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Medical receptionist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, medical receptionists don't need a college education. The most common degree for medical receptionists is associate degree with 28% graduates, with only 22% medical receptionist graduates earning bachelor's degree. Medical receptionists who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or Monroe College. Some good skills to have in this position include patients, customer service and check-in.

Popular medical receptionist certifications include Medical Assistant, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA), or Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM). To improve medical receptionist qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in medical receptionist education paths.

What education do you need to become a medical receptionist?

What degree do you need to be a medical receptionist?

The most common degree for medical receptionists is associate degree, with 28% of medical receptionists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 22% and bachelor's degree degree at 22%.
  • Associate, 28%
  • Bachelor's, 22%
  • High School Diploma, 22%
  • Diploma, 11%
  • Other Degrees, 17%

What should I major in to become a medical receptionist?

You should major in health care administration to become a medical receptionist. 20% of medical receptionists major in health care administration. Other common majors for a medical receptionist include business and medical assisting services.

Best majors for medical receptionists

20 best online courses for medical receptionists

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1. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

coursera

Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

2. Patient Safety

coursera

Preventable patient harms, including medical errors and healthcare-associated complications, are a global public health threat. Moreover, patients frequently do not receive treatments and interventions known to improve their outcomes. These shortcomings typically result not from individual clinicians’ mistakes, but from systemic problems -- communication breakdowns, poor teamwork, and poorly designed care processes, to name a few.\n\nThe Patient Safety & Quality Leadership Specialization covers...

3. Speak Medical Spanish to Your Patients and Clients

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Spanish essentials for healthcare; program teaches correct pronunciation, pain management and medication, among others...

4. Professional Receptionist Course by London Reception Academy

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Master the traits of a Professional Receptionist studying deportment, elocution, customer service and telephone skills...

5. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

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Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

6. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation

coursera

In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...

7. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing

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Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...

8. Understanding HIPAA for the Medical Office

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A healthcare professional's guide to understanding the requirements HIPAA...

9. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness

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In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...

10. Motivational Enhancement Techniques: Working with Patients with Opioid & Substance Use Disorders or High Risk Use MAT Waiver Training S...

coursera

WORKING WITH PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS OR HIGH RISK This optional online course opportunity is made possible through a joint partnership with University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVASOM) and Nursing (SON) and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), DATA 2000 sponsor. This content was created by the AAAP and has been used with permission. The course consists of one 1-hour session for healthcare providers who wish to enhance their effectiveness in treating high-risk...

11. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training

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4.5
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Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...

12. HIPAA Compliance Complete Course

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Protecting Patients and Practices...

13. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

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This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...

14. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

coursera

This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

15. A Specialty Approach to Learning Medical Billing and Coding

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Volume One: Medical Hematology...

16. Financial Accounting-Adjusting Entries & Financial Statement

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Master Adjusting Entries & Financial Statements: A Comprehensive Guide for Accurate Accounting and Reporting...

17. Trauma Emergencies and Care

coursera

Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

18. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

coursera

COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

19. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

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Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

20. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

Average medical receptionist salary by education level

Medical receptionists with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $33,705 annually. With a Associate degree, medical receptionists earn a median annual income of $32,714 compared to $31,998 for medical receptionists with an High School Diploma degree.
Medical receptionist education levelMedical receptionist salary
High School Diploma or Less$31,998
Bachelor's Degree$33,705
Some College/ Associate Degree$32,714

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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