Medical Assistant Career
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What Medical Assistants do:
Medical Assistants work in the offices of physicians, podiatrists, physiatrists and other healthcare practitioners in an administrative capacity. A Medical Assistant ensures that the offices in which they work are well organized and managed.
In large hospitals medical assistants can specialize and work solely in an Administrative or a Clinical capacity. In smaller practices, Medical Assistants need to do both Administrative and Clinical work.
The duties of a Medical Assistant include:
- Completing relevant insurance forms
- Updating of a patients medical records
- Arranging appointments
- Billing and bookkeeping
- Meeting and greeting patients
- Recording vital signs
- Taking a patient's medical history
- Explaining treatment to the patient
- Performing basic laboratory tests
- Collect laboratory samples
- Changing dressings
- Sterilizing medical instruments
Education & Qualifications:
Medical Assistant programs are held at many vocational, technical, community or junior colleges. Diplomas can be achieved in one year of full time education. Some Medical Assistants continue to graduate with an Associate Degree on completion of two years study.
Many accredited programs include an internship, which often lead to full time employment for many students. A typical course of study includes both Clinical and Administrative subjects for example:
- Clinical subjects: physiology, medical terminology, anatomy, first aid.
- Administrative subjects: transcription, typing, accounting, insurance processing, medical law and ethics.
There are many certifications open to Medical Assistants, two of which are:
- The Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) certification - accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)
- The Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) - accredited by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
Salary & Job Prospects:
Medical Assistants earn between $20,000 and $30,000, depending on location, qualifications and experience. Medical Assistants are predicted to be one of the fastest growing occupations over the next 10 years. Job prospects for Medical Assistants with formal training, certification and experience are excellent.
Below is a list of some of the various types of allied health careers / professions: