What is a Medical Assistant?
Medical assisting, as a profession, has been around since the 1950s. It is one among the many allied health
professions in which a person can grow and be a proud contributor to their community's wellness, no
matter where. Scores of people have chosen medical assisting as their lifelong career path and are very successful
at it, regardless of gender, age, and location.
Are you among Medical Assistants
 tired of the old song:
"We want x-years EXPERIENCE before we hire!"
You already know you have what it takes! Now impress potential employers and
show them that you are serious about your career.
Don't let the words "lack of experience" hold you back! More often than not it's not lack
experience, but lack of recognized certification that keeps medical assistants from landing the better jobs. For
recognized certifications that YOU may already qualify
forbased on your experience, or training...
Medical Assistant's Duties
The medical assistant is a perfect addition to any medical office and adds real value to any doctor's practice.
While all responsibilities of running the practice as a business rests squarely on the doctor, and office
management, the medical office's work flow and reputation depends largely on the skills and competence of their
medical assisting staff. From a medical assistant's perspective, especially those who are new in the field, the
fast pace of processing patients in and out, constant interruptions, a need for accurate documentation, and
meticulous organization can be stressful at times.
Medical assistants are expected to...
Medical assistants frequently work in medical offices and doctor's practices, while hospitals are
hiring them for their outpatient clinics as part of a diverse, well-organized health care team. You also find them
in local, and regional medical centers, walk-in clinics, and ambulatory wellness clinics where they assist doctors,
interact with the public, and other medical office staff.
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Medical assistants add the smile and caring touch to a doctor visit
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Comply with HIPAA, CLIA, OSHA, AND JCAHO laws and regulations
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React calmly and effectively in emergency situations
Medical assistants main focus lies in two areas: welcoming and assisting patients, and supporting
the doctor as required to keep the work flow going. Part of this is to complete patient's medical records before
they are seen by the doctor, take their vital signs, educate them on methods to improve their health, and show them
how to take their medications.
Description of a Medical Assistant
Furthermore, they assure day-to-day office operations, and see to it that all tasks are handled
safely and efficiently as patients are processed in and out the medical office. This allows the doctors, other
skilled health care practitioners and nursing staff to focus directly on the medical issues and health concerns of
their patients, without having to worry about things such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records,
and other tasks the medical assistant can do. If ordered by the doctor, they will also draw blood, and perform ancillary in-house
quick lab and ECG tests in accordance with their training, skill level, and state
regulations.
What a Medical Assistant is Not!
Medical assistants should not be confused with non-physician licensed healthcare practitioners,
such as Physician Assistants (PA), or Emergency Medical Assistant (EMA), and medicine aides (MA)! Although they
have the same, or similar abbreviated credentials they are different occupations with different educational
requirements and functions.
Also, medical assistants are NOT CNAs, and typically will not work in nursing homes, or in the home
health care industry, because there isn't always a doctor present, which is required by law when a medical
assistant provides direct patient care.
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