Employers

Approximately 530,360 medical secretaries are employed in the United States. Medical secretaries work in private physicians' offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, emergency care facilities, research laboratories, and large health organizations, such as the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic. A majority of medical secretaries work with one or two physicians practicing in a clinical out-patient care setting. The remainder provide support to physicians and scientists in clinical and research laboratories, hospitals, or Mayo Clinic's medical school.

Starting Out

To find work in this field, you should apply directly to hospitals, clinics, and physicians' offices. Potential positions might be listed with school or college career services centers, on jobs search Web sites, or in newspaper want ads. Networking with medical secretaries is another inside track to job leads, because employers tend to trust employee recommendations.

Promotions for secretaries who work in doctors' offices are usually limited to increases in salary and responsibilities. Medical secretaries employed by clinics or hospitals can advance to executive positions, such as senior secretary, clerical supervisor, or office manager; or into more administrative jobs, such as medical record technician, administrative assistant, or unit manager.

Talk to medical secretaries about their jobs. Ask them for advice on preparing for and entering the field.

Read OfficePro (https://www.iaap-hq.org/page/OfficeProMagazine) and The Executary (http://www.theaeap.com/newsletters) to learn more about careers in general secretarial work.

Visit the following Web sites for job listings:

• https://jobs.theaeap.com
• https://careers.iaap-hq.org
• https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/medical-secretary-jobs

Join a professional association such as the International Association of Administrative Professionals to gain access to educational programs and networking opportunities.