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Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they 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.

Related: Medical Assistants Medical Records Specialists Office Clerks, General Receptionists & Information Clerks Secretaries & Administrative Assistants

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
Complete insurance or other claim forms.
Perform various clerical or administrative functions, such as ordering and maintaining an inventory of supplies.
Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.
Maintain medical records, technical library, or correspondence files.
Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
Schedule tests or procedures for patients, such as lab work or x-rays, based on physician orders.
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.
Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
Transcribe recorded messages or practitioners' diagnoses or recommendations into patients' medical records.
Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.
Compile and record medical charts, reports, or correspondence, using typewriter or personal computer.
Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
Prepare correspondence or assist physicians or medical scientists with preparation of reports, speeches, articles, or conference proceedings.
Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.
Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.
Compile and record medical charts, reports, or correspondence, using typewriter or personal computer.
Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
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.
Transcribe recorded messages or practitioners' diagnoses or recommendations into patients' medical records.

Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.

Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

56920/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

27.37/hr

Currently Employed

10,450

Yearly Projected Openings

1280

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Concern for Others
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Self Control

Desktop computers
Dictation machines
Hospital intercom systems
Laser fax machine
Laser printers
Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Premise branch exchange PBX systems
Scanners
Special purpose telephones

Accounting software
Calendar and scheduling software
Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Point of sale POS software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

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