How to hire a medical assisting extern

How to hire a medical assisting extern, step by step

Here's a step-by-step medical assisting extern hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a medical assisting extern job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new medical assisting extern
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The medical assisting extern hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect medical assisting extern also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of medical assisting externs and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Medical Assisting Extern	Description	Hourly rate
   Medical Assisting Extern	Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice.	$12-23
   MD	A Doctor of Medicine or MD is the designation of a person who completed medical education. Generally, MDs focus on the treatment of conditions in need of medication... Show more	$12-107
   Medic	A medic, or often called combat medic, is a healthcare professional responsible for providing continuous medical care to military personnel who are injured on the battlefield. In the absence of physicians, medics are typically co-located with the combat troops... Show more	$9-31

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Vital Signs
   • EKG
   • Office Procedures
   • Exam Rooms
   • Laboratory Specimens
   • Phlebotomy
   • Medical History
   • Appointment Scheduling
   • Blood Pressure
   • Venipuncture
   • EMR
   • Patient Care
   • Front Desk

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
   • Front office duties - appointments reminders, filing, EMR, patient check- in/check-outs, scans forms, and phone triage.
   • Perform and record triage information, explain treatment procedures prepare patients for exams and assist physicians during exams.
   • Experience also include patient encounter chart, patient education, vital sign assessment, phlebotomy, medication administration and injections.
   • Assist gynecologists with clinical and clerical tasks while recording patient medical histories using CureMD, EHR system.
   • Take vitals, input information using EHR, prep equipment for the doctor and present patient to the doctor.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your medical assisting extern job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A medical assisting extern salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, medical assisting externs' average salary in alabama is 46% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level medical assisting externs earn 46% less than senior-level medical assisting externs.
   • Certifications. A medical assisting extern with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a medical assisting extern's salary.

   Average medical assisting extern salary

   $35,737yearly

   $17.18 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level medical assisting extern salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 9, 2026

4. Writing a medical assisting extern job description

   A good medical assisting extern job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a medical assisting extern job description:

   Medical assisting extern job description example

   This is an Intern position and the individual is expected to assist the administrative coordinator with data entry, documents filing, placing order for chemicals, and interact with other departments as support function for internal documentation workflow, while maintaining current records management practices. Individual will ensure documentation is properly indexed according to document management system guidelines, and is properly linked to the system for successful access, retrieval and elimination of duplication of efforts. Individual will maintain the system in an appropriate computer software medium, and write Cataloging Policy and/or SOP with the assistance of Veolia's corporate support. Individual must interface and coordinate movement of files with all department managers and in some cases with the client and possess effective communication skills. Performs additional duties as assigned and reasonably related to the position.
   Primary Duties / Responsibilities
   
   Assist the administrative coordinator with accurate invoice matching of receipt information, photocopying, and data entry.
   
   Responsible for weekly gathering and scanning all contract invoices into an electronic database system for distribution to client.
   
   Responsible for monthly collecting and accurate data entry of chemical purchase financials into the HACH Wims Management Records System.
   
   Weekly ordering of chemical products.
   
   Ability to interact with suppliers to resolve simple order issues and invoice matters.
   
   Assist the project manager with monthly gathering and photocopying of invoices for the monthly billings.
   
   Assist the health and safety specialist with data entry of monthly PureSafety and Tailgates reporting.
   
   Provides front desk coverage for the administrative assistant for lunches and periods when not in the office.
   
   Responsible for creating invoice storage files ensuring information is properly packed away and correctly labeled, creating and maintaining a precise record of its contents and stored location.
   
   Responsible for identifying all plant/facility documents and records to be controlled.
   
   Coordinates with all department managers to acquire files/records needed for indexing and to discuss and map out current records management practices.
   
   Organizes all internal documents and/or files ranging from vendor files, invoices, to technical engineering drawings and specifications in a centralized system where each item can be found and retrieved easily without duplication of efforts.
   
   Assures documentation is properly indexed according to document management system guidelines.
   
   Will be responsible for utilizing Veolia's Iron Mountain Records Retention Guide to assign appropriate records rentention instructions to documents and records.
   
   Responsible for complying with the rules and regulations set forth by Federal, Local, and State government regarding document management and maintenance.
   
   Immediately bring to management's attention any suspected nonconformance regarding all facility procedures and/or legal requirements.
   
   Other duties may be assigned.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right medical assisting extern for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your medical assisting extern job on Zippia to find and attract quality medical assisting extern candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit medical assisting externs, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new medical assisting extern

   Once you've found the medical assisting extern candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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