Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Patient coordinator education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a patient coordinator. Patient coordinators usually study business, health care administration, or nursing. 40% of patient coordinators hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 11,507 real patient coordinator resumes to see exactly what patient coordinator education sections show.
The most common colleges for patient coordinators are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online patient coordinator courses to help get the education required to be a patient coordinator.
There are certain patient coordinator certifications that you should consider. These patient coordinator certifications include Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) and Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM).
What education do you need to become a patient coordinator?
What degree do you need to be a patient coordinator?
- Bachelor's, 40%
- Associate, 24%
- High School Diploma, 15%
- Diploma, 7%
- Other Degrees, 14%
What should I major in to become a patient coordinator?
- Business, 21%
- Nursing, 8%
- Psychology, 8%
- Other Majors, 50%
Most common colleges for patient coordinators
| Patient coordinator common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 22.98% |
| Monroe College | 6.38% |
| University of Georgia | 5.74% |
| Florida International University | 4.68% |
| California State University - San Bernardino | 4.68% |
Best majors for patient coordinators
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 21.1% |
| 2 | Health Care Administration | 13.0% |
| 3 | Nursing | 8.4% |
| 4 | Psychology | 7.9% |
| 5 | Medical Assisting Services | 7.4% |
Best colleges for patient coordinators
The best colleges for patient coordinators are Northwestern University, New York University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A patient coordinator with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for patient coordinators. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become patient coordinators.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
3. Maria College of Albany
Albany, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$15,140
Enrollment
876
4. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
5. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
7. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
8. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
10. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
20 best online courses for patient coordinators
Advertising disclosure
1. Patient Safety
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...
2. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
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...
3. Speak Medical Spanish to Your Patients and Clients
Spanish essentials for healthcare; program teaches correct pronunciation, pain management and medication, among others...
4. HIPAA Compliance Complete Course
Protecting Patients and Practices...
5. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
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...
6. Motivational Enhancement Techniques: Working with Patients with Opioid & Substance Use Disorders or High Risk Use MAT Waiver Training S...
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...
7. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
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...
8. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
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...
9. Intro to Improving the Patient Experience Through Analytics
This course is best suited for individuals currently in the healthcare sector, as a provider, payer, or administrator. Individuals pursuing a career change to the healthcare sector may also be interested in this course. In this course, you will have an opportunity to explore concepts and topics related to improving the patient experience and reducing pain points in healthcare processes through analytic and decision support frameworks. After learning about the problems facing patients in today's...
10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
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...
11. Engaging in Improving Patient Experience Through Analytics
This course is best suited for individuals currently in the healthcare sector, as a provider, payer, or administrator. Individuals pursuing a career change to the healthcare sector may also be interested in this course. This is the second part in a two-part course exploring concepts and topics related to improving the patient experience and reducing pain points in healthcare processes through analytic and decision support frameworks. In this course, you will survey the kind of data that is used...
12. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
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...
13. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
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...
14. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
15. Trauma Emergencies and Care
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...
16. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
17. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
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...
18. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
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...
19. Wilderness First Aid - Introduction
In this course, students will learn the basics of wilderness medicine, including how it is a unique clinical environment, and concepts of scene safety. They will learn how to perform a basic assessment of a patient, including a physical exam, gather history data using the SAMPLE approach, and how to evaluate a patient for a potential spinal cord injury...
20. Introduction to Integrative Therapies and Healing Practices
This introductory course provides a framework for incorporating integrative therapies into your work with clients or patients. By the end of the course, you will be able to assess if integrative therapies are good options in specific situations, as well as educate patients and colleagues about benefits and risks. You will be confident discussing the evidence base for integrative therapies in general, with an understanding of some of the challenges of research in this area, and able to identify...
Top 10 most affordable universities for patient coordinators
The most affordable schools for patient coordinators are California State University - Bakersfield, suny farmingdale, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for patient coordinators are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for patient coordinators.
1. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
4. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
5. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
6. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
7. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
8. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
9. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,210
Cost of attendance
14,359
10. SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,238
Cost of attendance
21,567
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for patient coordinators
The hardest universities for patient coordinators to get into are Northwestern University, New York University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for patient coordinators are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for patient coordinators based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
5. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
8. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
9. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
10. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for patient coordinators
The easiest schools for patient coordinators to get into are AdventHealth University, d'youville college, and mount saint mary's university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a patient coordinator without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for patient coordinators.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
3. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
4. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
5. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
6. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
7. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
8. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
10. Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, TX • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,033
Average patient coordinator salary by education level
| Patient coordinator education level | Patient coordinator salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $37,896 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $32,667 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $36,651 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $33,708 |
Patient coordinator education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.
Search for patient coordinator jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025