Become a Medical Assistant and Contribute to America's Health

A medical assistant works in a doctor's office, clinic, or laboratory. The medical assistant is the first person you get to see when you visit the doctor's office. Regular physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, pediatricians and nurse practitioners hire one or more medical assistants. The medical assistant fills out the initial evaluation report and asks the patient some questions. He checks the patient's blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate. He assists you on the scale. A medical assistant can also do the work of a phlebotomist. He prepares, and if needed, drapes patients for medical exams and can be asked to sterilize certain instruments. He collects blood samples and sends them to the laboratory. He can also collect samples of other bodily fluids. He assists the doctor with procedures if the doctor wants him to do so.

Many doctor’s offices hire medical assistants instead of registered nurses because they work for lower wages and are also qualified to do these basic things that start of your visit. A medical assistant usually wears medical scrubs when he is working. A medical assistant is often hired by a hospital to staff the nursing desk and do clerical work as a unit secretary. With an extra certification he is also able to work as a telemetry technician. He watches the heart rhythm of several patients while he answers incoming phone calls and orders laboratory tests prescribed by the physicians who do their rounds in that particular section of the hospital. He communicates with all staff members and direct visitors to the facility. Often he is in charge to ensure that visitors sign the guest book. A medical assistant handles incoming correspondence, sends forms to the billing department or billing service, sends audio to medical transcriptionists, and might do some of the bookkeeping. The medical assistant can be asked to make phone calls to the pharmacy, other medical employees at other settings, etc.

A medical assistant has to have good social skills and be able to communicate well with as many people as possible. Being bilingual is an absolute plus when you apply for a job as medical assistant. Speaking the language of a patient of a minority group in the community or a tourist who is a patient can be very comforting to the involved patient and his family members. Our diverse society brings patients from very different backgrounds to our hospitals and doctor’s offices. Many career schools offer a medical assistant program. The program is accessible for anybody who graduates from high school. To become an associate in medical assisting it is necessary to attend a two year program. A one year program can make you a certified medical assistant. A medical assistant can receive additional training to enable him to teach medical assisting. He can also grow and study towards another position in the health care setting, for instance that of a registered nurse or office manager.



The need for medical assistants is growing fast. Health care job opportunities are expanding constantly. Medical assistants earn on average between eight and fourteen dollars an hour. The job of medical assistant is a good entry level position in the health care field. The pay is kind of low compared to other health care jobs and that is an incentive for many medical assistants to take it to the next level and go back to school.