Complete a patient's intake form
Ask the patient for anything their intake form is missing, then type it into their record.
Career profile
Medical Administrative Assistant
Medical secretaries keep scheduling, patient records and insurance forms moving in medical offices.
Getting patients to the right staff member and untangling appointment mix-ups can suit someone who enjoys helping people and tracking small details.
A day in the life
Untangle double-booked appointments
When two appointments land at the same time, work out a new setup with the scheduling staff.
Fill out an insurance claim
Open the billing software and fill in each part of the insurance claim form.
Route a caller's question
Listen to the caller, pass the request to the right person, and follow up until it's handled.
Quick facts
High school + workplace training
United States · 2026
$45,930/year
United States · May 2025
+4.8% employment
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school + workplace trainingLearning medical terminology and office practices may take several months.
Pay
$45,930/yearNational median, equivalent to $22.08 an hour.
Outlook
+4.8% employmentProjected national growth from 2025 to 2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You notice missing details before finishing a form.
- You can return to a task after an interruption.
- You like explaining next steps clearly.
Things to weigh
- Calls and changing priorities can interrupt work that still needs to be accurate.
- Much of the day can involve sitting and repeating familiar tasks.
Where AI may help
Scheduling, billing, and electronic patient-record software help organize the work.
What people still lead
You still clarify requests and work with colleagues when schedules conflict.
What we can’t predict yet
How much routine coordination software will take over—and how much follow-up that leaves you—remains uncertain.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use the median as a reference when comparing offers, not as an expected starting salary.
The national midpoint
Medical secretaries and administrative assistants earned a median $45,930 a year, or $22.08 an hour. Half earned more and half earned less.
The national spread
In May 2025, the 10th-percentile annual wage was $35,930 and the 90th-percentile wage was $60,530. These are wage percentiles, not starting and senior salaries.
Workplace pay differs
In May 2023, average annual pay was $44,840 in general medical and surgical hospitals and $41,440 in physicians' offices. These historical averages are not current offers or medians.
Openings include replacement hiring
About 89,200 openings a year are projected for 2025–2035, including replacement needs. Total employment is projected to grow 4.8%; openings are not all newly created jobs.
Getting started
Enter through an office job
- What the route involves
- Build word-processing and spreadsheet skills, then learn medical office procedures on the job.
- What it can lead to
- A high school diploma or equivalent is the typical education for entry-level work.
- What to check
- Some positions require previous office or customer-service experience; check each vacancy.
Study medical office administration
- What the route involves
- Take college or technical-school courses in office procedures, medical terminology, and medical office practices.
- What it can lead to
- Some employers accept a relevant associate degree in place of prior administrative experience.
A bachelor's degree is not typically required. Look for entry requirements that match your education and office skills.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the office's procedures and medical vocabulary until routine paperwork becomes familiar.
Handle more complex schedules
Build toward coordinating appointments across providers and resolving conflicts with scheduling colleagues.
Move into executive support
After several years of administrative experience, executive assistant work is one possible next step. Some employers prefer college study.
Where you can work
A specialty practice's patient-access office
You spend more time on calls with patients and referring offices, learning the specialty's scheduling needs and where to send questions.
- Indoors
- Office
A medical department's operations office
The mix extends to provider calendars, meetings, travel expenses, and department projects. You support several clinicians and administrators.
- Indoors
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Make a fictional clinic calendar with two providers and six appointments. Move one provider's afternoon appointments, then write a clear message explaining one change. Notice whether you enjoy checking details and communicating the new plan.
Stay safe: Use invented names and appointment details, never real patient information.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, 43-6013.00. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table 1.2: Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants: May 2023 industry wages. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Mayo Clinic. Medical Administrative Assistant — Multiple Openings, Arizona. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Mayo Clinic. Medical Administrative Assistant — Medical Operations, Jacksonville. Accessed 2026-10-03.