Medical Assistant

Medical Assistant

A Medical Assistant is a healthcare professional who supports physicians, primarily in outpatient or ambulatory care facilities, such as medical offices and clinics. They are multi-skilled practitioners who are competent in administrative and clinical procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

Medical Assistants perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by a physician.

Education and Certification

Medical Assistants typically graduate from postsecondary education programs. Although there are no formal educational requirements for becoming a medical assistant in most states, employers may prefer to hire assistants who have completed these programs. Programs for medical assisting are available from community colleges, vocational schools, technical schools, and universities and take about 1 year to complete. These programs usually lead to a certificate or diploma. Some states may require assistants to graduate from an accredited program, pass an exam, or both, to perform advanced tasks such as taking x-rays and giving injections.

Employment

Medical Assistants held about 591,300 jobs in 2014. Most of these assistants work in physicians’ offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other healthcare facilities. In 2014, more than half of all medical assistants worked in physicians’ offices.

See Also

• Healthcare occupations
• Nursing Assistant
• Physician Assistant

References

Medical Assistant Resources
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