At one point or another, we’ve all been to a doctor’s office. You might have noticed that many extra people are working there in addition to the doctors and nurses. But, what do they do?
Keeping a doctor’s office up and running takes a lot more than just doctors and nurses.
Here’s a list of the most common jobs you can expect to find in a doctor’s office with a breakdown of the description of their duties, educational requirements, and average pay.
Medical Assistant
If you are interested in becoming a Medical Assistant, it’s good to know their daily duties. Individuals in this occupation generally assist with:
- Scheduling appointments
- Taking vital signs of patients
- Drawing blood
- Preparing exam rooms
- Manage medical records
- Prepare patients for appointments
- Sterilize equipment
There will likely be more and different tasks required of you depending on the area of medicine your office specializes in. Still, these are some of the most common tasks that a Medical Assistant complete regularly.
To become a Medical Assistant, the first step is to enroll in a medical assistant school. These programs offer professional certifications or associate’s degrees upon graduation. To make sure that you can complete professional exams, your program will need to be accredited by one of the following:
- Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
- Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES)
The difference between getting the certification in comparison to the associate’s degree is the length of time. Certification will generally take you between nine and twelve months, while the degree program usually takes around two years.
The average pay for a Medical Assistant is $34,800 per year.
Phlebotomist
Phlebotomists primarily draw blood for medical lab testing and are responsible for ensuring that samples are properly identified and entered into the database correctly. If you’ve ever had your blood drawn and found yourself in a friendly conversation with the staff, that was probably the phlebotomist.
To become a phlebotomist, you will need a professional certification offered through one of the following organizations:
- National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT)
- National Healthcareer Association (NHA)
- American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)
- National Phlebotomy Association
- American Medical Technologists (AMT)
The average salary for a phlebotomist is $35,000 per year.
Medical Billers & Coders
Health Information Technicians, Medical Billers & Coders work on patient medical history to make sure data is coded correctly. They will also work on assigning appropriate diagnoses and procedure codes. This allows them to submit information correctly for medical billing purposes.
They might even act as a liaison between the doctor’s office and healthcare providers or insurance companies.
Most employers seek individuals with at least an Associate’s Degree in Health Information Technology with some introductory medical courses in their transcripts. Professional certifications in Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) and Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) are highly sought after certifications when seeking employment. Having work-related experience will also help make you stand out from the competition.
The average salary for Medical Billers and Coders is $42,600 per year.
Medical Transcriber
Medical Transcriptionists will listen to voice recordings of healthcare workers and convert them into written reports. When preparing patient medical history, they are also responsible for interpreting medical terminology and any physician’s abbreviations. As speech recognition software has also become more widely available for physician use, medical transcriptionists will review the software’s drafts and edits to correct everything.
To become a Medical Transcriptionist, most people will have to complete a 1-year program through vocational schools, community colleges, or online schooling.
The average salary for this position is $33,400 per year.
Office Manager
Medical Office Managers, also known as Medical and Health Services Managers, will generally manage a medical facility, a clinical area or department, or a private practice. They are also responsible for many of the following tasks:
- Quality and efficiency in delivering healthcare services
- Ensure the practice or facility is operating following laws and regulations
- Recruit, train, and supervise staff members
- Create schedules
- Monitor and prepare budgets for the office
- Oversee patient billing
To enter into this career path, you will need at least a Bachelor’s Degree. However, it is becoming more preferred to see Master’s Degrees on applications by employers. The most preferred majors of study are Health Administration, Health Management, Nursing, Public Health Administration, or Business Administration.
The average salary for this job is $101,000 per year.
It’s a common misconception that working in the medical field automatically means years of schooling and mountains of debt. But, with a couple of certifications, you can find yourself working alongside those doctors and nurses helping others in your community every day.
