ESOL Supported Medical Office Front Desk Staff Certificate Program (remote program)

This 20-week online program for English Language Learners with intermediate to advanced English skills is a series of courses taught by live instructors with much interaction.

The first course in this series, Digital Literacy, will teach students how to use Outlook to create and manage calendars, Video Conferencing applications such as Zoom and GoToMeeting, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Throughout the entire Certificate Program students will participate in supported ESOL studies to improve their English reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

The skills portion of the program will include the following: Effective Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Healthcare: Recognizing communication barriers, discussion diversity, respect, empathy, patient rights, teamwork, and professionalism through written and verbal communication. Students will learn to adapt their communication for patients with special needs. Office procedures such as phone etiquette, filing, scheduling, and mail management will also be practiced.

Medical Ethics: Students will learn key terms such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), Advance Directives, and Release of Information as they relate to a medical office. This course emphasizes ethical considerations within the healthcare field.

Computer Keyboarding Practice: Typing skills are vital in an office environment, and ongoing keyboarding practice at home is required to improve students' typing proficiency.

Medical Terminology and Abbreviations: An introduction to medical terminology and the use of computers in healthcare. Students will learn about medical data entry, registration, scheduling, appointments, charts, and the significance of Electronic Health Records (EHR).

Basic Introduction to Medical Billing and Coding: Medical Billing and Medical Coding are two distinct but important interconnected parts of the healthcare system.

Career Development: This course helps students prepare for employment in a medical office. It covers different front office medial job types, further education requirements, and gaining practical experience.

The last portion of this training will include Personal Finance Literacy. Introduction to Personal Finance will cover essential aspects of consumer personal finance consisting of budgeting, debt management, saving, credit and its history, insurance, taxes, investments, and retirement. The goal is to understand the financial system along with products offered and what works best for the individual to make the best-informed decision for their life and different life cycles. Reviewing saving plans, loan options, how to manage your credit, how to become a savvy consumer and save for the future addressing the core and fundamental concepts. This will lead to informed decisions for the future, as their careers and life evolve and change.

Skills covered:

• Digital Literacy
• Effective Communication in Healthcare
• Medical Ethics
• Medical Data Entry, Scheduling Appointments, Registration, Health Charts and Forms
• Medical Terminology and Abbreviations
• Basic Introduction to Medical Billing and Coding
• Professional Career Development

Potential Jobs:

• Patient Services Representative
• Medical Receptionist Front Desk
• Entry Level Administrative Assistant
• Medical Support Staff Front Desk

Please contact elsp@necc.mass.edu to get instructions on how to register. 

English Language Success Program