Medical Assistant Career

A career as a medical assistant may consist of performing clinical duties such as assisting doctors in daily routines, drawing blood, performing laboratory tests, preparing the examination room, accounting for and disposing of contaminated supplies, taking electrocardiograms and sterilizing instruments. Those are just a few examples of what an assistant may do but clinical duties vary according to state law.

A medical assistant can specialize in a certain area of health care such as dermatology, eye care or treatment of arthritis for example. In fact, an assistant may decide to seek additional training in a specialized field such as surgical technologist after having gained experience as an assistant. In most situations though, where there is a need for a doctor, there will also be a need for an assistant: whether they perform duties that are specialized or general in nature.

Regardless if the medical assistant specializes or performs general duties, they must understand what their role is to ensure that patient’s needs are satisfied and that they follow doctor’s instructions. Basic functions that an assistant should understand are patient care, communication, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and office administration. Medical office administrative duties may include medical coding, billing and insurance, and medical transcription.

Communication with doctors, patients, medical suppliers and others are very important in the medical field since the health of patients is involved. Examples of communication both written and oral include communicating with the patient over the phone, greeting patients, administering medication as directed by a doctor, communicating with other health care practitioners and ordering medical supplies.

If you would like to learn more about medical assistant training, please fill out the form or call us toll free. We have admission specialists that may be able to answer your questions about medical careers, education, financial aid and more. Our institute is prepared to assist you in your goals and educational needs.