Medical Office Assisting Programs in New York

Clinics, hospitals, and almost all health care facilities require an administrative staff that understands the intricacies of specialized medical data and who can wear many “hats” in the medical office. Students interested in studying and working in New York will find many opportunities for education and employment within the state’s growing health care industry.

Employment Growth for New York Medical Administrative Assistants

One of the benefits of becoming a medical office assistant is the likelihood of employment in a growing industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests that individuals trained as medical secretaries enjoy annual mean wages of $36,340, which is well above the national mean annual wage of $33,140.

In fact, within the state of New York, the Department of Labor revealed that the job sector with the most growth from January 2014 to January 2015 was educational & health services.

About Medical Office Assisting Programs in New York

The classes required of a medical admin assistant program cover a variety of responsibilities including administrative duties, as well as health care information like medical terminology and the health insurance codes used for billing and coding.

It’s possible to become a medical admin assistant after completing a non-degree certificate or an associate’s degree program. The brief education required for the profession may mean affordable tuition for students who want to enter the workforce swiftly.

Curriculum for a medical office assistant program in NY should provide students with the skills needed to maintain efficient operations within medical offices. Classes will feature instruction on greeting patients, working with medical charts, and processing insurance claims.

An associate’s degree program will typically take around two years to complete. The program may include classes like Medical Terminology, Microsoft Office, Computers in the Medical Office, and Administrative Procedures for the Office. Some programs even offer students the opportunity to take an internship in a working health care facility.

Educational Accreditation and Certification for Administrative Medical Assistants

When searching for the most appropriate medical secretary program for your needs, locating for programs that feature relevant accreditation, as well as the opportunity for certification should help the post-graduation job search.

Students may want to consider programs that are accredited by or which follow the standards set for by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). In addition, students will want to make sure the school’s curriculum provides appropriate support to eventually take the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant Exam (CMAA) from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Admin Assistant Program Objectives and Career Expectations

Program objectives for a medical admin assistant program may include ensuring students can perform their duties in a variety of different types of health care settings like doctor’s offices, hospitals, and clinics. A student must feel confident in the office of a large clinic as well as in the more intimate setting of a doctor’s private practice.

Many students who graduate from a medical office assistant program go on to work in doctor’s offices, and most assistants work full time. There are some jobs that offer evening and weekend hours for health care facilities who have extended hours. As one of the most populous states in the country, there are a variety of urban and rural areas where trained medical office assistants may find employment in New York.

The growth of the health care industry in New York, as well as the variety of current job openings for medical office assistants in the state, means that the profession may offer significant opportunity for steady future employment. Students who enjoy the health care industry and wish to enter the workforce without many years of higher education may want to consider a medical admin assistant program in New York.