If you want to know what a medical administrative assistant does, then you can find medical administrative assistant job descriptions online.
The problem is that most of them look the same and may leave you wondering what skills you need to perform the job well.
They more or less list out a few of the common tasks that you will be performing as a medical administrative assistant but often times leave some things out.
Here is just one example of one of these job descriptions:
In fact, nearly every medical administrative assistant job description leaves out the following 6 things that are actually good general descriptions of the job.
6 Duties Excluded from Medical Admin Job Descriptions
Also, if you’re looking for things to put as your medical administrative assistant job description for your resume, then these 6 things are great choices.
1. Interpersonal Skills in Diverse Settings
Medical administrative assistants work directly with patients on a daily basis which is a blessing and a curse. Meaning, this is both rewarding and challenging.
Due to the diversity of patients and their situations, assistants won’t be trained on each specific scenario prior to coming across it. The job will require great interpersonal skills to communicate, understand, and assist each unique patient.
Medical administrative assistants must be able to work with people of all ages, races, religions, health conditions, mobility conditions, other accommodations, and various insurance coverages.
2. Critical Thinking Skills
Medical admins must pay close attention to detail while working in fast-paced settings. So, critical thinking skills and the ability to improvise are crucial.
Being able to solve problems quickly with little notice will be required in most jobs for medical admin assistants. Whether the job description lists it or not.
3. Being a Positive Leader
It is absolutely crucial that you stay positive and actually lead your colleagues in being positive.
Positivity in the workplace is essential and no organization is going to keep negative staff around who are bringing problems not solutions.
Additionally, administrative assistants are working directly with patients and it is even more essential to stay positive around them.
Considering that you will be the first and last contact with each patient, whether over the phone or in person, imagine the impact of your interactions.
You make the first impression with every customer and provide the final experience. Your positivity in this role will directly impact patient experience and revenue for your employer!
4. Process Improvement
Medical Administrative Assistants are responsible for carrying out a number of processes and in doing so interact with most of the clinic’s technology from computer systems, to phones, medical equipment, and even accounting and billing systems.
It should come naturally to medical admins to constantly be improving processes and technology to increase efficiencies. This can be done by reducing costs and increasing productivity.
This is one you will probably never see in a job description, but this skill will provide you with job security and advancement.
5. Quality Assurance
You will probably rarely see this written in a medical admin’s job description, but ensuring quality control is essential to your role wherever you work.
In all of your interactions with medical professionals, patients, insurance carriers, it is critical that you maintain professionalism and confidentiality while providing a positive experience to everyone.
It is your job to correct mistakes in billing, medical services, and scheduling alike. So keep an eye out for errors and ways to fix and improve things going forward.
6. Observing and Interviewing
Although you will be required to complete Continuing Education credits for your certification, continued learning is also something you will do on the job.
You must always be adapting to new colleagues, technologies and processes. Stay “hungry” always observing and asking questions showing interest in learning and growing in your field.
Not only will this increase your knowledge and skillset but you will also impress colleagues and open doors.
So, what next?
After learning these 6 duties you won’t find in medical administrative assistant job descriptions, you have a good idea of what the job takes.
If it sounds interesting and like a good fit for you, then check out available medical assistant programs in your area.
You may also want to read how to become a medical assistant and our Medical Assisting FAQs where you can also ask the community questions.
Speaking of, feel free to ask any questions below or leave a comment! Thanks for reading 🙂
