Working as a healthcare assistant is a highly rewarding position as you’re not only helping the community, but you’re also challenging yourself each and every day. However, times and circumstances change, so perhaps that commute into the office is too much now, or simply isn’t possible. But this doesn’t mean the end of your career in this industry. Instead, with the correct healthcare virtual assistant training, you can transition into a virtual role. And, best of all, even if you have never worked in a healthcare setting, this training is capable of transforming you into an expert.
The Principles of a Healthcare Virtual Assistant
A healthcare virtual assistant is almost identical to a traditional healthcare assistant. Therefore, your duties will involve liaising with clinicians and patients to ensure a world class health care service is delivered. Typical duties will involve arranging appointment schedules, entering data into electronic health records (EHR), transcribing audio recordings, formatting clinicians’ letters and dealing with patient queries. So far, so normal, but a virtual assistant does things a little differently.
Rather than being based, for example, in a hospital or a doctor’s office, a virtual assistant can be located anywhere. In fact, many virtual assistants are based overseas in relation to their employers. This would have been unthinkable 15 – 20 years ago, but the internet has made it a reality. Thanks to high speed internet connections, healthcare virtual assistants with a laptop or PC can now connect to the IT systems of medical firms from anywhere in the world. And this allows them to do everything their in-house counterparts do, apart from take up space in the office.
How Do You Transition to a Healthcare Virtual Assistant?
If you’re looking to enter the world of being a healthcare virtual assistant, or are looking to transition to virtual position, it’s crucial that you have the necessary skills. Some of these you may already possess, but others will require strong healthcare virtual assistant training. And, remember, better training equals better jobs, so it’s important you place a high value on improving your skillset.
Typically, the areas of healthcare virtual assistant training you will need to focus on are:
IT skills:
one of the most vital areas of training to invest your times in is improving your IT skills. After all, as a virtual assistant you will need strong IT skills to connect with your new employers and IT is well established as a crucial element in healthcare. However, within healthcare, there is a reliance on multiple IT systems, so you need to demonstrate a strong understanding of how to approach new systems. This will allow you to move fluidly between different applications and use best practices for integrating yourself into them quickly.
Time management:
healthcare virtual assistants often work in fast-paced environments with multiple responsibilities, including patient care, documentation, and administrative tasks. As such, you need strong time management skills to balance these duties. Not only will this help you manage your own workload, but it will also ensure clinicians always have what they need and, in turn, guarantee that patients receive the service they pay for. Overall, improving time management skills is critical for healthcare virtual assistants to underline their credentials as a valued employee.
Communication:
healthcare virtual assistants need to excel in communication, so it’s important that you upgrade your communication skills to a high standard. In the healthcare industry, good communication is vital when it comes to ensuring the right decisions are made e.g. inputting patient data into the EHR and confirming appointment schedules with clinicians. As you can see, world class communication is essential in healthcare, so taking advantage of free healthcare virtual assistant training will help fill in any gaps in your knowledge.
Medical terminology:
while you won’t be expected to understand every complex medical term, a basic understanding of healthcare concepts is a must have as a healthcare virtual assistant. As well as helping you to communicate with and understand the needs of clinicians, it will also allow you to convey this information to patients, who will have little to no understanding of medical terminology. This knowledge, of course, will come with experience in your role, but high quality training will provide you with a fantastic foundation to work from.
Self-motivation:
an essential skill for virtual healthcare assistants to hone is self-motivation, and this is because it allows you to work independently without constant supervision. You, and you alone, will be responsible for managing your workload and meeting deadlines. Both in a healthcare setting and, more noticeably as a virtual assistant, you will need to be comfortable working on your own, Accordingly, self-motivation is the perfect way to help you remain focussed and positive in your work. Luckily, self-motivation techniques can be learned, and this is where training can help you up your game.
Customer service skills:
the patients you interact with in healthcare settings are often nervous and anxious. Therefore, you need to understand the fundamentals of customer service to put them at ease and, no matter what their enquiry relates to, act professionally and appropriately. It’s basic psychology, but there are certain ways to hit those sweet spots quickly and effectively. This means learning to demonstrate empathy and finely tuning your listening skills are critical areas for development. Achieve this successfully, and you can rest assured you will position yourself as a high ranking solution for businesses.
It's Time for Change
Transitioning into the role of a healthcare virtual assistant may sound daunting, but there’s no need to worry. Change always creates feelings of anxiety. However, formulating a strategy to overcome this will quickly eliminate any worries and make you confident. The best method for building this confidence comes with training. And, as we’ve shown you, there are key areas of improvement for you to work on.
Thankfully, HelloRache is behind you all the way and, once you sign up with us, we promise to provide you with free healthcare virtual assistant training. This training will allow you to enhance your skills, no matter what level they are, and transform yourself into a best in class virtual assistant. Not only will it improve your skills, but it will make you impossible to ignore in the eyes of employers. The time for change is here and getting started is simple. Apply with HelloRache today by clicking here and start the journey towards your future.
