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Course: Medical Secretary
Filling out insurance claims is one of the most complex tasks you’ll learn as a medical-secretary major. You’ll need to know what a deductible is, what a co-payment is, and how to calculate the patient’s out-of-pocket costs. You’ll also need to know what to do when people can’t afford to pay.
But there’s much more to the major, and the job, than health insurance. Medical-secretary majors divide their time between learning general office skills and learning those skills specific to medical offices. By the time you’re done, you’ll be ready to perform the huge range of office tasks required in a health-care setting. You’ll know a thing or two about the people skills needed to serve patients, too.
Medical-secretary students learn the skills necessary to work as administrative support for doctors and other health-care professionals.
Did You Know?
The health-care boom translates into a brighter job outlook for medical secretaries than for general secretaries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Are You Ready To...?
- Learn the ins and outs of professional letter writing
- Practice using medical transcription machines
- Learn how to manage databases and patient files
- Memorize medical terms
- Become a word processing pro
- Practice processing medical insurance claims
It Helps To Be...
Good at keyboarding and computer basics as well as multi-tasking. Strong communication skills are also important.
College Checklist
- Are the computer labs equipped with the latest medical-office software?
- Does the program provide a good mix of computer training and medical-office skills training?
- Will you learn something about the human element of the job through classes in such topics as human relations and communication?
- Will you have the chance to practice your skills in real-world settings?
- Does the school offer help with job placement?
- What are recent grads doing now?
Did You Know?
The term administrative assistant is commonly preferred to secretary, though the jobs are the same.
Course Spotlight
The pieces of the puzzle come together in medical office procedures, where you’ll take basic office skills and learn how to adapt them to a medical setting. You’ll probably have to finish a course in medical terminology before enrolling, because you’ll need that vocabulary for the parts of the class on medical records, medical bills, and insurance forms. Part of your grade may be based on how well you play the part in mock business situations, so be prepared to put your professional polish to the test.