Whether you're just starting out or looking for a change in career, medical office administration programs offer jobs in a rewarding and stable field. Medical administrators work closely with medical professionals and patients in order to ensure that the healthcare facility operates smoothly — you'll receive patients, verify patient information, enter and print outpatient records, field phone calls, and collect patient payments. It's a challenging work environment that requires excellent interpersonal skills and attention to detail in order to put patients at ease and make sure they are cared for in a timely manner. Below are a few reasons why a career in medical office administration may be the best choice for you.
1. Rock-Solid Job Security
Medical office administrators are an inseparable part of the healthcare field — in most cases, you'll be the first person a patient sees when they walk through the front door. You're part of creating a positive patient experience from the very start, so medical professionals love self-motivated medical administrators with excellent interpersonal skills. Between the fact that the healthcare field is expanding to care for a rapidly aging population and medical office administrators being a vital part of the patient care experience, a career in medical administration stands to be very stable and secure.
2. Opportunities for Job Advancement Regardless of Where You're Employed
Hospitals provide ample opportunity for advancement in the form of supervisory roles. Since hospitals are so large, they require dedicated administrative teams in order to properly manage patients — if you work in a hospital as a medical office administrator, you'll be working as part of a large team focused on a narrow task, such as handling patient payments. Demonstrating managerial potential in a hospital environment can land you a high-paying supervisory role.
Small clinics and private practices may not have multiple teams of medical office administrators, but there's still plenty of opportunity for advancement in the form of developing a diverse skill set. If you administer a physician's office, it's possible that you may be the only administrator there. This is a dynamic work environment that requires you to constantly use the full breadth of your medical administration skills. You'll receive patients, enter their records into the computer, forward lab results to specialists, and handle patient billing all in the same day. Having experience with handling several complex tasks at once will boost your resume, allowing you to advance further in the medical administration field.
3. You're Helping Patients Navigate the Medical System
One of the best things about working in the healthcare field is that you're responsible for making patients better, and you will play an important role as a medical office administrator. Many patients dread going to the hospital or the doctor's office — it's very rarely a source of good news. While you can't treat patients directly, you are in a special position to brighten their day as the friendly face around the facility.
If you're interested in the field of medical office administration, it's best to complete a short educational program beforehand. An education in the field of medical administration makes you more attractive to potential employers. In a medical office administration program, you'll learn how to decipher complex medical terminology, how to work with electronic medical records, how to understand the medical coding system and how to work with patient management software. These are all skills that you'll use every day on the job, so employers will love that you're already knowledgeable about them
