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Health Management/Clinical Assistant

A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of physicians, nurses, or other health care professionals, to perform medical office or facilities management services and perform one or more clinical allied health specialties. Includes instruction in health care management; medical office administration; medical law and regulations; training in one or more diagnostic, treatment, therapy, or laboratory specialties at the assistant level or above; and applicable professional standards and ethics.

Types of Degrees Health Management/Clinical Assistant Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Health Management/Clinical Assistant have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	580
Associate’s Degree	248
Bachelor’s Degree	210
Master’s Degree	156

What Health Management/Clinical Assistant Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Health Management/Clinical Assistant build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Health Management/Clinical Assistant emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Health Management/Clinical Assistant program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Health Management/Clinical Assistant careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Management/Clinical Assistant professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	✓
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—
Intuit QuickBooks	Accounting software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates include:

• Postpartum Doula
• Lay Midwife
• Birth Center Midwife
• APP (Advanced Practice Provider)
• APC (Advanced Practice Clinician)
• Licensed Certified Professional Midwife
• Licensed Direct Entry Midwife
• Direct-Entry Midwife
• Doula
• Birth Doula
• Certified Professional Midwife (CPM)
• Certified Midwife
• Licensed Midwife (LM)
• Licensed and Certified Midwife
• Homebirth Midwife

What Can You Do With a Health Management/Clinical Assistant Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Health Management/Clinical Assistant commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	-0.4%	$27,636	$23,670–$31,602
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	6.9%	$61,212	$52,136–$70,287

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Postsecondary certificate	22.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	18.8%
Bachelor’s degree	18.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	11.3%
Master’s degree	10.6%
Some college courses	10.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	6.6%
Less than a high school diploma	0.7%
Post-master’s certificate	0.5%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Management/Clinical Assistant?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 93.8% of Health Management/Clinical Assistant degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,121	93.8%
Men	74	6.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	595	49.8%
Asian	22	1.8%
Hispanic or Latino	229	19.2%
Black or African American	240	20.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	24	2.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.1%
Two or More Races	48	4.0%
Race Unknown	35	2.9%
International Students	1	0.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Management/Clinical Assistant Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,041
4 years	$36,054
5 years	$40,847

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $40,847 — roughly 13% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Health Management/Clinical Assistant Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for Health Management/Clinical Assistant. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	2	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Health Management/Clinical Assistant Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Health Management/Clinical Assistant graduates earn a median of $36,054 four years after completion — about 5% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Health/Health Care Administration/Management	28,347
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	11,963
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	11,828
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,171
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary	7,771
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services, Other	4,065
Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,494
Health and Medical Administrative Services, Other	3,168
Medical Office Management/Administration	2,900
Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator	2,781
Medical Reception/Receptionist	844

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.