It’s Day 3 of a sore throat and swollen tonsils that make it nearly impossible to swallow. Suspecting strep throat, you pick up the phone to call your doctor. Despite feeling pretty crummy, you can’t help but smile when the empathetic receptionist puts you on hold and quickly comes back with the good news that your doctor can see you today. What you weren’t privy to in the efficient interaction, is what goes into the medical office administration jobs that ensure you’re seen when you need to be, that your file is in order when you arrive, and that the office is running smoothly. This fast-paced but rewarding work, can be truly fulfilling. Here’s how you can go from patient to medical office administrator.
Step 1: Combine Medicine and People in Health Office Administration
If the idea of helping people to feel better — without bandaging cuts or writing prescriptions — is appealing to you, then admin jobs in health care may just be your career route. There are various roles within this field that focus on customer service and indirect patient care through tasks such as: efficiently scheduling and managing appointments; greeting and processing patients in a welcoming manner; receiving and routing messages such as lab and other results; processing documents; and multi-tasking, all while keeping the patients at the forefront.
Step 2: Ensure You Have the Qualities of a Medical Office Administrator
Compared to other admin jobs, the health field requires a higher level of compassion and patient-centred care. You should also be able to work proficiently in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision. Often, even the job description of medical office assistant — despite the word “assistant” — calls for being a leader. You must have the ability to stay focused, establish priorities, and achieve objectives in an organized and time-efficient manner without someone micromanaging your tasks. Another major part of this field is the ability to communicate, whether in-person, in writing, or over the phone. For some people, some of these capabilities may be inherent. For many others, they are learned in a relevant post-secondary program.
Step 3: Attend the Right Medical Office Administration Program
A college program in this field will teach you to work in today’s dynamic health environments. For example, at Centennial College’s Office Administration – Health Services program, you will spend two years learning the organizational and clinical support skills you need to contribute to the health care system. While your education will focus on being part of a medical organization’s team, your competencies will be transferable to admin work in all industries. Some of the specific knowledge you’ll gain includes: relevant terminology; anatomy for health administration; medical transcription; specific health office procedures; electronic health record management; diagnostic and lab procedures; and more. You’ll even gain real-world experience at a two-day-per-week industry work placement.
Step 4: Choose Your Health Office Administration Role
There is a range of jobs available once you complete your education. For example, you could become a medical transcriptionist who uses electronic devices to convert voice recordings from physicians and other health care workers into formal reports. You could also be a patient care coordinator, whose job includes developing a care plan to address patients’ personal health care needs; consulting with patients and their families to discuss patients’ health problems; and educating patients on their condition. The job description of medical office assistant, meanwhile, includes scheduling appointments and general clerical work, ensuring patient rooms are organized and tidy after each appointment, and preparing exam room linens for laundry. Other jobs in this industry include office manager or administrator — which leaves room to move up in the industry.
Written by Izabela Shubair