Medical assistants are people who make sure that all those who enter a hospital or any other healthcare facility are properly cared for, reason for which their rewards are not just the payment they get at the end of the month, but also the patients’ smiles when they live the facility. As the name of the job implies, medical assistants will assist doctors in both administrative and clinical responsibilities. Their most common duties are to take care of the patients from the time they enter the hospital or the clinic until they leave it, but also to help doctors with all that is necessary. For example, a medical assistant will ask patients about their medical history, prepare them for exams, x-rays, electrocardiograms, prepare rooms for procedures and sterilize equipment, help doctors during surgery and other exams, handle medical files and give medication, at the same time helping the patients understand doctors’ recommendations, take care of both doctors’ and patients’ schedule, phone calls and correspondence, or they keep track of bookkeeping matters. A medical office assistant is the person who cares for both patients and the facility they are working in.
Becoming a Certified Medical Assisting
In order to become a medical assistant you need to take your degree. Associates’ degrees in medical assisting are offered by many schools and also online colleges, making it easier for you to get your diploma as medical assistant. However, you need to search for accredited schools, which will offer you high standards of education and more chances to be employed. It is also a good idea, when pursuing a career as a medical assistant, to be certified by the American Association of Medical Assistants, which is a national professional organization that can offer you the accreditation you need.
A certified medical office assistant is more likely to be employed faster and in better positions. However, if you wish to become a certified medical assistant, then you need to have graduated from a medical assistant program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). To work as a certified medical assistant you also need to have graduated from a higher secondary school in the field, or to have a technical course certificate. The same requirements are to be fulfilled for certified office assistants as well.
Completing Clinical Medical Assistant Programs
There are schools and vocational schools, as well as some colleges and universities that offer different types of medical assistant programs. First of all, the courses taken involve human anatomy, physiology, coding, insurance, administration, so as to cover all layers of work a medical assistant needs to do in a health care facility. Some schools and universities offer medical assistant online courses as well, and they prepare students for their certification too. The courses, in order to be valid, need to be accredited by one of the three most known associations in the field: the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), American Medical Technologists (AMT), and the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).
Medical Administrative Assistant Career Information
A medical administrative assistant’s job description differs very little from a clinical medical assistant job description. A medical administrative assistant deals more with the forms needed to be filled in. For example, they help complete patients’ medical history, they update and file patients’ records, they answer phone calls and they can also deal with bookkeeping. Therefore, in their career they need to have some minimal knowledge of both clinical medical assistance and administrative one.