Medical Assistant Net

So, You Want To Become a Medical Assistant?

Medical assisting is an excellent career choice, since medical offices, clinics, and hospitals need medical assistants MORE than EVER! Most medical assistants work under the direct supervision of a doctor or licensed healthcare practitioner. They handle MANY facets of the daily medical office routine, which includes the administrative and clinical areas of the practice.

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Medical Assistant Net is dedicated to ALL medical assistants from coast-to-coast. We provide free medical assistant career and certification information, study guides, scope of practice resources, career advancement tips, and job listings everywhere.

About 62 percent of medical assistants work in offices of physicians

Some medical assistants are trained on the job, but many complete 1-year or 2-year programs

Medical assisting ranks among the fastest growing occupations over the 2006-16 decade

Job prospects should be excellent

What Is a Medical Assistant?

View The Medical Assistant video clip.

Ask Yourself This:

Do you enjoy communicating with people, especially those with special needs? Are you good at gathering information, organizing paperwork, and filing routines? Can you see yourself working side-by-side with doctors, nurses, and other allied health professionals? If your answer is yes to all the above, then chances are this is a fitting career for you. Those with formal medical assisting training or experience—particularly those with certification—should have the best job opportunities.

	Move Your Career In The Right Direction!
	Sounds so simple! But sadly, countless medical assistants have told us that not having sought certification sooner was a mistake they came to regret! Although they already were highly proficient at what they do, employers expected more. They wanted to see proper documentation of their knowledge and skills before giving them the job, or the requested promotion and raise. Diploma + Certification = Recognition

Starting Your Medical Assistant Career:

Medical assistants can make a huge difference in people's lives and in their community. Medical assistant training is an intricate lacework of learning, active participation, and determination. A medical assistant diploma, or certificate from a community college or technical school qualifies most medical assistant for the job. But learning does not end here! There is so much to know, and many things involved in a medical assistant's daily routine that their training continues directly on the job throughout their entire career.

Then:

Review prerequisites to becoming a medical assistant

Explore educational requirements to earn a diploma

Find medical assistant schools that are right for you

Learn how to chose accredited training programs

Receive information you need to become certified

Learn medical assistant job challenges and work conditions

Review essential clinical skills and critical concepts

Review and practice SOAP Note composition

View medical assistant sample cover letters and resumes

Learn how to overcome lack of experience in the field

Network with other medical assistants via our active web forum

Opportunities for Medical Assistants:

As employers realize the skills and recognize the benefits the medical assistant brings to their medical office they are readily hired by private and group practices, wellness clinics, regional medical centers, and other types of healthcare facilities everywhere. About 62 percent of medical assistants work in offices of physicians. Some medical assistants are trained on the job, but many complete 1-year or 2-year programs. Employment is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2006-16 decade. To help you decide whether this is the right career for you take the MAPP Career Assessment to identify your strengths and skills.

Certified Medical Assistant Professionals:

Professional certification in medical assisting remains a voluntary process. However, it is strongly backed by a number of well respected certification bodies in the USA. Each year thousands of medical assistants and other healthcare professionals embrace this concept and take on the challenges to sit for the certification exam.

Medical Assistant's Pay:

Pay matches the responsibilities and professional credentials. As in any job, the medical assistant's salary is commensurate with the individual's education, qualifications, and years of experience in the field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual earnings of wage-and-salary medical assistants were $26,290 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $21,970 and $31,210. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,860, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $36,840.

Ex Military Medics Seeking Civilian Jobs:

Ex-Armed Forces/military field medics may sit for the AMT certification exam or continue their education to earn an Associate's Degree in medical assisting, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), or nursing (RN) via the GI Bill. Yet, others may branch out into social and creative areas such as medical illustrators, writers, advisors, translators, reporters, or interpreters! With additional education and training anything is possible.