Navigating a telephone call can be a challenging and intimidating exercise. As a medical office administrator, placing and fielding calls is an important part of the job. You may have to book, cancel, or reschedule an appointment with a client; deliver a message on behalf of your office; or take a call from another department in the same building.

Regardless of who is calling, appropriate telephone etiquette must be maintained. An administrator serves as a liaison between the medical office and many other people, including patients and doctors. Your ability to effectively maintain and manage communication helps bolster the medical office’s reputation and ensures that it runs smoothly.

But what exactly is telephone etiquette? Read on for some practical tips!

Hold the Phone, Am I Doing This Right?

Telephone etiquette might sound like an ambiguous expression. So, for clarity’s sake, let us define it: telephone etiquette is attitude and mannerism projected by a person during a telephone conversation. If you want to become a medical office administrator, you’ll have to develop good telephone etiquette so that the medical office operates efficiently and those calling remain satisfied with the service your office provides. Remember, as a medical office administrator, you are quite literally the voice of your place of work. By being polite on the phone you help improve the reputation of the entire medical office and make patients feel understood and respected.

A Few Tips You Might Learn in Medical Office Administration Training

There are many ways that a person can develop and improve their telephone etiquette. Here are a few that you can try:

1. Smile! This is definitely counter-intuitive. However, while you are not visible to the other person on the line, your facial expression has considerable influence over your tone and inflection. So, let them hear you flash those pearly whites!

2. Again, in the same way that your smile can inform your tone, your posture can affect the levels of energy that you project. You might want to sit up and straighten your back now.

3. Some syllables get lost in telephonic conversation. And although being incapable of hearing precisely what a person is saying is frustrating, it is also rather embarrassing to have to ask someone to repeat themselves. So, ar-ti-cu-late!

4. The follow-up. Yes, the phone call you’re having is the most important one, but never undermine the importance of following up a conversation, especially if you suggest that you will do so. Being unreliable is against good telephone etiquette policy and it reflects poorly on the entire medical office.

5. Know when the conversation is over, but be professional. Ask the person on the other end of the line if they have any questions and make sure they know how to reach you. Then, simply thank them for their time and say goodbye.

With these tips and more, you can improve the quality of your services after medical office administration training and help build the reputation of your place of work. And remember, many of the people who are calling a medical office may be feeling unwell. You’ll have to be patient and try to display some compassion for them. Similarly, you could be talking with many older individuals who may be hard of hearing. In such situations, take the advice above and enunciate clearly and speak at a higher volume if necessary. If the person on the other end of the line asks you to repeat yourself, do so in a friendly and patient manner.

Are you interested in becoming a medical office administrator?

Contact KLC College to learn about our vocational training programs!

Medical office administrators play an essential role within health care teams, making sure that the administrative side of clinics and hospitals run smoothly so that patients can reliably receive the care and services they need.
In doing so, they draw on a broad range of skills and competencies – including a general knowledge of medical terminology. For some, learning complex and unfamiliar terms like xerosis, epistaxis, and fasciculation can seem challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right methods and some practice, anyone can master the vocabulary of the medical field.

If you’re interested in training for a rewarding office administration career in a clinic, hospital, or government health agency, here are some helpful tips you can use to memorize medical terminology.

1. Knowing the Roots Will Help When You Become a Medical Office Administrator

Many medical terms are derived from Greek and Latin roots. Although medical terminology can sometimes seem complicated, becoming familiar with these basic roots can help make it easier to understand and easier to memorize. By knowing the roots of a word, you can also guess the approximate meaning of unfamiliar terms, by looking at which roots have been combined to create them.

Take the medical term hepatitis, for example. Hepatitis is formed from the combination of two roots: hepato, which refers to the liver, and itis, which is Latin for inflammation. By familiarizing yourself with these roots, you can guess approximately what the term refers to – an inflammation of the liver – and more easily understand and remember related terms, such as hepatic artery (the artery that supplies blood to the liver) and dermatitis (inflammation of the skin).

2. Flashcards Can be a Great Way to Learn New Vocabulary

Another great way to learn the vocabulary you’ll need when you become a medical office administrator is through the use of flash cards. If you’re not familiar with the flashcard method of memorization, it generally involves using index cards, with a term written on one side and its definition on the other. You can then either flip through terms, guessing at the correct definition, or flip through definitions, guessing at the correct term, always checking your answers as you go. This method can be very effective for learning full medical terms or common roots, as it provides instant feedback and can be done anywhere. With new dedicated mobile apps, you can even practice with flashcards on your phone.

3. Experiment with Different Methods to Learn What Works Best For You

It’s useful to remember that each person has a different learning style, and one of the best things you can do when memorizing new medical terminology during medical office administration training is to find the specific method that works best for how you learn.

Auditory learners, for example, learn best by using sound. If this describes you, then you might consider recording yourself sounding out vocabulary so you can listen back to it throughout the day, or creating tunes or jingles to help remember unfamiliar words. If you’re a visual learner, on the other hand, coming up with memorable mental images to associate with each new word might work better.

If you experiment with different methods, you’ll eventually find which ones work best for you. After that, it’s just a matter of practice!

Are you ready for a new career in the medical field?

Contact KLC College today to learn more about our career training in medical office administration.