If Medical Assisting Sounds RIGHT For You Then
Read on...

What makes the medical assistant career such a great path for anybody who is interested in helping people? Because the community needs them! Medical services play an important role anywhere there are people. And where there are people, there are doctors, from major cities to small townships the medical offices, and health care facilities are in constant need for front and back medical office staff; and this will likely not change any time soon (if ever!).

However, are you among Medical Assistants
tired of the old song:

"We want x-years EXPERIENCE before we hire!"

You already know you have what it takes! Now impress your employers and show them how serious you are about your career.

Don't let the words "lack of experience, or lack of certification" hold you back! More often than not it isn't lack experience, but lack of recognized certifications that keeps highly qualified medical assistants from landing the better jobs, or getting a promotion.
                                      

U.S. Labor Department States that the Demand for Medical Assistants remains HIGH...

The Medical Assistant Career Path

The medical assistant's duties encompass many different facets of the daily medical practice routine. It is the perfect career for men and women who like working side-by-side with allied health professionals as part of the interdisciplinary team to help people address their medical and health concerns.

You find them either in the front office's administrative, and reception area, or on the back office's clinical floors where they gather health insurance information from patients, record their demographics, take their vital signs, prepare them for their physical exams, organize medical records, review medical charts, answer phones, respond to patient concerns, route messages, and respond to any other situations typical for a medical practice. In addition, they are expected to keep the doctors on schedule, assist during their daily rounds, and close the office when the day ends.

More than 500,000 practicing physicians and hospitals in the USA rely heavily on skilled medical assistant staff, and job offers for various medical assisting positions open and close daily.

The medical assistant (MA) career path has also become the number one transitional occupation for nurse assistants (CNAs), home health aides (HHAs), and others in a related field, who have reached the point where their career has run its natural course. Once this happens, crosstraining into the role of a medical assistant provides them with new opportunities in the field that they love, and allows them to advance to new horizons and a better future.

Medical Assistant Requirements

The medical assistant education and profession remains largely unregulated. There are no licensing requirements mandated by the state (such as in nursing). However, more and more employers are changing the way they hire new applicants into their practice. Many expect their medical assistants to be certified and have experience in the field to qualify for the better jobs.

The only requirement to sit for the nationally recognized medical assisting certification exams is that you have a high school diploma, and obtained your medical assistant vocational training diploma from an accredited school. Additionally, the AMT's Registered Medical Assistant also allows medical assistants with at least 5 years of continuous experience through employment to sit for their RMA certification exam.

   
Medical assistants are paid according to their level of education, specialty, and years of experience. Less than 1 year, 1-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-19 years, or 20+ years can make a big difference in salary. Those who work in a specialty office, hospital, or treatment facility usually earn more.

Medical Assistant Education

Here you will find educational resources and information on medical assistant training requirements, schools, and externships.

• Medical Assistant Training Overview 
• Best Medical Assistant Schools 
• Medical Assistant Externship