Expected Medical Assistant Duties and Job Description
Expected Medical Assistant Duties
The medical field is a great place to look for jobs. With flexible hours and great pay, medicine can be the perfect jump start to your career. If you’re looking to get involved in a medical career, a job as a medical assistant can be the perfect answer. Here are some of the basics of becoming a medical assistant.
Medical Assistant Duties
Your main duty as a medical assistant will be assisting the medical professionals in your office. These jobs vary from day to day, but usually revolve around making sure that all the basic functions of your medical provider’s office are taken care of. Some of these medical assistant duties include:
- Providing patients with rooms and making sure that they are comfortable while waiting for their doctor.
- Taking basic vital signs of each patient (blood pressure, temperature, respiration, pulse, height, and weight).
- Running EKGs
- Running urine analysis tests
- Explaining procedures to patients to ensure they run smoothly.
- Explaining medication to patients (this may include special dietary needs, how to administer medication, etc.).
- Giving injections to patients
- Drawing blood samples
- Asking patients about the reason of their visit (getting symptoms, complaints, etc.).
These tasks vary from office to office, especially if the doctor you choose to work for has a particular specialty. Your tasks may also extend to making out prescriptions to patients and making specialist referrals if needed.
Medical Assistant Duties & Medical Assistant Office Tasks
Some medical assistants are required to take on administrative duties as well as their medical assistant duties. Smaller offices will require you to take on more tasks as an assistant, so be prepared to cover any number of duties. Administrative tasks involve making sure that the office runs the way it is supposed to. You might be required to fill out basic patient information forms or perform basic filing duties, especially in offices that have not switched over to an electronic filing system. Most filing duties deal with patients’ charts and making sure that they are always in the correct place. You’ll quickly learn that a patient’s chart is a doctor’s best friend, so it’s important that they are easily accessible by that patient’s doctor. Medical assistants also handle basic insurance procedures. It will be your job to make sure that patients have the correct coverage information on hand when they visit your office. After they patient leaves the office, it will be your duty to notify that patient of any follow up information such as test results or prescription refills.
Medical Assistant Salary
Medical assisting offers a competitive salary in comparison to other medical jobs. Medical assistants have an increasing amount of responsibility in the office, which means that the average rate of pay for medical assisting has increased as well. The salary of a medical assistant starts at around $29,000 a year. Salaries differ based on the location of your office, the type of doctor you’re working for, and the amount of responsibility you have in your office. If you’re looking for a higher salary, look for work in larger offices located in larger cities. Your previous experience as a medical assistant also plays into how much you’ll be paid, so try and acquire as much as possible. It’ll pay off in the end!
Salaries for Certified Medical Assistants
Certification is voluntary as a medical assistant. However, more and more employers are requiring certification before hiring assistants to perform required medical assistant duties, so it’s a good idea to look into receiving your certification. One of the added benefits of certification is a higher salary. Those who choose to get certified often begin at a much higher rate of pay than most medical assistants. For example, a medical assistant with certification and seniority can make up to $20 an hour. That translates to a salary of around $41,000 per year. This is due to the fact that certification signifies that you’ve already demonstrated your knowledge of the medical field before you’ve even gotten hired. Getting certified also means that you are more likely to receive promotions in the future.
Since the demand for medical assistant is always on the rise, the pay is only expected to increase as time goes on. This means better pay and better job security.
In order to become a medical assistant, you need to graduate from a medical assistant program. There are a number of options available for training programs, including long distance programs that allow you to keep your current job and go to school at the same time. However, not just any program will do. The program you choose needs to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Accreditation Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). Check to make sure that your medical assistant programs has either one of these before you begin your training there. Medical assistant programs vary in length, but you should be prepared to invest a bit of time in them. But don’t worry, the time you spend learning and studying will pay off once you being working and receiving paychecks. Once you’ve completed your training, you’ll be on your way to becoming a certified, employable medical assistant!
Medical Assistant Certifications
After you have graduated from your accredited medical assistant training program, you will need to take a certification exam. Once you’ve registered for the exam, begin studying as soon as possible. It is important to be familiar with all of the medical procedures taught in your training program as well as medical terminology and human anatomy and physiology. It might be a good idea to enroll in a review course before taking the exam. They can be very helpful, valuable tools in doing well on your exam. Most exams cost anywhere from $125 to $250 dollars. If you want a discounted rate on the exam, try to sign up for one right after you graduate from your training program.
Medical assisting can be a rewarding job. You will be the first step towards a patient receiving the medical attention they need. Medical assisting and the demand for people performing medical assistant duties, is also a growing field, so there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved and begin your career in medicine.