A busy city like Edmonton, with a population of 1 million+ since 2021, requires a robust healthcare system to keep its community healthy. In fact, 45% of Edmonton’s population is over the age of 39 — an age group in need of more frequent care.
Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) are a crucial part of Edmonton’s healthcare system. This administrative role supports teams working in doctor’s offices, hospitals, medical clinics and other healthcare settings. In these busy environments, medical office assistants take on important tasks related to reception, scheduling, medical reporting, inventory management, and healthcare billing. They may also take patients’ blood pressure, height and weight measurements, and other duties that physicians and nurses might need help with!
If Edmonton is where you call home, you may want to consider this in-demand and rewarding career path, which doesn’t require a degree. In this article, we’ll explore the things you need to consider when pursuing a Medical Office Assistant role in public and private healthcare settings in and around Edmonton, Alberta — including St. Albert, Stoney Plain, Leduc, Devon, and Sherwood Park.
Education & Training Requirements To Become A Medical Office Assistant in Edmonton
There are many Medical Office Assistant jobs available in Edmonton that fall under the regional health authority of Alberta Health Services. These roles would include working for hospitals and outpatient medical settings like walk-in clinics and long-term care facilities.
There are also many employment opportunities beyond hospitals and walk-in clinics. Edmonton is home to a range of public and private healthcare facilities, including:
- Community health centres
- Home care centres
- Immunization clinics
- Long-term care centres
- Ambulatory care clinics
- Dental clinics
- Optometry clinics
- Insurance companies
- Chiropractic clinics
- Naturopathic clinics
- Acupuncture clinics
- And more
Whether you choose to pursue work in a long-term care facility or a naturopathic clinic, you’ll need skills in medical record-keeping, public or private insurance billing, medical transcription, and medical office procedures. Medical Office Assistant applicants will require the right training to compete, as many employers look for post-secondary education when hiring.
Medical Office Assistant Diplomas Vs Certificates
In Canada, there are two options for creating career opportunities for yourself through Medical Office Assistant career training: Diplomas and Certificates. But what’s the difference?
Diplomas can range from about 1 to 2 years in length and provide a comprehensive education and skillset that equips you to work in a wide variety of medical settings. Diplomas generally carry more weight and recognition in the job market. Some Diploma programs — including the Medical Office Administration-Health Unit Coordinator Diploma offered by Sundance College — include a practicum to help students make the transition from the classroom to the workplace.
Certificates are typically shorter in duration compared to diploma programs, ranging from a few weeks to a few months. Due to their shorter duration, they may not provide the same depth, skills and knowledge as a diploma program and usually do not include work experience practicums. They generally are also not eligible for the same amount of government student financial assistance.
Why You Should Get A Medical Office Assistant Diploma
Securing a job as a Medical Office Assistant in Edmonton requires the most relevant training and education, such as a diploma program can provide. In addition, candidates that have completed formal Medical Office Administration education tend to stand out more on job applications.
Medical office assistants take on an essential role as they balance the administrative and public-facing needs of any medical setting. MOAs help doctors and nurses interface with patients and welcome them into a medical setting. They also ensure that essential documentation and billing is done on time and correctly. Medical Office Assistant Diplomas prepare you for these duties well, for early success in a healthcare career, with skills transferrable between multiple medical settings.
The best MOA Diploma program includes courses in:
- Anatomy & physiology
- Medical terminology
- Medical transcription
- Computer software
- Coding & billing systems for public and privately insured medical offices
- And more
Medical Office Administrators Job Outlook & Salary In Edmonton
Demand for Medical Office Assistants is expected to outpace new job seekers to fill available positions. From 2022 – 2031, the Government of Canada expects there to be 41,100 new medical administrative assistant jobs and only 36,400 applicants to fill them. That number doesn’t include the large number of MOAs who will retire and open up new job opportunities.
