How Do I Become a Clinic Receptionist?

Clinic receptionists are individuals who handle front-office duties at medical establishments in an effort to provide quality customer service and to keep their companies running efficiently. This type of person needs to be able to multi-task and embrace working with a team of people. If you would like to become a clinic receptionist, you should complete a couple years of training beyond high school and work as an intern to hone your industry experience. You can also become certified in this field, thus improving your job opportunities.

A person who wishes to become a clinic receptionist can consider completing a two-year medical receptionist associate degree. You need to fill out your chosen college’s admission application and submit your high school transcript. You also have to turn in your standardized test results along with your high school diploma or the equivalent certification to the institution.

Office skills courses provide you with the knowledge necessary to handle business duties in the medical field. For instance, you need to learn how to respond to telephone calls, greet customers, and keep track of patient files because you have to complete these tasks when you become a clinic receptionist. Making sure that charts are complete and handling releases for patient records constitute other responsibilities that you must master in the classroom when participating in a training program.

Your academic instruction prepares you to handle the duties of a role in this industry during an internship. The objectives that you should strive to meet while working as a clinic intern include verifying a patient’s insurance coverage prior to his or her undergoing a procedure, confirming patient data, and handling client complaints. As you train to become a clinic receptionist, you sometimes might have to page medical providers in addition to managing billing responsibilities. If you can show your supervisor that you are efficient, accurate, and good at providing customer service, you may be offered a full-time position at the company.

Associations in this career area offer certifications for qualifying individuals. In order to obtain this type of credential, you need to pass a test. You also have to complete a re-certification exam every few years or take continuing education classes at conferences or universities to keep this designation current. An individual who aspires to become a clinic receptionist should consider being certified because this makes him or her more attractive to human resource departments, showing that he or she has mastered concepts in this industry and thus is employable.