Career and School Info for Medical Assistants

Medical Assistant Job Description

Career tips, salaries, and lists of schools.

Doctors and other healthcare practitioners rely on medical assistants to take care of a variety of office and patient-care related tasks. Medical assistants may work in a small office handling many tasks, or a large office filling a specific role within a team. Their responsibilities differ from physician assistants, who are trained to diagnose and treat patients.

Administrative Tasks

• Updating and filing patients' medical records
• Processing insurance forms
• Scheduling hospital admissions
• Arranging laboratory services
• Acting as receptionist
• Processing mail and writing letters
• Bookkeeping and billing
• Arranging and maintaining exam room equipment and instruments
• Purchasing supplies
• Keeping waiting areas and exam rooms clean
  

Clinical Tasks (vary by state law)

• Taking a patient's medical history and recording his or her vital signs
• Getting a patient ready for an exam and explaining treatments
• Assisting the physician during an exam
• Following a physician's instructions for authorizing and administering medications
• Preparing a patient for x-rays and performing electrocardiograms
• Changing bandages and removing sutures
• Providing instructions to a patient about special diets and medications
• Drawing blood, processing lab specimens, and performing basic laboratory tests
• Disposing of contaminated supplies and sterilizing medical instruments
• Submitting authorized prescription orders to pharmacies

Areas of specialty include podiatry (foot-related care), ophthalmology (eye-health related care) and optometry (vision-related care).

Degrees and Schools

Many community colleges and vocational schools offer medical assistant programs. Some offer one-year programs for a diploma or certificate, while others offer two-year associate's degrees. Good programs include a requirement for an internship or externship at a local doctor's office, clinic or hospital.

Employers frequently prefer graduates of schools that are accredited by organizations such as the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

Classes

Postsecondary education programs for medical assistants usually include coursework in the following areas:

• medical terminology
• anatomy and physiology
• typing and transcription
• accounting and bookkeeping
• medical record keeping and patient privacy policy
• insurance processing
• lab testing, techniques and procedures
• pharmaceuticals and medication administration
• diagnostic and clinical procedures
• medical law and ethics
• technology and office practices
• patient relations

In addition to coursework, hands-on experience through an internship or externship is often required.

Online Classes and Programs

Medical assistant certification and degree programs are well-suited to online education, offering convenience and flexibility. These programs might not provide the local internship, externship and job-placement assistance that many on-campus programs offer.

Employment Requirements

Many employers prefer to hire graduates of accredited postsecondary programs. However, although formal training can help a medical assistant get hired, it's not always necessary. Many medical assistants are trained on the job, especially if they have previous work experience in an office or volunteer experience in the health care field. A high school diploma is considered the minimum requirement.

Medical assistants can obtain certification through various associations such as the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or American Medical Technologists (AMT) to bolster their employability.

How to Evaluate Schools

Asking the following questions can help in choosing a medical assisting educational program:

• School and class size - How many students are in an average course? Does the school offer a large variety of desirable amenities, such as specialized services or facilities?
• Tuition and financial assistance - What resources are available to students to help them take advantage of financial aid options such as scholarships, grants, loans, work study, etc.?
• Accreditation - Has the ABHES, CAAHEP or other organization accredited the program? If the program is offered online, has it been accredited by an organization for distance learning?
• Practical experience - Does the program facilitate hands-on experience? Are internships or externships coordinated? Are there plenty of desirable positions from which to choose?
• Graduate success - How many graduates get certified by the AAMA, AMT or other organizations? What is the program's success rate for graduate job placement?

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