Administrative Assistant - Career Profile from PaidEmployment.co.uk

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Administrative Assistant - Career Profile

Career Overview

An administrative assistant has several different roles and responsibilities in a healthcare setting. The primary role of an administrative assistant is to coordinate services for the patients or clients and work directly with both the medical staff and the patients.

Some of the duties that an administrative assistant may perform are greeting clients, escorting them to the treatment or examination room, scheduling appointments, calling to confirm appointments and answering basic questions they may have.

In addition to working with patients however the administrative assistant also has several different office responsibilities that may include answering phones and scheduling meetings for the physicians, billing, filing, chart and record keeping, data entry as well as overseeing non-medical staffing for the clinic or treatment facility.

Not all administrative assistants will complete all the same tasks as in larger clinics and physicians office there may be several administrative assistants that each take on a few select tasks and responsibilities.

The administrative assistant must have excellent organizational skills and should be comfortable with all the technology used in the office. This may include wireless internet, hand held computers or PDAs, fax, phone and computer hardware and software. Excellent record keeping skills are also required with knowledge of medical filing systems.

Since the administrative assistant interacts so frequently with both patients and medical staff a positive attitude and above average communication skills are a key factor in the job.

Career Requirements

Administrative assistants may come from a variety of work environments and educational backgrounds. For most administrative assistant careers English should be clearly spoken and understand however other languages are extremely helpful.

Depending on the tasks that the administrative assistant is required to perform some additional training in accounting, communications or even business management may be highly desirable. Some administrative assistants will require specialized training in specific word processing or computer programs, but this training is usually completed on the job, rather than required as a prerequisite.

Those administrative assistants that are required to maintain patient records may be required to complete the training for the Institute of Health Records and Information Managers.

Job Outlook

With the aging population and the increasing demand on physician’s offices, clinics and hospitals the demand for administrative assistants that specialize in healthcare services are on the increase. There is also movement by senior administrative assistants into more specialized fields in healthcare sectors which adds additional positions available for new individuals into the profession.

Career Track

An administrative assistant may move in several different directions once they have experience as an administrative assistant. Moving into assistant roles with senior executives and managers is an option that many administrative assistants take.

In addition some administrative assistants may move into specialized areas such as billing, technology or even informatics which can lead to management or supervisory roles within those departments.

Compensation

Most administrative assistants working in the healthcare field in the United Kingdom can expect to earn between £16,500 and £20,000 per year. Some administrative assistant may be hired on a part time basis and that salary is usually an hourly wage.

More experienced administrative assistant may earn significantly more than the salary indicated above, with some senior administrative assistants in large healthcare facilities earning £30,000 or more.