Medical assistant

Medical assistant is a multi-skilled healthcare professional who performs administrative and clinical tasks to support the work of physicians and other health professionals. They perform routine tasks and procedures such as measuring patients' vital signs, administering medications and injections, recording information in medical records-keeping systems, preparing and handling medical instruments and supplies, and collecting and preparing specimens of bodily fluids and tissues for laboratory testing.

Duties and responsibilities

Medical assistants perform many administrative duties, including answering telephones, greeting patients, updating and filing patients' medical records, filling out insurance forms, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handling billing and bookkeeping. They also do tasks less specific to medical settings, such as answering office phones or greeting patients.

In addition to their administrative duties, medical assistants perform clinical duties, including preparing patients for examination and assisting the physician during examinations. They may assist with procedures such as taking patients' blood pressure, giving injections, removing sutures, drawing blood, or changing dressings.

Education and training

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.

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
• Healthcare support occupations

External links

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• American Association of Medical Assistants

Medical assistant Resources
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