How To Become A Medical Office Administrative Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a medical office administrative assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Janice Noteboom, MHA/Ed., CMA (AAMA)

Their primary goal is to help in the smooth functioning of the hospitals, making sure all the facilities are up and running. Some of their other responsibilities include checking patient's scheduled appointments, maintaining the patient's database, and answering phone calls.

Some other tasks include greeting patients, filing insurance claims, and overseeing the day-to-day office activities. Nevertheless, there are some skills you need to have to increase your chances of getting this job, some of them include:

Reporting skills: An average Medical Office Administrative Assistant has a lot of reporting to do. So, he/she need to learn the art of drafting a comprehensive report, one that will be easy to read and understand by the superiors.

Administrative Writing Skills: Administrative writing is different from conventional writing as we know it. Unlike traditional essay writing, Administrative writing is more comprehensive and straight to the point.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office: Because this job requires a lot of recording, scheduling, and reporting, and printing, the need to increase your skills in Microsoft Office is very important.

As the salary structure, it depends on the size of the company, the experience of the candidate, and the country of residence. In the United States, an average Medical Office Administrative Assistant earns between $44,285 and $34,000.

What general advice would you give to a Medical Office Administrative Assistant?

Janice Noteboom, MHA/Ed., CMA (AAMA)

Faculty Coordinator of Allied Health/Medical Assistant Program Director, Midstate College

-LIKE- People who enjoy working as a Medical Assistant do it because they get a
great satisfaction from help other people. They are often the first contact with the
patient in the medical facility, which sets the tone for the rest of the visit.
They feel good making sure that their patients have the right information that they
need, the appropriate medical care they need, and helping patients feel better.
Good problem-solving skills, compassion, understanding, patience and keeping
up with a fast-paced office is very rewarding.
-DISLIKE- Some Medical Assistants have determined that there are
area/tasks/etc. that they dislike, listed below are some of these things:
 You’re always around people who are sick
 Long work hours can include 10 or 12-hour days
 Lower starting salary, which is usually based on education and
experience level
 Having to deal with stressful situations and difficult patients
 Dealing with patients who are angry, cranky, anxious or not feeling well
 Working under pressure from extremely tight deadlines

ScoreMedical Office Administrative AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,856

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.9

Growth Rate 16%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 9.29%

Black or African American 11.30%

Hispanic or Latino 23.18%

Unknown 4.67%

White 50.75%

Gender

female 89.37%

male 10.63%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress Level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.4

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.6

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a medical office administrative assistant

Explore medical office administrative assistant education requirements

Most common medical office administrative assistant degrees

Associate

28.1 %

Bachelor's

25.1 %

Certificate

16.1 %

Start to develop specific medical office administrative assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	32.44%
CPT	4.55%
Patient Care	4.28%
Patient Appointments	3.96%
Phone Calls	3.81%

Complete relevant medical office administrative assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical office administrative assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a medical office administrative assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical office administrative assistant resumes.

Gain additional medical office administrative assistant certifications

Medical office administrative assistant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific medical office administrative assistant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for medical office administrative assistants include Medical Assistant and Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA).

More About Certifications

Research medical office administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Create and maintain confidential patient files according to HIPAA regulations, and implement log books to automate patient records management.
Provide front and back office support for surgeons by administratively managing and monitoring patients.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Prepare employee schedules, assist with patient triage, assist with cosmetic and medical procedures as needed.

Prepare your medical office administrative assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical office administrative assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a medical office administrative assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Medical Office Administrative Assistant Resume templates

Build a professional Medical Office Administrative Assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Medical Office Administrative Assistant resume.

Apply for medical office administrative assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a medical office administrative assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do medical office administrative assistants rate their job?

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Medical Office Administrative Assistant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Pros

Interaction with patient. Caring for patients. Educating, Scheduling procedures.

Cons

Being overwhelmed with too many time sensitive referrals. Appeals

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019