
At the Heart of Every Clinic: The MOA Perspective
Project Introduction
A collaborative project on the evolving role of Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) in primary care. This project brings together researchers, frontline staff, and clinic leaders to better understand the realities of MOA work—what it looks like, what it demands, and how it is changing. Through surveys, interviews, and co-design sessions, we capture the voices of MOAs across Ontario to explore their responsibilities, challenges, and ideas for the future of care.
The outcome? A series of co-designed and scalable solutions for primary care that both improve the MOA experience and support better delivery of care.
Get in Touch
Have questions about the project? Want to get involved or continue the conversation? Want to take part in our bi-annual working group meetings? Reach out to our team—we’d love to hear from you.
Research Coordinator: Jawairia Mohammed at jawairia.mohammed@wchospital.ca
Lead Scientist: Jennifer Shuldiner at jennifer.shuldiner@wchospital.ca
The work was completed in collaboration with co-being design.
This work is supported by a grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.
Ongoing Work
Our team launched this research program to better understand and support the critical role of Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) in primary care. MOAs are essential to the functioning of primary care clinics, supporting everything from administrative coordination to direct patient care. Yet despite their critical role, MOAs remain underrecognized in health system planning, research, and policy. As clinics face rising patient volumes, digital demands, and staffing shortages, MOAs are increasingly tasked with managing complex care needs, despite there being a lack of standardized training, adequate compensation, or a clearly defined role. Through this work, we aimed to document their experiences, highlight their contributions, and co-create practical solutions to strengthen their training, retention, and recognition across Ontario.
Research Activities
- Scoping review
- We conducted a scoping review to map the existing literature on MOA roles, training, and workforce development.
- Manuscript Coming Soon
- Co-creation workshops and prioritization surveys to develop solutions to support MOAs
- Collaboratively mapped the challenges MOAs face at work, explored what an “ideal” work day would look like for them, and co-created solutions to their most pressing problems.
- Manuscript Coming Soon
- MOA survey across Ontario
- We distributed an Ontario-wide survey to capture MOAs’ perspectives on their training, role clarity, workload, and current workplace support and received 939 responses. The mixed-methods results revealed both the strengths and challenges of being an MOA, which have continued to guide our recommendations.
- Manuscript Coming Soon
- Interviews with MOAs:
- Through in-depth interviews, we explored MOAs’ daily responsibilities, the barriers they face, and their insights into improving clinic operations. These stories provided a deeper understanding of the realities behind the survey numbers.
- Manuscript Coming Soon
The Primary Care MOA Collaborative
We launched the Primary Care MOA Collaborative to foster a space for discussion between MOAs, health researchers, and system leaders. The goal is to build a community where MOAs can share experiences, shape solutions, and elevate their voices in system-level conversations.
March 2025 discussion:
Our first discussion group gathered MOAs and researchers across the health system to examine the current landscape of MOA work. Together, the group developed actionable recommendations to strengthen MOA training, retention, and recognition in primary care clinics. The following report summarizes the discussion for our workshop and outlines co-created solutions and recommendations for supporting MOAs in primary care offices.
September 2025 discussion:

Our second meeting featured a panel of MOAs who shared their frontline experiences, challenges in a strained health system, and ideas for strengthening this vital role. The discussion group highlighted how MOAs and primary care leaders work together to improve patient care and team success.
To listen to the panel below, please insert passcode: 2EW?eH=f
Future Steps
We’re building momentum to raise the profile of MOAs and drive changes that strengthen their role in primary care. By expanding the conversation and deepening collaborations, we aim to improve recognition, retention, training, and support for MOAs. To move this work forward, we’re looking for partners across primary care, health organizations, and policy who want to join us in strengthening and supporting the MOA workforce.
Are you interested in collaborating with The Primary Care MOA Collaborative? Connect with our team!
Meet the Core Team
We’re a multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers, physicians, and medical office assistants, committed to improving the experience of MOAs in primary care. Through our research, we aim to strengthen and support the vital role MOAs play.
MOA Advisory Panel Members:
- Susanna Emmanue
- Linda Hong
- Olympia Magarro
- Corrie Procak
Our Collaborators and partners




Contact Us
- Have questions about the project? Want to get involved? Reach out to our team—we’d love to hear from you.
- Jennifer Shuldiner, Lead Scientist
- jennifer.shuldiner@wchospital.ca
- Jawairia Mohammed, Research Coordinator
- jawairia.mohammed@wchospital.ca

