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Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk

A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of nurses or ward supervisors, to perform routine administrative and reception duties in a patient care unit within a hospital or other health care facility. Includes instruction in receiving and directing visitors, transcribing medical and nursing orders, preparing requisition forms, scheduling patient appointments and procedures, monitoring patients and personnel, and interpersonal skills.

Types of Degrees Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	40
Associate’s Degree	6
Master’s Degree	120

What Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk Majors Need to Know

Programs in Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.9 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Signal analysis software	Analytical or scientific software	—
Learning Fundamentals Speech Visualization	Medical software	—
Microsoft Windows	Operating system software	—
Adobe Audition	Music or sound editing software	—
Text to speech software	Text to speech conversion software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Language analysis software	Analytical or scientific software	—
KayPENTAX Multi-Speech	Medical software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk graduates include:

• Speech Correction Assistant
• Speech Therapy Assistant
• Hearing and Speech Assistant
• Speech-Language Assistant
• SLPA (Speech and Language Pathology Assistant)
• Speech-Language Technician
• Anatomic Pathology Assistant
• School SLPA (School Speech Language Pathologist Assistant)
• Speech-Language Pathologists Assistant (SLPA)
• Speech Pathology Assistant
• SLPA (Speech Language Pathologist Assistant)
• Speech and Language Assistant
• Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA)
• Pathology Assistant
• Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant (SLPA)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	36.2%
High school diploma or equivalent	25.1%
Postsecondary certificate	14.3%
Bachelor’s degree	12.5%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	7.5%
Master’s degree	2.6%
Some college courses	1.8%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.2% of Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	148	89.2%
Men	18	10.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	85	51.2%
Asian	12	7.2%
Hispanic or Latino	17	10.2%
Black or African American	27	16.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	5	3.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	1.2%
Two or More Races	15	9.0%
Race Unknown	3	1.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk 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.}

Is a Degree in Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk 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
Radiologist Assistant	1,513

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.