Medical Assistant? What’s that?

August 20, 2008 – 6:40 pm

Most people don’t realize they could work in the medical field without going to medical school for years and years.

Medical assistants play a crucial role in the operation of doctors’ offices, hospitals, and other health care facilities. SBBCollege has an accredited program that can prepare you for this exciting career in a matter of months!

But let’s back up a bit. Since many people don’t know exactly what a medical assistant is, we’ve assembled some of the more common questions and answers for you here…

So what exactly do medical assistants do?

Medical assistants perform medical office and patient care tasks and have the important job of keeping the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly.

The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner’s specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually do many different kinds of tasks, handling both administrative and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area, under the supervision of department administrators.

What are the medical office duties?

Medical assistants who perform administrative tasks have many duties. They update and file patients’ medical records, fill out insurance forms, and arrange for hospital admissions and laboratory services. They also perform tasks less specific to medical settings, such as answering telephones, greeting patients, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, and handling biling and bookkeeping.

What kind of patient care duties do medical assistants do?

Some common clinical tasks include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing patients for examinations, and assisting physicians during examinations. Medical assistants may do blood draws, perform basic laboratory tests and sterilize medical instruments. Additionally, theymay instruct patients about medications and special diets, prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician, authorize drug refills as directed, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, prepare patients for x-rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, and change dressings.

You can even specialize. Ophthalmic medical assistants and podiatric medical assistants are examples of specialized assistants who have additional duties. Ophthalmic medical assistants help ophthalmologists provide eye care. They conduct diagnostic tests, measure and record vision, and test eye muscle function. Podiatric medical assistants make castings of feet, expose and develop x-rays, and assist podiatrists in surgery.

I like the office part, but what if patient care is not for me?

There are many medical office opportunities available for those who would rather not provide direct patient care. SBBCollege offers a medical office systems program that prepares candidates for work in medical offices and insurance companies. Training includes medical biling, medical terminoloyg, diagnostice coding, prescription drugs and their side effects, computer use and medical computer programs. The SBBCollege Program also includes an on-the-job training component in the last term. As medical office positions go, this is a great opportunity for those looking to obtain or advance in an entry level job in the medical billing field. More…

What’s the working environment like?

Medical assistants constantly interact with other people and may have to handle serveral responsibilities at once. Most full-time medical assistants work a regular 40-hour week. However, many medical assistants work part time, evenings, or weekends.

As of 2006, there were more than 400,000 medical assistants working in the US. About 62% worked in doctors’ offices; 12% worked in hospitals, and 11% worked in offices of other health practitioners, such as chiropractors, optometrists, and podiatrists. Most of the remainder worked in other health care industries such as outpatient care centers and residential care facilities.

What training do I need to become a medical assistant?

Few medical assistant are trained on the job these days, so most candidates complete a training program.

Generally, medical assisting programs cover anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology, as well as typing, recordkeeping, and insurance processing. Students learn laboratory techniques, clinical and diagnostic procedures, pharmaceutical principles, the administration of medications, and first aid. They study office practices, patient relations, medical law, and ethics. There are various organizations that accredit medical assisting programs. Accredited programs ofen include an internship that provides practical experience in physicians’ offices, hospitals, or other health care facilities.

What about the SBBCollege Medical Assisting Program?

SBBCollege offers an accredited Medical Assisting Associate Degree program that may be completed in only 18 monts. (That’s an Associate Degree AND complete medical assistant training all in a short amount of time!) The program is similar to the general program listed above and includes an on-the-job training component in the last term. Upon successful course completion, students are certified in injections, blood draws, CPR and First Aid. SBBCollege medical assisting graduates are eligible to sit for the Registered Medical Assistnat (RMA) examination. More…

What is the job outlook for medical assistants?

Employment is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2006-16 decade. Job opportunities should be excellent, particularly for those with formal training or experience, and certification.

Employment of medical assistants is expected to grow 35 percent from 2006 to 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations. As the health care industry expands because of technological advances in medicine and the growth and aging of the population, there will be an increased need for all health care workers. Increasing use of medical assistants in the rapidly growing health care industry will further stimulate job growth.

Job seekers who want to work as a medical assistant should find excellent job prospects. Medical assistants are projected to account for a very large number of new jobs, and many other opportunities will come from the need to replace workers leaving the occupation. Those with formal training or experience-particularly those with certification-should have the best job opportunities.

What kind of career advancement can I look forward to down the road?

Medical assistants may advance to other occupations through experience or additional training. For example, some may go on to teach medical assisting, and others pursue additional education to become nurses or other health care workers. Administrative medical assistants may advance to office manager, or qualify for a variety of administrative support occupations.

Have questions? Want to learn more?
Contact us @ SBBCollege

Take care,
Monica

Links:
SBBCollege Medical Assisting Program
SBBCollege Medical Office Program

SBBCollege Campuses Offering Medical Assisting Programs

Bakersfield Campus - serving the communities of Bakersfield, Porterville, Delano, Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, Shafter, Wasco, Taft, Arvin, California City, Lamont, McFarlnad, Lake Isabella, Frazier Park, Earlimart, Pixley, Mojave, Bodfish, and other nearby areas.

Santa Barbara Campus - serving the communities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Summerland, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Solvang, Buellton, and other nearby areas.

Santa Maria Campus - serving the communities of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Nipomo, Oceano, Pismo Beach, Solvang, Santa Ynez, Buellton, CAsmalia, Guadalupe, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, New Cuyama, San Luis Obispo, Santa Margarita, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Los Osos, Creston, Bradley, Atascadero, and other nearby areas.

Ventura Campus - serving the communities of Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Camarillo, Fillmore, Oak View, Ojai, Piru, Point Mugu NAWS, Santa Paula, Agoura Hills, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Simi Valley, Somis, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, and other nearby areas.

Palm Desert Campus - serving the communities of Palm Desert, Indio, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Twentynine Palms, La Quinta, Yucca Valley, Beaumont, Anza, Banning, Cabazon, Mecca, Rancho Mirage, Thermal, Thousand Palms, and other nearby areas.

Online Campus - offering the medical office systems program.

Source: Portions of this post were prepared using statistics and information contained in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Medical Assistants (August 20, 2008).