Medical Assisting Career
Job and Training Information

 
Anyone looking for an accessible and exciting occupation in the rapidly expanding healthcare industry may want to consider medical assisting training. No official certification or degree is required, so entry-level positions may be possible, but obtaining accredited certification is highly recommended to help you stand out from the crowd. Healthcare is the fastest-growing U.S. service industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so if you're interested in getting your feet wet in the medical field, this may be a career path to consider.

Career Overview

A doctor's office can be a very busy place. That is why many doctors trust medical assistants to help them with the day-to-day aspects of their fast moving practice. A medical assistant works closely with doctors, physicians, chiropractors and other types of health practitioners to ensure that everything from the office to the exam room runs smoothly. They generally perform a lot of multi-tasking duties in a busy environment, either in the office or the exam room, or both. They are also responsible for facilitating communication between doctors, patients and affiliate companies. The medical assistant's main duties can be administrative or clinical, though unlike a physician assistant, medical assistants do not diagnose or treat patients. There are three main types of medical assistants: administrative, clinical or specialized. Specific job requirements vary between states and facilities, but below you'll find a general overview of each.

Types of Medical Assistants

1. Administrative:The administrative medical assistant mainly oversees and organizes the flow of information in the office. They will be expected to:
   
   - Keep patient medical records up to date
   - Communicate with insurance companies
   - Arrange for hospital admissions or laboratory services
   - Schedule medical procedures
   - Perform other office duties, like answering phones, greeting patients, billing and bookkeeping
   
   
2. Clinical: The clinical medical assistant's duties lie more heavily in assisting the doctor in the exam room rather than the front office. It may be a part of their job to:
   
   - Take medical histories and check vital signs
   - Prepare patients for treatment and answer questions
   - Dispose of soiled supplies and sterilize equipment
   - Prepare and administer medications
   - Communicate with pharmacies about prescriptions
   - Draw blood
   - Remove sutures and change dressings
   - Prepare patients for x-rays
   - Keep the exam room clean and sanitary
   
   
3. Specialized: Some medical assistants work in specialized treatment centers and have additional duties. Here are some examples:
   - Ophthalmic: These medical assistants help ophthalmic doctors provide eye care. They may conduct eye tests, measure vision, test eye muscle functioning or even assist with surgery.
   - Optometric: Optometric medical assistants also help eye doctors conduct vision tests and instruct patients on contact lens usage.
   - Podiatric: Podiatric medical assistants help podiatrists make castings of feet, develop x-rays and they might assist in the operating room.
   
   Work Environment
   
   Medical assistants generally work in clean, well-lighted environments. They interact with other people, including doctors, patients, insurance companies and pharmacies, on a regular basis, so it is important to enjoy a high dose of social interaction. Medical assistants may work in a large company and perform highly specialized tasks, either in the administrative or clinical field, or they may work within a smaller practice and be responsible for a wide array of duties in both the office and exam room. In general, a medical assistant works in a busy environment and is responsible for a completing a high volume of clinical or office tasks on a daily basis. Facilities where a medical assistant may work include general hospitals; college campuses, physician offices and outpatient care centers. Most medical assistants work a full 40 hours, but some may work part-time, evenings or weekends.
   
   Expected Job Growth
   
   The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment is expected to grow faster than average for medical assistants, roughly 34 percent between 2008 and 2018. Because of advancements in technology, an aging population and expected increase of diseases like diabetes and obesity, healthcare is a lucrative field with great future job prospects. Specifically, career opportunities in the medical assisting field are promising, especially for those with previous training or certification.
   
   Training and Certification
   
   One advantage to pursuing a medical assisting career is that anyone can do it. There are no formal requirements to obtaining this position, and many facilities will offer on-the-job training, making this an excellent entry-level position. However, employers will definitely favor applicants with previous training, volunteer experience or an accredited certification or degree.
   
   Schools that offer medical assisting programs:
   - Vocational-technical high schools
   - Postsecondary vocational schools
   - Community colleges
   - Junior colleges


Vocational programs for medical assistants usually last either one-year, resulting in a certificate or diploma, or two years, resulting in an associate medical assisting degree. Most medical assistant programs also offer some sort of internship or externship so that students can receive hand-on experience.

Medical assisting students learn:
- Anatomy
- Medical terminology
- Physiology
- Transcription
- Recordkeeping
- Accounting
- Insurance processing
- Laboratory techniques
- Clinical procedures
- Pharmaceutical principles
- Administration of medicine
- First aid

The cost to receive a one-year certificate or two-year degree depends on the type of school, the location, whether the student is a resident and what type of degree is earned. A typical one- or two-year degree can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. There is a fee to take the Certified Medical Assistant Exam (AAMA), which is not required, but highly recommended.

Advanced Opportunities

Medical assistants who have worked in the field for a while may also want to consider advancing into a similar yet related field with additional experience or training. As mentioned already, receiving specialty training can allow a medical assistant to work in niche fields like optometry or podiatry. Some might also opt for the route of teaching medical assisting, branching off into the field of nursing or moving up the administrative ladder.

Joining an accredited association, such as the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or Association of Medical Technologists (AMT), may open up the door to increased opportunities. Also, some states allow medical assistants to take a course or pass a test in order to administer advanced medical procedures like taking x-rays or giving injections.

Salary

A medical assisting salary varies depending on training and experience, type of work environment and location. A typical salary range from 2008 shows medical assistants earning between $23,000 and $33,000 annually, with the top 10% earning above $39,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Career Compatibility Checklist

Different people are made for different jobs. When brainstorming about the right career path for you, it may be difficult to determine which avenue to go down when there are so many options. One way to narrow down the possibilities before committing to any vocational training or expensive schooling is to shadow a professional in the field to get a taste for what it would be like to work in that position every day. If you think you can enjoy the job more than half the time, it might be worth considering.

When thinking about pursuing a medical assisting degree, it might help to ask yourself these questions:

- Am I a multi-tasker?
Medical assistants often perform many duties in a small span of time, and have to keep track of different patients all needing care, or talk to different insurance companies on the phone in the same hour. Multi-tasking is a large part of this job.
- Am I a people-person?
Medical assistants interact with many different types of people everyday, including doctors, patients and everyone in between. It's better to have a natural love of social interaction, and to be energized by a fast-paced social environment. The medical assistant may have to sometimes deal with unpleasant patients or people in pain, so it's also preferable to have an empathetic mindset.
- Do I enjoy medical information?
Having a medical mindset will make this job much easier and more enjoyable. Since a medical assistant will be dealing with technical medical information on a daily basis, having a good understanding of physiology, medical terms and medical reasoning will improve performance and make the job much smoother.
- Am I detail-oriented?
A medical assistant, whether administrative or clerical, will be working with a lot of detailed information, like patient records and laboratory statistics, on a regular basis, so someone who gets tired of dealing with bits of data often may want to consider another position. However, someone who enjoys organizing information may thrive in this position.
- Am I coordinated and do I have good judgment?
Since a lot of medical assisting involves undergoing routine patient tasks like taking blood pressure and sterilizing equipment, basic coordination and visual proficiency are important. Trusting your good judgment on the job will also help when dealing with unexpected situations, should they arise.
- Do I like a busy, varied work environment?
Each new day will bring new patients, all with individual histories and lives, so if you are the type of person to thrive in a familiar work setting where any unexpected condition or event may suddenly come your way, you may enjoy the daily excitement of medical assisting.