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The differences between medical receptionists and receptionist 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 receptionist and a receptionist secretary. Additionally, a medical receptionist has an average salary of $31,960, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a receptionist secretary.
The top three skills for a medical receptionist include patients, customer service and check-in. The most important skills for a receptionist secretary are patients, data entry, and phone calls.
| Medical Receptionist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $31,960 | $29,343 |
| Hourly rate | $15.37 | $14.11 |
| Growth rate | -8% | - |
| Number of jobs | 118,048 | 61,892 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 28% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Average age | 49 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Medical receptionists are responsible for manning the front desk at a medical facility such as a clinic or a hospital. They manage schedules and appointments in the clinic or hospital. They help patients to their respective appointments. They also assist doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners by ensuring that the schedule for the day is being followed. They are also in charge of assisting visitors by directing them wherever they would need to go. Medical receptionists also answer inquiries by patients or visitors. Medical knowledge, great customer service skills, and a friendly attitude are needed.
A receptionist secretary is responsible for providing the best customer service, as well as attending to the needs of existing and potential clients. Duties of a receptionist secretary include managing customer's inquiries and forwarding important calls to the appropriate department, performing administrative and clerical tasks, escalating high-level of client's concerns to the management, keeping the reception area clean, monitoring office supplies and request stocks as needed, and maintaining an organized record of meetings and events. A receptionist secretary must have strong communication and multi-tasking skills to handle workloads of daily operations.
Medical receptionists and receptionist secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Receptionist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Average salary | $31,960 | $29,343 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $38,000 | Between $24,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | Lake Oswego, OR |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Washington |
| Best paying company | CENTER FOR SIGHT | Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Government |
There are a few differences between a medical receptionist and a receptionist secretary in terms of educational background:
| Medical Receptionist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 28% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical receptionists' and receptionist secretaries' demographics:
| Medical Receptionist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Average age | 49 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 5.2% Female, 94.8% | Male, 5.6% Female, 94.4% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |