What does a medical service technician do?
A medical service technician provides health care and treatments to patients under the supervision or directives of a more experienced physician. Most of their responsibilities revolve around assessing a patient's condition, administering required aid, diagnosing patients, conducting check-ups, and counseling patients. There are also instances when a medical service technician may prescribe medications, conduct inspections at facilities to ensure sanitary conditions, and coordinate with hospital staff for requesting supplies. Furthermore, it is crucial to have accurate documentation of all processes and transactions, all while adhering to the hospital's policies and standards.
Medical service technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical service technician resumes:
- Create and maintain confidential patient files; implement EHR systems to automate patient records management for the purposes of meaningful use.
- Administer and document vaccinations and perform strep tests, finger sticks, urinalysis, and various need lab tests.
- Run QC on all lab instrumentation ensuring reports are within acceptable limits.
- Keep track of all POC inventory, reagents, QC materials and equipment validations.
- Apply cold packs to affect injuries of the patient, fit crutches on patients.
- Maintain all training and CPR certifications in order to actively participate in codes with in the hospital.
- Issue and maintain appointment forms to patients, clean all equipment daily with OSHA regulation antiseptic supplies.
- Provide care in a residential environment for clients diagnose with forms of Alzheimer's, dementia, and depression.
- Work directly with nurses and physicians by assisting in suturing, splinting, relocating shoulders, and medical assessments.
- Perform tasks such as suturing, casting, wind care, and assisting nursing staff and physicians as needed.
- Demonstrate excellent communication skills, compassion and any other kind of support need for the patient and patient family members.
- Assist nurses many times with wind care, dressings, restraints, catheters, and many other things as needed.
- Administer first aid, basic emergency procedures, and CPR to military unit personnel, combatants, and military family members.
- Maintain cleanliness of the medical laboratory & associate equipment.
- Assist in resuscitation and intubation of patients as instructed.
Medical service technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Medical Service Technicians are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Vital Signs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Physical strength, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Medical Service Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 18%
Administered prescribed medications to 10-12 patients using specified procedures and maintained related medical records under supervision of the charge nurse.
- Customer Service, 6%
Administered medication to patients, entered medical data into computer systems, and provided excellent customer service.
- Vital Signs, 5%
Documented vital signs, medication administration, residents' behaviors associated with medication administration, medication incident and accident report.
- Infection Control, 5%
Perform point of care quality checks, conduct daily operational inspections, maintained environmental safety and infection control standards.
- Phlebotomy, 4%
Performed quantitative and qualitative analysis on biological specimens in Chemistry Hematology, Immunology, Microbiology, Urinalysis and Phlebotomy procedures.
- CPR, 4%
Administered first aid, basic emergency procedures, and CPR to military unit personnel, combatants, and military family members.
"patients," "customer service," and "vital signs" are among the most common skills that medical service technicians use at work. You can find even more medical service technician responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a medical service technician to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what medical service technicians do because "emts and paramedics need to listen to patients to determine the extent of their injuries or illnesses." Additionally, a medical service technician resume shows how medical service technicians use listening skills: "administered test analyses, communicated results to doctors and posted results on the hospital computer system. "
Physical strength. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling medical service technician duties is physical strength. The role rewards competence in this skill because "emts and paramedics need to be physically fit." According to a medical service technician resume, here's how medical service technicians can utilize physical strength in their job responsibilities: "administer medications on a timely manor while keeping track of resident behavior and physical condition. "
Problem-solving skills. medical service technicians are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to medical service technician responsibilities, because "emts and paramedics must evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer appropriate treatments." A medical service technician resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "maintain and sterilize exam rooms by evaluating the condition of medical instruments, restocking inventory and wiping furniture with antibacterial solution. "
Speaking skills. A big part of what medical service technicians do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to medical service technician responsibilities because "emts and paramedics need to clearly explain procedures to patients, give orders, and relay information to others." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical medical service technician tasks: "presented a positive image of bcbs to providers and facilities through courteous and efficient customer service. "
Compassion. A commonly-found skill in medical service technician job descriptions, "compassion" is essential to what medical service technicians do. Medical service technician responsibilities rely on this skill because "emts and paramedics must be able to provide emotional support to patients in an emergency, especially patients who are in life-threatening situations or extreme mental distress." You can also see how medical service technician duties rely on compassion in this resume example: "demonstrated excellent communication skills, compassion and any other kind of support needed for the patient and patient family members. "
Interpersonal skills. While "interpersonal skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to medical service technician responsibilities. Much of what a medical service technician does relies on this skill, seeing as "emts and paramedics usually work on teams and must be able to coordinate their activities closely with others in stressful situations." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of medical service technicians: "developed patient care skills, interpersonal skills, and medical terminology and documentation knowledge. "
The three companies that hire the most medical service technicians are:
- Brookdale Senior Living215 medical service technicians jobs
- DispatchHealth72 medical service technicians jobs
- Marquis Companies27 medical service technicians jobs
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Compare different medical service technicians
Medical service technician vs. Medical assisting extern
A medical assisting extern is responsible for supporting the medical team in ensuring that the patients are offered the best care services by providing treatments and medications. Medical assisting externs' duties include practicing their medical skills by shadowing on medical professionals' activities, assisting patients with their inquiries and concerns, facilitating medical procedures with the doctor's supervision, and learning to operate medical tools and equipment as needed. A medical assisting extern must have excellent knowledge in the health industry, as well as a fast-learner to be familiarized with the complexities of medical processes and procedures.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between medical service technicians and medical assisting extern. For instance, medical service technician responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "pet," "infection control," and "cpr." Whereas a medical assisting extern is skilled in "office procedures," "appointment scheduling," "venipuncture," and "patient care." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that medical assisting externs earn slightly differ from medical service technicians. In particular, medical assisting externs are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a medical service technician. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical service technician vs. Medical internship
When it comes to a medical internship, one of the primary duties is to attend to the patients' needs while under a more experienced physician's supervision. During this period, the medical interns must rotate in various fields of specialties or departments for exposure. Aside from learning and observing, there are also instances when medical interns are required to produce necessary reports and documentation, communicate with patients and families, and take part in more challenging cases.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real medical service technician resumes. While medical service technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "pet," "infection control," and "home health," medical interns use skills like "patient care," "surgical procedures," "surgery," and "internal medicine."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Medical interns tend to reach similar levels of education than medical service technicians. In fact, they're 2.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for medical service technicians in the next 3-5 years?
Amy Bruce
Chair, Program Director, University of Charleston
Medical service technician vs. Medical coder
A medical coder's role is to interpret and analyze a patient's medical record and translate particular details according to the universal medical alphanumeric code. Moreover, a medical coder is primarily responsible for ensuring that the translations are accurate, as this will play a vital factor in processing insurance and receiving treatments. Aside from accuracy, it is also crucial for a medical coder to coordinate with other hospital personnel at all times, especially when there inconsistencies in the records.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from medical service technician resumes include skills like "customer service," "pet," "vital signs," and "infection control," whereas a medical coder is more likely to list skills in "cpc," "icd-10-cm," "ahima," and "clinical documentation. "
Medical coders earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $52,925. Comparatively, medical service technicians have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $39,185.Most medical coders achieve a similar degree level compared to medical service technicians. For example, they're 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical service technician vs. Emergency room technician
An Emergency Room Technician works in emergency departments dealing with patients who suffer from medical emergencies. They also assist with transporting patients into and out of the department for different medical tests.
Types of medical service technician
Updated January 8, 2025
