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How to Become a Health Unit Coordinator: Education & Licensing

Discover what you’ll do in a health unit coordinator career.

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Health Unit Coordinator: Fast Facts

  • What you’ll do: You’ll handle everything from maintaining patient charts and scheduling diagnostic tests to ordering supplies and transcribing doctor’s orders. You’ll also receive new patients and give information and directions to visitors. Because you’ll serve as an important link between departments, physicians, nursing staff and patients and their visitors, you’ll need to have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Where you’ll work: Hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, public health care agencies, nursing homes
  • Degree you’ll need: High school diploma plus 6-month to 1-year certificate or diploma program
  • Median annual salary: $37,450
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Health Unit Coordinator Training

In addition to having your GED or high school diploma, you’ll need to complete a unit coordinator program, usually a 6-month to 1-year certificate or diploma program. In the training programs, students receive a combination of classroom and clinical training. You’ll learn clerical skills, medical terminology, hospital organization, legal and ethical responsibilities, and transcription of doctors’ orders.

Salaries by State

Compare median annual salaries for medical secretaries by state.

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

National data

Median Salary: $37,450

Projected job growth: 8%

10th Percentile: $29,040

25th Percentile: $30,710

75th Percentile: $46,570

90th Percentile: $53,630

Projected job growth: 8%

State data

State Median Salary Bottom 10% Top 10%
Alabama $36,890 $27,930 $47,840
Alaska $38,120 $29,890 $59,390
Arizona $37,660 $29,570 $47,700
Arkansas $30,130 $23,990 $45,850
California $46,140 $30,130 $61,750
Colorado $37,180 $29,010 $47,790
Connecticut $45,380 $36,310 $58,690
Delaware $37,450 $29,150 $47,730
District of Columbia $46,550 $35,810 $60,200
Florida $36,500 $28,820 $46,680
Georgia $37,350 $28,560 $54,730
Hawaii $37,570 $29,950 $47,830
Idaho $37,160 $29,070 $47,700
Illinois $37,250 $29,780 $47,650
Indiana $37,080 $28,820 $47,410
Iowa $36,590 $28,870 $47,010
Kansas $36,590 $28,460 $47,090
Kentucky $33,520 $24,080 $45,850
Louisiana $35,070 $26,140 $46,960
Maine $37,700 $29,740 $48,220
Maryland $37,880 $29,950 $48,570
Massachusetts $47,000 $36,780 $60,920
Michigan $37,080 $29,160 $46,830
Minnesota $45,850 $36,430 $56,840
Mississippi $29,790 $22,620 $38,380
Missouri $37,080 $28,390 $47,530
Montana $36,810 $28,820 $46,960
Nebraska $37,490 $29,160 $47,680
Nevada $37,700 $30,020 $48,030
New Hampshire $37,880 $30,180 $48,250
New Jersey $39,160 $30,220 $55,670
New Mexico $36,930 $28,820 $47,420
New York $44,150 $29,040 $58,650
North Carolina $36,590 $28,770 $46,710
North Dakota $37,820 $29,780 $48,060
Ohio $36,770 $28,690 $47,240
Oklahoma $36,340 $23,910 $46,960
Oregon $45,850 $30,180 $59,400
Pennsylvania $36,690 $28,910 $47,830
Rhode Island $46,210 $37,080 $60,230
South Carolina $35,290 $27,680 $46,860
South Dakota $39,080 $35,260 $47,530
Tennessee $34,790 $24,130 $46,870
Texas $36,590 $25,960 $47,660
Utah $36,890 $28,940 $47,530
Vermont $37,450 $29,860 $58,110
Virginia $37,750 $29,350 $57,900
Washington $47,170 $36,780 $60,160
West Virginia $35,730 $23,820 $47,530
Wisconsin $37,510 $30,130 $47,530
Wyoming $36,850 $28,920 $47,170

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2021 median salary; projected job growth through 2031. Actual salaries may vary depending on location, level of education, years of experience, work environment, and other factors. Salaries may differ even more for those who are self-employed or work part time.

Health Unit Coordinator Licensure

National certification is optional, but some employers may require it. After you graduate from an accredited unit coordinator program, you’ll qualify to sit for the National Health Unit Coordinator Certification Examination (NHUCCE). Successful completion results in the title of Certified Health Unit Coordinator (CHUC).

Where are the Majority of Health Unit Coordinators Employed?

The BLS says the cites and metropolitan areas with the highest levels of employment are as follows.

Metropolitan Areas Employment
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 36,640
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 30,930
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 18,860
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 18,430
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 17,080
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 17,060
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 16,710
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 15,250
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 13,250
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 11,420