In Alberta, there is likely to be consistent demand compared to some other areas of the country. The current job outlook for MOAs in Alberta is above average. Indeed.com shows just over 200 open positions MOA positions in Edmonton, AB.
Did you know you can get a job as an MOA in a hospital? There is a position closely related to it, commonly known as a Hospital Unit Clerk. Whether you opt for a Unit Clerk position at a hospital or an MOA position in outpatient medical settings — your options for where to work and what you’ll be paid might vary.
How Much Does A Medical Office Administrator Earn In Edmonton?
Minimum wage in Edmonton is $15/hour, or $27,378 per year. In comparison the average wage for an MOA in Edmonton is $26.66/hour or $50,374.00 per year.
Wages vary depending on where you work and how many years of experience you have. The average wage, $26.66/hour for an MOA in Edmonton, is a combination of a range of wages including the lowest starting salary ($17.55/hour) and the highest salary average for an experienced MOA ($34.94 or $66,134 per year).
If you know where you want to work, you can better identify what you might earn starting out, as well as what you can earn through advancement by researching the type of position you are most interested in.
What Skills Are Required For a Medical Office Assistant?
Employers and hiring managers often say that you need the right skillset to get hired for the job you want. What does that look like for someone looking to work as an MOA in Edmonton? Medical office assistants should have strong administrative skills, but they can be broken down into complementary skills. And some are more important than others.
Communication skills and organization skills are two complementary skills that help doctors and nurses to provide healthcare easily and accessibly — for the benefit of patients. But there are more skills required; you’ll need hard skills as well as soft skills that are critical to success in medical office settings.
Hard & Soft Skills That MOAs Require
What’s the difference between hard skills and soft skills, and why do MOAs need them?
Hard skills are concrete know-how; an MOA working in Edmonton will need to confidently take an Alberta healthcare card and bill public health insurance using specialized software found in medical offices all over Alberta. They’ll also need knowledge on how to bill with relevant insurance codes based on an accurate understanding of medical terminology.
But soft skills are equally important; again, you’ll need great organizational skills so that you know what to ask a patient when they walk through the door. That way, when you get to the billing stage, you’ve effectively interviewed and gathered all relevant knowledge from the patient.
You’ll also need to cultivate a responsive and welcoming atmosphere to all working at the facility — and the public! A medical office that’s got great internal and external communication is best prepared to serve their community.
What's The Next Step After Medical Assistant?
The right Medical Office Assistant program provides you with a core set of skills and abilities that provide you the opportunity to be employed in a variety of different positions, including:
- Medical Transcriptionist
- Medical Billing Clerk
- Medical Scheduler
- Hospital Unit Clerk
- Patient Coordinator
- And more
After working successfully in one or more of these roles for a number of years, you will have additional experience and skills that can lead to various promotion opportunities with Alberta Health Services, private clinics or other employers:
- Medical Office Manager
- Clinic Manager
- Medical Office Trainer
- And more
Why Becoming An MOA In Edmonton & Area Is A Great Career Choice
Becoming an MOA in Edmonton could be the best career move you’ve made so far, and one that defines your career while living in Alberta for years to come. This growing, in-demand field requires administrative and technical skillsets from day one on the job.
While you don’t need a degree to become a Medical Office Assistant, most employers will expect you to have specialized training and hands-on experience. The best way to break in and stand out on a job application is to have post-secondary education that allows you to gain hands-on experience in a healthcare setting through a practicum placement. It also provides the opportunity to form connections with healthcare professionals to learn about open positions.
Sundance College offers a comprehensive Medical Office Administration Diploma that includes the skills and knowledge employers are looking for in their medical office assistants and hospital unit clerks. It also provides a 5-week practicum work placement, where students apply their new knowledge in a workplace setting so that they graduate with work experience on their resume!
Sundance College students can choose to study on campus or online. Either way, they can expect to learn in an environment designed to support student success and help them achieve their career and life goals. To find out how you can be in your new health career in less than one year, reach out and connect with one of our Advisors.