Top Reasons for Choosing a Degree in Medical

Top Reasons For Choosing A Degree In Medical Office Management Aletha McTigrit Kaplan 2012 ? Medical office management jobs are one of the fastest growing professions in the health industry in 2012 predicted to grow as much as 22% in the next 8 years. If you have a desire to work in the medical field but like myself don’t want to work with patients directly, medical office management is a profession you should consider. What is a medical office manager? How much can they earn? What type of person would be a good candidate for a medical office manager position? What would be their responsibilities?How can a person become a medical office manager, and what are some the current issues affecting medical office managers today are just some of the questions I am prepared to answer. Medical office managers are responsible for the non-clinical day to day operations designed to improve and maintain productivity in practices that provide healthcare services. Medical office managerâ€⠄¢s salaries vary state by state depending on the area where you intend to work although according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median salary for a medical office manager in 2010 holding a bachelor’s degree or higher in a large city was about 86,300 a year.Medical office managers need to be proficient communicator with good human resource abilities who are able to communicate with people from all areas of life; He or she must also be honest, fair, and dependable(Hicks, 2012). Working as an administrator or manager in any type of office has its challenges. Office managers have a large array of duties for which they are responsible that must be accomplished on a daily basis and depending on the size of the organization in which they are employed, some of these duties may include selecting, hiring and training other employees, managing inventory and being solely responsible for bookkeeping,. ut working as an office manager in a medical facility can also include other du ties such as managing the schedules of all the doctor’s that work in the office, addressing complaints made by doctors, staff, patients or insurance companies, supervising patient scheduling, sending out appointment reminders, maintaining confidentiality with patient records as well as staying informed of new laws and regulations that affect the facility to insure the facility is in compliance so being able to multitask without becoming overwhelmed is a plus.Courses needed to obtain a degree in medical office management often include medical terminology, medical office accounting, medical law and bioethics, as well as those in anatomy and physiology Although earning a bachelor’s degree or higher in health science is customary when seeking employment as a medical office manager one can also gain on the job experience and work their way up from a related career such as a medical receptionist, or a medical administrative assistant by taking on larger and more responsible positions as stated in an audio segment on medical office management.After earning a degree in medical office management most professionals will seek to earn their CMM (certified medical manager) credential offered by the PAHCOM (Professional Association of Health Care Office Management) which attest to a person’s professionalism as a healthcare manager nationwide.Being a medical office manager is a challenging profession and one must always be prepared for change whether it be in technology or to stay in compliance with an additional laws or regulations such as HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) other current issues include infection control, internal control to prevent employee misconduct and dealing with unresolved claims.My desire to become a medical office manager was kindled by a desire to expand my education and be the first one in my family to have earned a college degree, and to have a positive impact on my daughter who did not finish high sch ool in hopes she would return and someday in the future hold a degree in her own chosen field. My goal is not to enter the work force immediately although I know I need to complete an externship and clinical requirements in order to obtain my degree.I intend to earn my bachelor’s degree and work part-time in order to qualify for my CMM credentials and possibly move on to earn a master’s degree in Medical office management. I see myself as already having waited 20 years to return to school and continue my education so I am not in any hurry to reach my maximum potential, but instead continue to stay at home and see that my children receive the utmost care and support that I am able to give to them.In 5 years with an estimated graduation date of November 2014. I see myself working as a medical secretary in a doctor’s office in Kokomo near my home town of Peru, IN, holding my CPS (Certified Professional Secretary) and CAP (Certified Administrative Professional) cred entials while working on my bachelor’s degree in medical office management.Based on the assumption that I do not have any more children in the near future my youngest child will be of school age and I will be able to work while finishing my bachelor’s degree and earning my CMM credential and finally begin seeking to earn my master’s degree in medical office management, fortunately for me when people my age are thinking about retiring I will be beginning a career in a profession that I have wanted to work in for as long as I can remember.Taking the steps required to becoming a medical office manager is something that requires a lot of time patience and dedication but will ultimately lead to a rewarding career should you choose to accept the challenge? References A day in the life of a medical office manager (n. d. ) Retrieved from http://extmedia. kaplan. edu/healthSci/HS100/AAMedicalOfficeManagement. mp3 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occ upational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Medical, and Health Services Managers, on the Internet at http://www. bls. gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers. tm (visited November 12, 2012). Hicks, J. , (2012 February 6). 6 current issues for medical office managers Retrieved from http://medicaloffice. about. com/b/2012/02/10/6-current-issues-for-medical-office-managers. htm Hicks, J. , (2012 June 29). Several traits for successful managers Retrieved From http://medicaloffice. about. com/b/2012/06/30/several-traits-for-successful-managers. htmm PAHCOM Certified medical manager overview Professional Association of Health Care Office Management (no date) Retrieved From http://www. pahcom. com/cmm/overview. html