A medical secretary is described as an assistant that is trained with working on the clinical side, but also has the skills and knowledge needed to handle administrative tasks. Most medical secretaries work in combination with medical staff to provide the best medical services to patients. This occupation is one of the fastest growing in the entire healthcare industry due to the sheer amount of facilities that employ medical secretaries. It is possible for a medical secretary to seek employment working in a hospital, dental office or even a lab. The salary averages that you will see below are based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The demand for this occupation is predicted to rise by nearly 42% between 2010 and 2020.
Skills and Duties of a Medical Secretary
The main duty of a medical secretary is to check-in patients at a hospital or medical office. It is also important for this employee to answer phone calls and keep track of appointments. Bookkeeping and record keeping are an integral part of the job description for a medical secretary. Due to the vast interaction with patients, it is ideal for an employee in this field to have excellent people skills. It is also necessary for a qualified medical secretary to have extensive computer skills for duties associated with tracking appointments.
Other duties that fall into the lap of a medical secretary include keeping track of patient records, which results in the need for medical terminology understanding. A medical secretary has to do clerical duties, but must also have a working medical knowledge that makes these task manageable and simplified. The duties that are expected of a medical secretary in a doctor’s office are different from those expected of a medical secretary employed in a hospital. The job duties range based on where employment is found.
What is the Average Salary?
The average salary for a medical secretary is about $15.71 per hour, which results in an annual salary of $32,670. However, the range in salary for this job is much more pronounced. The range in salary within the United States for a medical secretary varies from $21,295 to $40,175. This is a pretty large gap and there are many determining factors that are attributed to the wide gap in median salary. The hourly wage generally can be expected to fall between $10.18 and $18.70 per hour. The overtime rates that a medical secretary will receive range widely from $0.38 to $27.25 per hour. It should also be noted that the amount of bonuses that a medical secretary receives usually averages about $1,000 per year.
Experience and Salary
One of the determining factors that effects salary is experience. Experience is what often has the most influence over salary figures in the United States. Those that have experience ranging from 1 to 4 years can expect a salary that is between $19,837 and $38,619. However, those with at least 5 years of experience and at the most 9 years’ experience can expect a salary that is between $20,599 and $40,081. Those that have the highest level of experience in eth medical secretary position at 20 years or more can expect a salary that is between $41,000 and $46,369. These statistics clearly show that as experience is gained salary will rise as a result. The largest increase in salary is not realized until you have accumulated at least 15 to 20 years of experience. However, with at least 5 years of experience you will notice a pay difference.
Where You Work and Pay
Medical secretaries work in a variety of settings and salary is often dictated by the facility that a secretary of this type is employed at. A medical secretary that is employed at a medical office receives between $22,188 and $44,220 as annual compensation. However, those medical secretaries that seek employment at an OB/GYN office have the highest salary that ranges from $24,567 to $47,010. This means that where you work does matter when it comes to how much money you will make as a medical secretary. Not all offices and hospitals pay the same amount for secretarial and medical services.
Want To Be a Medical Secretary?
Those that are looking to become employed as a medical secretary must obtain least an Associate degree in Applied Science. This normally takes about 2 years of schooling to complete and is offered at many community colleges. Those that complete a 2 year program will have all the knowledge necessary to gain employment as a medical secretary immediately.
