St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants
by Dr. Tashia
Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep 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.
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 billing and bookkeeping.
As far as clinical taks for medical assistants, the duties often vary according to what is allowed by State law. Some common 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 collect and prepare laboratory specimens and sometimes perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They might 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, draw blood, prepare patients for x-rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, and change dressings. Medical assistants also may arrange examining room instruments and equipment, purchase and maintain supplies and equipment, and keep waiting and examining rooms neat and clean.
Medical assistants often work in well-lighted, clean environments. They constantly interact with other people and may have to handle several responsibilities at once. Most full-time medical assistants work a regular 40-hour week. However, many medical assistants also work part time, evenings, or weekends.
Postsecondary medical assisting programs are offered in vocational-technical high schools, postsecondary vocational schools, community colleges, junior colleges and online distance education programs at medical assistant schools. Formal training in medical assisting, while generally preferred, is not always required. Some medical assistants are trained on the job, although this practice is less common than in the past. Applicants usually need a high school diploma or the equivalent. Recommended high school courses include mathematics, health, biology, typing, bookkeeping, computers, and office skills. Volunteer experience in the health care field also is helpful. Medical assistants who are trained on the job usually spend their first few months attending training sessions and working closely with more experienced workers. Some States allow medical assistants to perform more advanced procedures, such as giving injections, after passing a test or taking a course.
Medical assistants held about 417,000 jobs in 2006. About 62 percent worked in offices of physicians; 12 percent worked in public and private hospitals, including inpatient and outpatient facilities; and 11 percent 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 nursing and residential care facilities. 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.
According to the United States Labor Department, 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. 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 should have the best job opportunities.
Medical assistants perform routine clerical and clinical duties in order to maintain efficiency in offices of physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, and others. Medical assistants are different than physicians' assistants. A physician assistant’s job requires examining, diagnosing, and treating patients under the direction of a physician.Many factors affect the duties of medical assistants including location and size of the practice as well as the physician's area of specialty. Where practices are small, medical assistants are termed "generalists" with medical and administrative duties. They report directly to an office manager or physician. On the other hand, those in larger practices usually specialize in a certain area and remain supervised by department administrators.
Some administrative responsibilities include: greeting patients, answering the phone, keeping medical records, completing insurance forms, handling correspondence, making appointments, setting up hospital admission and laboratory services, and managing billing.State laws cause medical assistants to have differing clinical duties. These duties include: retrieving patient history, taking vital signs, informing patients about treatments, assisting patients and physicians with examinations, conducting general laboratory tests, preparing laboratory specimens on the jobsite, disposing of used materials, and sanitizing medical supplies.
Medical assistants educate the patients about treatments such as medication or eating habits, prepare and give medications, permit refills under physician supervision, submit prescriptions to the pharmacist, take blood, perform electrocardiograms, prepare patients for x-rays, take out sutures, and adjust dressings.Additional tasks require medical assistants to organize, maintain, and purchase instruments and materials for examining rooms. They also clean waiting and examining rooms.
St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants now provides a convenient online medical assistant distance education program for medical assistants. Their program is nationally accredited and certified. You may read more about this innovative program at: MedAssistant.org.
