A medical assistant is also referred to as the clinical assistant or health care assistant. It is an allied health professional helping the work in a clinical setting of the following:
- Physicians
- Nurse
- Practitioners
- Physician assistants
- Other health professionals
Yes, a medical assistant is a certified assistant of those mentioned medical professionals. Medical Assistant careers have been rising in demand recently, especially since the world today is facing a pandemic. Thus, more and more hospitals, clinics, and some other healthcare providers are looking for certified medical assistant professionals.
What do they do?
Medical assistants are healthcare professionals, assisting doctors in medical offices and clinics. These professionals will perform the following:
- Take vital signs
- Check height and weight
- Ask symptoms and health concerns
- Pass the gathered patient information to the doctor
How to become a medical assistant?
Take a medical assistant course and complete the training. You will be receiving two different certificates in the medical assistant careers, namely:
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant
By completing the course and training as well as passing the exams, you will become a certified medical assistant according to the field you have completed. If you have completed both course and training, surely you will be more skillful of having two different medical assistant careers.
The medical certificate training program
You can’t perform the job if you have not taken a medical assistant course and training. Therefore, you need to take a medical certificate training program to get the certification in the field of your career. Nobody will hire you if you apply yet have no proof of paper completed the course and training as well as passing the exam.
Yes, there is a medical assistant exam that the students must pass to get their certificates of whatever field of expertise in medical assistant they have graduated from, for the employers to be aware of which job position they must be hired for.
What are the skills of a medical assistant?
Entering the healthcare field is a serious matter and learning new medical and technical skills is very important. The skills of a medical assistant must be:
- Vital signs measurement
- Appointment scheduling
- Injections
- CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation)
- EKG (Electrocardiogram)
These mentioned skills are one of the major duties of the MA, which also includes the following:
- Technical skills
- Great communication
- Detail-oriented
- Multitasking
- Knowledgeable in tools and technology
The job of a medical assistant may be easy on the eyes, but a single mistake of doing their job can risk their profession. Keep in mind that these medical assistants are also handling patients’ medications and medical history. So, they must be alert and have that presence of mind when doing the job.
Medical assistants will work with various providers that need a broader skill set. The opportunities of MAs recently are growing and have changed rapidly. If you are an aspirant of this career, take and complete the course and training.