A medical receptionist position is the perfect job for someone who likes working in the medical field, but whose aptitudes or preferences run towards working with people and putting a good ‘face’ on an office or medical facility.
A medical receptionist may, in larger institutions, only serve as a receptionist or the “face” of the organization or office. In smaller offices they may not only serve as the face of the office, but they may also do the work of a medical secretary. In fact, in many smaller offices and practices this position is filled by someone who is certified as a medical office assistant who can not only take care of the administrative and clerical work, but can also take on other responsibilities (such as medical billing and coding as well as filing insurance claims or working directly with patients) should the occasion require it.
In larger offices or medical institutions though, the position is a necessary one and involves a number of tasks that will help the office to run smoother and more effectively. The tasks for this position include things like answering telephones and directing phone calls as well as taking messages, being able to field the questions that people on the phone will ask, and doing things like light typing and filing. They will also need to be able to handle people effectively and have great communication skills, for they are the first line of defense when it comes to screening individuals coming into the office and getting them to where they need to go. But how do you become a medical receptionist? Do you need special training or schooling to become one?
There are no certification or degree requirements necessary to work in this job; however, there are some basic skills that will be needed. The first one of course, is to be able to work well with people. You’ll need to have great communication skills, a clear voice, and a pleasant demeanor that will put people at their ease. You will need to be organized and efficient; able to do more than one thing at a time and to keep a pleasant attitude no matter what is demanded of you or how rude people become.
While there are no state regulations or requirements to work in this kind of a job, most employers do like to see that you have some sort of training in administrative assistant courses such as being able to handle multiple phone lines, being familiar working with various computer programs, being able to type, file and be able to organize an appointment schedule.
There are plenty of colleges, universities and trade schools that offer course in office administration where you can get a two year associate’s degree, a four year bachelor’s degree, or certificates in different kinds of secretarial, clerical or administrative programs, each of which would qualify you for this kind of a position.
While the pay for this position is not as high as, say, a medical secretary (who is required to have more advanced clerical skills), starting pay is not bad, and ranges from $20,000 a year to $30,000 a year depending on where you live and what kind of an organization you will be working for. Some institutions do not hire full time for this position, but instead will hire 2-3 part time workers to cut down on the costs of benefits and other perks that would be required for a full-time job, so there are a good number of people in the field who work for two or more employers (say mornings for one, and afternoons or evenings for another).
But if you enjoy working with people and tend to be organized in your work habits and personal appearance, then becoming a medical receptionist may be just the kind of job you are looking for, and could definitely be a job worth looking into.
