How To Become A Physician Office Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a physician office specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Some doctors feel as if half their job is working with data instead of helping patients. They need to keep track of patient records, process insurance information, and more. That is why many medical offices hire physician office specialists, sometimes known as medical office specialists, to handle the administrative end of the work, leaving doctors and nurses free to do their jobs.

A physician office specialist pretty much does everything that needs to be done to keep a physician's office running, short of examining the patients themselves. They interact with patients by greeting them, answering any questions in person or over the phone, and scheduling appointments. They also handle patient records, insurance information, and payments.

A physician office specialist works in a doctor's office but they don't need to have any medical experience. In fact, most physician office specialists don't even have a bachelor's degree. They need to have excellent organizational skills and a friendly demeanor to put patients at ease.

ScorePhysician Office SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,594

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 3.77%

Black or African American 9.57%

Hispanic or Latino 11.96%

Unknown 3.77%

White 70.56%

Gender

female 80.69%

male 19.31%

Age - 51

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 51

Stress level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.3

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a physician office specialist

Explore physician office specialist education requirements

Most common physician office specialist degrees

Bachelor's

43.5 %

Associate

24.5 %

High School Diploma

9.5 %

Start to develop specific physician office specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	24.53%
Patient Care	11.79%
EMR	10.82%
Vital Signs	7.46%
EKG	6.94%

Complete relevant physician office specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New physician office specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a physician office specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real physician office specialist resumes.

Research physician office specialist duties and responsibilities

Specialize duty in managing geriatric patients in convalescent home settings.
Compile data entry of nightly sales totals into computer system to apply tips to employee's payroll.
Full knowledge of CPT & ICD-9, secondary claims, Medicare, medical, all HMO, PPO & IPA plans.
Implement the first online EMR clinic with PMC.

Prepare your physician office specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your physician office specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a physician office specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable physician office specialist resume templates

Build a professional physician office specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your physician office specialist resume.