Medical Assistant Cover Letter: Samples & Tips to Nail Your Job Application

A hospital is a fast-paced environment. Doctors and nurses are constantly busy resolving different patients’ issues. Under this condition, a medical assistant is a crucial role in hospitals or clinics, helping coordinate various tasks and building relationships with the patients. A typical medical assistant’s job includes performing routine tasks such as scheduling appointments, communicating with patients about treatment procedures, and setting up medical equipment. 

When reviewing job applications, a medical assistant cover letter helps highlight a person’s skills and explains the motivation in applying for the position. By writing a good medical assistant cover letter, candidates can show recruiters that they are capable of working in a high-stress environment and that they have experience in operating different machines. 

Don’t panic if you don’t know where to start with a cover letter for a medical assistant job, this article is a guide for you that not only provides medical assistants cover letter samples but also tips for refining your medical assistant cover letter.

Below is an example of what a medical assistant cover letter generally looks like:

When writing your medical assistant cover letter, keep in mind that there are a few steps you can follow.

Address the hiring manager

The beginning of the medical assistant cover letter is the first thing the hiring managers will see. Hence, it is important to leave a good first impression such as an organized letterhead and a proper greeting. The letterhead for a medical assistant cover letter should be clear and easy to read, normally on the top left corner. It should include your name, contact information such as your email address and phone number, your LinkedIn website, or a link to other portfolios. 

When greeting your hiring manager in your medical assistant cover letter, refer to them using “Dear Mr.” or “Dear Ms.” if you know their last name. If not, it is also acceptable to use “Dear Hiring Manager.”

Engage the reader with a self-introduction & opening

The opening paragraph is the part of your medical assistant cover letter where you provide the recruiters with a basic self-introduction about your background and your personality that makes you a good fit for the position. It gives the readers a general idea of who you are. They can be stories from previous experience, life stories, career aspirations, upbringing background or anything that help catch their attention. 

Here is an example paragraph for a cover letter for a healthcare assistant:

Outline your skills and qualifications

A major goal of writing a medical assistant cover letter is to further elaborate on your skills corresponding to the position beyond the content provided on your resume. After mentioning your background, you may consider talking about your past achievements in previous working experiences that can outline your skills and qualifications for the job. 

Here is an example paragraph for a medical office assistant cover letter:

End your cover letter with an invitation

As you reach the closing paragraph of your medical assistant cover letter, you can reiterate your skills and experience, stating how they could be applied in the future if you have an opportunity to work in the company. Lastly, end your medical assistant cover letter with an invitation to contact you and ask any questions through the contact information provided. 

Here is an example paragraph for a cover letter for a clinic assistant:

Sign off in a professional manner

At the end of the medical assistant cover letter, sign off with a professional closing such as “Sincerely” or “Respectfully” followed by your full name.

Here are some tips for writing a cover letter for a medical assistant job that can help improve and customize the content of your medical assistant cover letter: 

Highlight relevant skills

The purpose of your medical assistant cover letter is to show the recruiters that you have the qualification in completing the work as a medical assistant. In your cover letter for a clinic assistant, remember to highlight relevant skills and relate them back to the work that reflects your capability as a clinic assistant, not just throw in any skills that are irrelevant. 

Some relevant skills include:

1. Medical knowledge
2. Communication skills
3. Organizational skills
4. Administrative skills
5. Time management skills
6. Computer skills
7. Problem-solving skills
8. Injection skills
9. Exam set up skills
10. Lab specimen collection skills
11. Supply monitoring skills
12. Customer service skills
13. Language skills
14. Stress management skills
15. Empathy
16. Cooperative skills
17. Detail orientation
18. Multitasking skills 

Present achievements using bullet points

When you are talking about your past achievements in your cover letter for a health care assistant job, you can try presenting those skills and achievements in bullet points so that it is easier for the recruiters to see each qualification you have gained. 

For instance:

• Organized 1000+ medical records in one day
• Communicated with doctors and notified patients of their treatment plans
• Coordinated with patients and scheduled over 50+ appointments in one day

End with a compelling call to action

Recruiters like to see people who are highly motivated and capable of doing independent thinking. In order to demonstrate this personality, you can end your medical assistant cover letter with a compelling call to action, such as how you would dedicate your skills to the company or name specific projects you want to be involved in so that the recruiters can know you are looking forward to working with them. 

Describe volunteer or internship experience

Nobody is born with working experience, so there is nothing to worry about when writing a medical assistant cover letter with no working experience. Even if you don’t have any actual work experience in the field to mention in your medical assistant cover letter, you can still bring up volunteer or internship experience you have done during your time at school or other past achievements that are still relatable to the work of a medical assistant.

Proofread your medical assistant cover letter

Almost any work requires one to be careful and attentive. Hence you would want to proofread your medical assistant cover letter a couple of times to ensure that there are no spelling errors or other mistakes that could lower your credibility as a medical assistant. Nowadays, there are many proofread tools you can use, one of them is Grammarly.

The template provided below offers a reference for writing your medical assistant cover letter. The medical assistant cover letter template can give you an idea of how to phrase different paragraphs and what elements to include.

--- Originally written by Ann Chen ---