Ten years ago, Dorothy Manzano decided she’d had enough of food service and retail jobs. The healthcare field was where she really wanted to be. But nursing took too long and she was squeamish about needles. What to do?
She decided to enrol in the Medical Office Assistant program at Herzing College, which perfectly aligned with her interests and goals. After graduating, she worked as an MOA for several years and is now the office manager at a cardiology clinic.
We spoke with Dorothy recently about how her Herzing experience helped her get where she wanted to go. Here’s her story.
Q. Could you share a bit about your background? What were you doing before Herzing?
Dorothy: I started in the restaurant industry, then moved to retail, and I just felt like I could do something more. I wanted to do something different.
Nursing was always in the back of my head, but I didn’t have the time or the financial means to pursue that course. So I looked around and found Herzing. I set up an appointment with an advisor and went from there.
Q. Why Herzing in particular?
Dorothy: It was close to where I used to live, so it was convenient. And the flexible hours worked for me because I had to work and go to school at the same time.
Q. You were interested in nursing. What made you choose medical office administration?
Dorothy: What’s funny is that when I went for my meeting with an advisor, I had my mind set on the Medical Laboratory Assistant program. But I’m scared of needles! I hate getting my blood drawn. So during the meeting, the advisor steered me to the right program.
I’m pretty organized. I had taken accounting courses before. So we decided that MOA was a much better fit.
Q. How was your overall experience in the program?
Dorothy: I loved it! At first I thought it was going to be a boring class because MOA is obviously in an office setting. I didn’t think of all the hands-on experience I was going to get.
There was lots of medical terminology to learn, but it was worth it.
Q. What were the main skills you developed in the program?
Dorothy: Medical terminology was a big one. You have to learn that.
When I first started the courses, the medical industry had recently moved from paper to electronic, and Accuro was the main software used by hospitals and clinics, so we focused a lot on that.
Q. What would you say was the toughest part of the training?
Dorothy: The part that was a little bit scary for me was the internship. You actually go out into the medical field and interact with doctors and patients. I was nervous, but it was great. It gave me the experience I needed—a foot in the door.
Q. Tell us about your internship. Where did you work and what kind of things did you do?
Dorothy: I did my internship at Crestview Medical Clinic. They put me on the front lines. I actually answered phone calls, interacted with patients, and booked appointments. I was able to help the doctors when they were doing patient exams.
In that specific clinic, they also do EKGs. The program taught us the proper placement of the wires and stuff, so I was able to help with that. It was a great experience.
Q. How has your career unfolded in the 10 years since you graduated?
Dorothy: After graduation, I worked part time at the same clinic where I did my internship. I worked there for a couple years and then moved to a different clinic for five years. Now I work in a private cardiology clinic.
So 10 years later, I’m still in the field, and I still love it.
One of my classmates is at cancer care and one is actually at Victoria General Hospital. It’s hard to get into the hospital setting because they’re unionized, and they’d rather hire from the inside. But sometimes it happens.
But in my case, I started part time and then kind of worked my way up.
Q. How much of your job is strictly administrative and how much is hands-on with patients?
Dorothy: I started out dealing with patients, booking appointments, dealing with lab results, etc. And then I moved to admin, which is more the doctor’s schedule and staff schedule and billing. I worked a little less with the patients and more with the doctors.
After that I became the office manager, which means I’m in charge of the clinic itself. I’m in charge of the doctors, I’m in charge of my staff, which is MOAs, and I’m in charge of making sure the clinic is stocked up for everything and so on.
Q. What qualities does someone need to really thrive in this role?
Dorothy: You have to be organized. That’s number one. You work in a fast-paced environment and you have to be a multitasker. The phone will be ringing, someone will be waiting to check in, doctors will be coming to get you, and so on.
You have to be organized, you have to be a multitasker, and you have to be able to adapt. Those are the three major things you should have if you want to be an MOA.
Q. What advice would you give someone who was on the fence about whether MOA is the right program for them?
Dorothy: When I went for my internship, once I got past being scared and nervous, something clicked for me. I knew I could do this. The doctors were really nice and happy to teach me, so it was a great experience from the get-go.
My advice is to go for it. The first step is to just book the appointment because your advisor will definitely help you figure out what is right for you.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MOA PROGRAM AT HERZING
Herzing College’s medical office administration training takes no more than 12 months to complete and includes an internship for hands-on practical experience. In many cases, students get hired directly from their internships.
Click below to get more details on courses and chat live with an admissions advisor. We’re here to help!
