Why Earn Your Medical Receptionist Diploma?
Are you good at dealing with people? Are you good at typing or willing to learn? Do you have a desire to start this new career quickly? A positive answer to the above questions indicates that you might enjoy a career as a medical receptionist. As an integral part of a medical office team, medical receptionists provide the first (and usually last) line of communication between the patient and the facility. Usually, certificates of completion can be obtained in a year or less depending upon your course load. Also, many programs offer evening and online classes if you are currently employed.
Career Possibilities
Occupational Outlook
Medical receptionists are employed in healthcare facilities that include clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, government medical facilities, offices of physicians, and home-care facilities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), www.bls.gov, the occupation of receptionists and information clerks is projected to grow faster than the average occupation through the year 2014.
Salary Information
According to Salary.com, the average medical receptionist earns $25,849 annually as of August 2007 reportings.
Degree Specifics
Coursework Requirements
Many certificate programs try to provide a well-rounded liberal arts education; still, the main focus is in delivering you a set of crucial and specific skills you can use at a job immediately upon graduation. The following list of courses represents typical courses you might encounter in a medical receptionist certificate program:
- Medical Office Procedures
- Introduction to Office Computer Applications
- Records Management
- Medical Terminology
- Health Insurance and Billing
- Keyboarding
- Medical Reception
- Machine Transcription
- Data Entry
- Interpersonal and Organizational Psychology
- Medical Setting Customer Service
- Medical Office Administration
- Business Communications
- Human Relations
Skills You Will Learn
Upon completion of the medical receptionist certificate program, you will know everything you need to perform your job as medical receptionist in a variety of healthcare environments. Some of the skills you will learn are as follows:
- Know professional and ethical work habits as they apply to healthcare environments
- Understand medical terminology and correctly apply it in your job setting
- Proficient in the Microsoft Windows environment and specific computer applications
- Fast and efficient at typing information into the computer system
