CertificateMedical Office Assistant & Unit Clerk Certificate
Online courseworkTerminology, SimChart EHR, billing & coding
Supervised practicumAbout 100 hours in a healthcare setting
Healthcare stream
Online Healthcare Administration Programs
Train for the front office of healthcare — clinics, hospitals and specialist offices — with online coursework and a supervised practicum.
1certificate
2roles
~100 hrspracticum
A healthcare career without clinical training
Behind every appointment, admission and referral is an administrative professional who keeps patient information accurate, schedules running and teams coordinated. Medical office assistants work at the front desk of clinics; unit clerks coordinate communication and records on hospital units. Both roles need medical terminology, health-records skills, privacy awareness and calm, professional communication.
Ucademy’s Medical Office Assistant & Unit Clerk Certificate prepares you for both settings in one program, with practice in the SimChart electronic health record and medical billing and coding (ICD-10-CA / CCI), followed by a supervised practicum of about 100 hours.
Programs in this stream
CertificateOne program · two roles
Compare at a glance
Medical office assistant
- Typical setting
- Family and walk-in clinics, specialist offices, dental and imaging clinics
- Day-to-day
- Booking, patient intake, records, billing, phones
- Key skills
- Terminology, EHR, billing and coding, customer service
- Trained in
- Medical Office Assistant & Unit Clerk Certificate
Unit clerk
- Typical setting
- Hospital units and continuing-care facilities
- Day-to-day
- Physician orders, unit records, admissions and discharges, coordination with nurses
- Key skills
- Terminology, order transcription, communication under pressure
- Trained in
- Medical Office Assistant & Unit Clerk Certificate
Want more detail? Compare programs side by side or take the 1-minute program quiz.
The numbers behind healthcare administration jobs in Alberta
Official data about healthcare administration jobs in Alberta. It describes these jobs across Alberta — not what Ucademy students will earn — and it shows the less favourable figures as well as the good ones.
$29.00
Alberta median hourly wage, medical administrative assistants (NOC 13112)
Good
Alberta outlook 2025–2027 for that group (Very good in six of the eight regions)
~9,150
medical administrative assistants employed in Alberta
Limited
Alberta outlook for unit clerks (NOC 14100) — shown because the program covers both roles
Source: Job Bank, medical administrative assistants (NOC 13112) and general office support workers (NOC 14100) · wages updated Nov 19, 2025; outlooks Dec 10, 2025.
| Occupation | Alberta median wage | Low to high | Wage data | Outlook 2025–2027 | Employed in Alberta | Job Bank “usually requires” |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical administrative assistant (13112) | $29.00/hr | $20.00–$35.00 | Survey, 2023–2024 | Good | ~9,150 | College diploma, apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training |
| Receptionist (Job Bank“Medical Office Assistant”) (14101) | $21.00/hr | $16.75–$30.00 | Survey, 2023–2024 | Moderate | ~20,400 | High school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training |
| Unit clerk (Job Bank’s broader general office support group) (14100) | $25.00/hr | $15.50–$36.13 | Survey, 2023–2024 | Limited | ~15,000 | High school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training |
“Survey” wages come from the Labour Force Survey (2023–2024); “model estimate” wages are Statistics Canada 2024 estimates, so compare them with care. This hub covers administrative roles in healthcare settings, not nursing or other clinical care. NOC 14100 is a broad group, and only 23% of its workers are in hospitals.
Source: Job Bank wages and outlooks · wages updated Nov 19, 2025; outlooks Dec 10, 2025.
| Alberta | Athabasca–Grande Prairie | Banff–Jasper | Calgary | Camrose–Drumheller | Edmonton | Lethbridge–Medicine Hat | Red Deer | Wood Buffalo–Cold Lake | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical administrative assistant NOC 13112 | Good | Very good | Very good | Good | Very good | Good | Very good | Very good | Very good |
| Receptionist / “Medical Office Assistant” NOC 14101 | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Unit clerk (general office support) NOC 14100 | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Very limited |
Job Bank also notes that advanced software and automation may lead to more complex tasks and fewer positions in the future.
Source: Job Bank outlooks · outlook updated Dec 10, 2025.
View the data as a table
| Occupation | Cumulative imbalance 2025–2035 |
|---|---|
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | −7,779 |
| Licensed practical nurses | −7,192 |
| Registered nurses | −5,979 |
| Medical administrative assistants (13112) | −3,899 |
| General office support workers (14100) | +2,661 |
Each bar is the cumulative difference between net job seekers and net job openings over 2025–2035. Left of the line there are more openings than job seekers (a projected shortage); right of it there are more job seekers than openings (a projected surplus). These are projections, not predictions, and not growth rates. The largest projected shortages in health are in clinical roles. The roles this hub prepares for are administrative.
Source: Alberta Occupational Outlook 2025–2035 (Government of Alberta) · published September 2026; projections, not predictions.
Data checked October 19, 2026: Job Bank wages updated Nov 19, 2025, outlooks Dec 10, 2025. Occupation data, not a program outcome. Alberta Occupational Outlook 2025–2035.
Frequently asked questions
No. The Medical Office Assistant & Unit Clerk Certificate teaches medical terminology, health records and billing from the beginning.
Yes. The program includes a supervised practicum of about 100 hours in a healthcare setting. Placement arrangements are confirmed when you enrol.
No. Medical office assistants and unit clerks are not a regulated profession in Alberta. Employers look for training in terminology, EHR software, billing and professional office skills.