Become a Medical Office Assistant
Skilled medical office assistants are commonly employed by podiatrists, physicians, physical therapists, chiropractors and other health care professionals. Medical office assistants assist with administrative tasks, which include medical transcription, insurance billing, medical records, appointment scheduling, customer service and clinical duties such as preparing patients for examinations, laboratory services, sterilizing medical equipment, authorizing medication refills and other duties set forth in the job description. Clinical duties for medical office assistants will often vary from state to state due to certain state regulations.
Instructions
1. Train on the job. Some employers do not require medical office assistants to obtain a certification or degree in order to be employed within their medical offices. It is rare for medical office assistants to be trained exclusively on the job without obtaining a post-secondary education or vocational training—be sure to read the employers' training and skills requirements to become a medical office assistant.
2. Get certified. Employers seek out the most qualified and skilled candidates to become a medical office assistant—completing a medical office assistant training program shows the employer that you have the necessary skills to be considered for a position as a medical office assistant.
3. Obtain a degree. Community colleges offer medical office assistant programs that focus on courses in anatomy, medical terminology, keyboarding, account principles, insurance processing and other useful courses related to performing your job as a medical office assistant.
4. Volunteer to get useful medical office assistant experience. Most employees prefer to hire experienced medical office assistants since the job requires the medical office assistant be capable of multitasking and performing crucial administrative support in order to effectively run the office. Consider volunteering at your local hospital or the American Red Cross to obtain hands on experience.
5. Practice your customer skills. Excellent customer service is a must-have skill—especially when you are working directly with patients. Medical office assistants are one of the first professionals to interact with patients before the physician sees the patient—providing superior customer service to the patients who are also customers paying for a service is a great way to ensure your success as a medical office assistant.
6. Prepare a resume. In order to be considered for employment you must have a resume to accompany your application. A well-written resume is a useful and mandatory employment tool–after you have completed your training to become a medical office assistant prepare a resume and cover letter that is relevant to the job you are seeking to fill.
Tags: medical office, office assistant, office assistants, medical office assistants, medical office assistant
