other jobs in the medical industry, medical office assistant is fairly easy to obtain. We’ll get into the specifics of the process below.

Graduate from High School/Get Your GED

First and foremost, you must earn either your high school diploma or your GED. It’s impossible to progress in the process without having done so.

Enroll in an Appropriate Program

Next, you’ll need to enroll in an appropriate program. There are all kinds of programs that can lead to a career as a medical office assistant, some of which last for a year and some of which last for two years.

The year-long programs are offered at most vocational schools and community colleges and generally result in certificates in medical assisting. The two-year-long programs are associate’s degrees in medical assisting and are offered at both universities and community colleges.

These programs will include a wide variety of courses, including anatomy courses, computer courses, accounting courses, medical ethics courses, and more. If you obtain an associate’s degree, you might have to take other types of courses as well.

Note, if you wish, you can also receive training online. Learn about it now.

Obtain Certification

While you’re not legally required to have certification in order to work as a medical office assistant, it’s highly suggested that you get certified. Most employers are looking for employees with a medical assistant certification from the American Association of Medical Assistants.

To obtain this certification, you must be complete a formal program and then pass the Certified Medical Assistant Certification Exam. This exam is held in select venues throughout the United States and costs $125 to take.

Find an Internship

While you could technically begin seeking employment the second you complete your program, you could increase your chances and strengthen your connections by seeking out an internship. Medical facilities are always looking to take on budding assistants, showing them the ropes and helping them get experience in important aspects of the job.

If you can find an internship while in the midst of completing your program, you’re advised to. However, if you were unable to find one during this time, there’s nothing wrong with immediately seeking employment after completion.

Obtain Employment

Obtaining employment as a medical office assistant is as simple as finding available jobs, applying for them, and interviewing for them. You won’t have to throw together a portfolio or anything else of the sort. A cover letter, a resume, and your certification should be enough to prove your qualifications.

Regardless of where you live in the United States, you should have plenty of medical office assistant job openings in your proximity. At the present time, there are over 686,000 such jobs scattered throughout the country. That being said, you might have to commute if you want to find employment quickly.

Medical Office Assistant Salary

Based on 2018 numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median salary of medical office assistants is $33,610. This comes out to around $16.16 per hour.

Note, however, that exact salaries vary based on a number of factors. For instance, office assistants at hospitals might make more money than office assistants at clinics. Plus, an office assistant in a high-cost-of-living area like New York City is bound to make more than an office assistant in a low-cost-of-living area like Dayton, Ohio.

Medical Office Assistant Job Outlook

The job outlook for medical office assistants looks bright. In fact, it’s expected that around 155,000 new jobs will be created between 2018 and 2028. That’s an increase of 23%, far greater than the national average for other occupations.

The reason for this growth? There are a number of factors at play, however, the most prominent is the aging of the baby boomer generation. Because there are so many baby boomers, and because baby boomers are requiring medical care more frequently than they once did, physicians are needing more office assistants in order to accommodate them.

Learn About Other Exciting Careers

Not interested in becoming a medical office assistant? Looking to learn about other exciting careers? You’re in the right place.

Our website covers careers in a range of different industries, including but not limited to the medical industry, the tech industry, the financial industry, and more. Take a look at some of our other career profiles now!