What does a medical specialist do?
Medical specialists are responsible for diagnosing patients and performing medical procedures according to their areas of expertise. They coordinate with the clinical team on administering medications, conducting laboratory examinations, and monitoring admitted patients, ensuring that they receive high-quality care services from the medical staff. A medical specialist also communicates with the patients' families to respond to their medical inquiries and concerns, as well as providing them with updates on the patients' progress. A medical specialist observes the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities at all times, including the inspection of medical tools and equipment for operations.
Medical specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical specialist resumes:
- Administer first aid, medication, emergency medical treatment, CPR, triage, and evacuation procedures.
- Provide tactical medical instruction and services in emergency medical care of patients in austere and complex, out-of-hospital environments.
- Provide mass casualty triage support, including administering emergency treatment, stabilizing patients, and routing them to appropriate medical facilities.
- Provide wound care, sutures, injections, and CPR as needed.
- Take vitals, = collecting co-pays, appt scheduling, radiology scheduling, triage, etc.
- Operate equipment such as: electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, and bag-valve mask resuscitators in advance life-support environments.
- Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advance.
- Perform phlebotomy and administer vaccinations.
- Perform triage and assist with patient classification.
- Develop template for EMR system migration and communication
- Perform EKG's and assist physician while performing gynecological exams.
- Participate in multiple hostile combat scenarios for medical training purposes.
- Educate patients and their family member's on intravenous medication administration and maintenance of their intravenous access.
- Train all new medical staff and keep records of vaccinations (TB, hepatitis, etc) on all employees.
- Administer tetanus and hepatitis vaccines.
Medical specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Medical Specialists are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Technical skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Medical Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 21%
Educated patients and their family member's on intravenous medication administration and maintenance of their intravenous access.
- Customer Service, 8%
Incorporated essential aspects of customer service training with comprehensive guidance toward the goal of achieving an unparalleled customer superiority climate.
- Patient Care, 7%
Worked in several military acute-care facility departments from inpatient care, outpatient care and urgent care.
- Utilization Management, 5%
Provided Utilization Management Policies and Technology Assessment Reports for Medical Policies for NCQA Accreditation Survey 2010.
- Medical Management, 4%
Act as liaison between Medical Management and/or Operations and internal departments.
- Patient Education, 4%
Organized and implemented educational and promotional programs for health care professionals to aid in treatment decisions and patient education.
Most medical specialists use their skills in "patients," "customer service," and "patient care" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential medical specialist responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a medical specialist to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical assistants must be able to understand and follow medical charts and diagnoses." Medical specialists often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "preform aggregate analysis of similar events across protocols and line listings to prepare aose as needed for fda submissions. "
Technical skills. Many medical specialist duties rely on technical skills. "medical assistants should be able to use basic clinical instruments so they can take a patient’s vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure.," so a medical specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways medical specialist responsibilities rely on technical skills: "carry out patient care and clinical services using excellent bedside manner, strong communication skills, medical knowledge and technical skill. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for medical specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how medical specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical assistants need to be precise when taking vital signs or recording patient information." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a medical specialist: "transcribed orders, made rounds with lpns, rns, and mds, detailed charting of patient care/progress. ".
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what medical specialists do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to medical specialist responsibilities because "medical assistants need to be able to discuss patient information with other medical personnel, such as physicians." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical medical specialist tasks: "demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills when interacting with patients. "
The three companies that hire the most medical specialists are:
- HCSC65 medical specialists jobs
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield41 medical specialists jobs
- Elevance Health
24 medical specialists jobs
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Compare different medical specialists
Medical specialist vs. 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. These doctors do health assessments, prescribe medication, run diagnostic tests, treat patients, and offer health and wellness advice. Among their health specialties are in the areas of neurology, gynecology, and dermatology. They may also perform surgery when necessary. All these are made possible with their knowledge and skills in medicine.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between medical specialists and md. For instance, medical specialist responsibilities require skills such as "utilization management," "medical management," "phone calls," and "medical care." Whereas a md is skilled in "surgical procedures," "surgery," "appointment scheduling," and "medicaid." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, mds reach similar levels of education than medical specialists. Mds are 3.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Medical specialist vs. Doctor assistant
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. This is so that military men's movement is convenient and administering emergency medical treatment to battlefield casualties is achievable. They provide combat lifesaver training courses to military personnel and manage medical supplies and equipment. To be a medic, candidates must take basic combat and advanced individual training, including patient care.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, medical specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "utilization management," "medical management," and "phone calls." Meanwhile, a doctor assistant has duties that require skills in areas such as "appointment scheduling," "lab results," "patient history," and "dr." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Doctor assistants earn similar levels of education than medical specialists in general. They're 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for medical specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Jill Carlson
Office Manager, Center for Vital Health, BS Healthcare Administration
Specifically, in the medical field, we have seen in-office appointments decrease dramatically as people are required to stay home. Not only have medical offices had to learn quickly how to have an appointment via telemedicine, but the patients have also had to adapt to this new way of seeing their healthcare provider. I believe we will see more programs and phone apps that allow provider and patients to connect quicker and easier.
In a nutshell, I really think that we will see courses in our post-secondary schools, and maybe even junior high and high school, that teach students how to navigate the online meeting platforms as well has enhancements in telemedicine visits. I think the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new pathway in healthcare and we will need highly trained individuals to work through these systems and educate patients.
Medical specialist vs. Medic
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 specialist resumes include skills like "utilization management," "medical management," "phone calls," and "medical care," whereas a medic is more likely to list skills in "bls," "acls," "centrifuges," and "laboratory specimens. "
Medics typically earn similar educational levels compared to medical specialists. Specifically, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical specialist vs. Office manager/medical assistant
Types of medical specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
