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The differences between medical office secretaries and secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a medical office secretary and a secretary. Additionally, a secretary has an average salary of $36,442, which is higher than the $32,609 average annual salary of a medical office secretary.
The top three skills for a medical office secretary include patients, patient appointments and front desk. The most important skills for a secretary are customer service, telephone calls, and payroll.
| Medical Office Secretary | Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $32,609 | $36,442 |
| Hourly rate | $15.68 | $17.52 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 115,116 | 69,315 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A medical office secretary carries out clerical duties in a health professional's office. They are responsible for typing correspondence and reports, maintaining files, paying vendors, handling insurance forms, billing patients, dealing with clients, scheduling appointments, taking phone calls, and greeting patients when they get to the office. The qualifications for this position include knowledge of computer software, medical terminology, health insurance rules, and medical building procedures.
Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department. They manage schedules and appointments, often handling the calendar in the office. They are also responsible for keeping files organized, whether physical or digital copies. During office meetings, secretaries are in charge of documenting the minutes of the meeting and highlighting the action steps that need to be taken. They may also be assigned to check on concerned departments who need to present deliverables in the next office meeting.
Medical office secretaries and secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Office Secretary | Secretary | |
| Average salary | $32,609 | $36,442 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $39,000 | Between $26,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a medical office secretary and a secretary in terms of educational background:
| Medical Office Secretary | Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between medical office secretaries' and secretaries' demographics:
| Medical Office Secretary | Secretary | |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 9.8% Female, 90.2% | Male, 10.1% Female, 89.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 3.9% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |