DISCOVER THE CAREER OF A MEDICAL ASSISTANT

 
 
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Your Massive Gold Nugget

I recently read an amazing story in an article about someone finding a humongous 10 pound gold nugget with a simple metal detector while hiking in the Sierra Nevada. In reading the article about someone who found a massive gold nugget by pure luck I couldn't help but think: Wow! Wouldn't it be great if all of us could be this lucky and find a 10 pound gold nugget?" But then there is the old saying that speaks of treasures within. Sometimes, simply recognizing golden opportunities, a family that loves you and landing a job you love can be more valuable than the biggest gold nugget on earth. To find around $130,000.00 in gold under some rocks. While I realize that this is a once in a lifetime discovery, I am keenly aware that golden opportunities exist for each and every one of us if we put our mind to it.

We All Have That Chance Because The Gold Nugget Lies Within Each One Of Us!!!!

While you may not own a metal detector, nor hike in the Sierra Nevada, you too can find a hunk of gold, right where you are—within yourself. Just like a piece of gold, which is beautiful, has value and never wears out, so are your talents and skills. Your gold nugget is you, your talents, compassion and skills. Your metal detector is a golden opportunity that comes along, especially for those with the strong desire to build a career path where one can grow as a person and as a professional. Do this, and you will have golden days ahead.

Jobs in the Healthcare Industry

In today's tough economy, many are gravitating toward a career in the medical and healthcare field to find their own gold nuggets. The healthcare and medical industry is booming and holds countless job opportunities, of which many require as "little as" a high school diploma and the will to succeed. Kindness, caring and being well organized with a keen eye for details are your best traits to do well in an allied health career.

Healthcare workers are well educated, highly trained and well compentsated for normal work hours and hours outside their normal schedule, which includes for pre- and post shift duties, travel time during scheduled work hours from site to site and work related travel to meetings and training. They are also well protected by labor laws.

Wages, Pay, Salaries, Bonuses and Exemptions

Non-exempt employees, including medical assistants, receive time and one-half the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a 7-day workweek. Regular rate includes all compensation, such as non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials. In nursing homes and residential living facilities, employers may pay overtime after 8 hours in any one day and 80 hours in a 14-day pay period.

Anyone wishing to find out details about healthcare personnel employment rules, regulations and pay, such as, for example whether salaried managerial and professional employees in healthcare facilities are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime regulations in their state, should contact their state's Labor Department. Often it depends on whether they have met specific salary, duty, or educational requirements.

Examples of a healthcare facility constantly in need of healthcare staff and personnel include hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics and group medical practices, comprehensive rehabilitation hospitals, residential health care facilities, residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities, adult day health care facilities, assisted living residences, comprehensive personal care homes, home health care agencies, hospice care agencies, maternal and child health consortia and health care service firms. They also often seek:

  • volunteers to work overtime
  • on-call employees
  • per diem staff to compensate for short-falls
  • personnel from a contracted temporary agency

My golden rule is to make the best out of the day, every day. Do something every day that you like. It is your choice! Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?

I if you want to get some more golden Career Path Development tips, click the link. This website has some really down to earth, common sense tips and extper insights for people who have to make career choices and the tough decisions that go hand in hand with the process. If you just want to read more about the story about the person who found a gold nugget, go here.

Show the Doctor That You are the Best Qualified Candidate for the Medical Assistant Job

 

Medical assistant, phlebotomy and laboratory technician, medical billing and coding certifications are reaching a new level of recognition with employers. While taking an allied health professional certification exam remains largely voluntary here in the USA, there is definitely a big trend among employers who specifically stipulate in their job ads that a medical office position which needs to be filled requires certified credentials.

Rarely do you see medical assistants being hired to be trained directly on the job anymore.

medical assistant trained on the jobc

Doctors expect more these days. These doctors and medical facilities clearly see the benefits of hiring someone with certified credentials; they want someone who has the knowledge necessary to work side by side with health and medical staff to run their medical office or health care facility efficiently and safely. Hiring competent and well trained medical assisting staff gives them a certain amount of confidence and assurance. An example of such a job advertisement is this one randomly picked from the Indeed.com jobs bank today:

"XYZ Physician Associates, LLC currently has a full time medical assistant position available working in a very fast paced environment. Requirements: Candidates must have six months to one year related experience in a medical office or similar clinical setting. Candidates must also be highly organized, pay attention to detail and be able to multi-task. Computer skills required. Phlebotomy experience preferred. Graduate of a Medical Assisting Program. Certification preferred.

Value of Formal Training and Certifications

Medical assistant training institutions and community colleges know this and are heeding the call by offering medical assistant training programs that lead to desired diplomas and qualifies their graduates to sit for recognized medical assistant certification exams. Funding and financial assistance for such training programs is readily available for those who qualify, much of it completely free and must never be paid back if you are, for example, presently unemployed and qualify for educational grants and employment rehab programs.

There are a number of different medical assistant and other allied health occupations certification sponsors, each having their own unique certification requirements. Their certification exams serve as a valid means of assessing an individual’s specific knowledge and competence in the medical assistant occupation. Passing any one of the various offered certification exams adds credibility and credentials to your name by having earned recognized designations in a specific discipline. Once you have earned your credentials they are portable to all places you may work now and in the future. This is important because in today’s economy people may have to move to a different location or across boarders to a different state to go where the jobs, or better jobs are.

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Medical Assistant Responsibilities and Limitations

Every medical office should have an organized plan that outlines the duties of every staff member in the medical office, especially their medical assistants, which should also address how to handle patient assessment and triage procedures, administration of medication, treatment procedures and emergency situations. A good medical practice and healthcare facility has established policies and provides a written job description outlining responsibilities for each specialty and discipline to all their medical office staff members, including medical assistants. It is good policy to instruct their staff that they have specific responsibilities while also being subject to certain limitations while performing work related duties under their employ.

  • These responsibilities and limitations upon medical assisting staff are based on the quality and amount of their education, training and experience, as well as local and state regulations and official guidelines regulating their profession, i.e. the medical assistant's specific scope of practice. The responsible medical assistant will recognize, accept and demand that these limitations are respected and strictly adhered to where ever they work and practice their skills. Click the link for an extensive list of what a medical assistant can and cannot do. Medical Assistants Taking X-Rays Medical assistants may work in a medical office or facility where x-rays are part of the daily routine. The doctor might wish for the medical assistant to handle taking the radiographic images, however, a special license is required in most states. State authorities have jurisdiction over radiology licensing for each state.

 

For more info visit Medical Assistant Net: Medical Assistant Scope of Practice which provides answers to questions regarding medical assistants with limited x-ray responsibilities and their requirements. Medical Assistants Reading Laboratory Results When it comes to reading lab or x-ray result to patients over the phone, that is permissible. Medical assistants are allowed to read x-ray and various other medical screening and laboratory results from the medical chart. When the lab printouts are read and the patient has specific questions then the medical assistant must refer them to the doctor for his/her interpretation. Once read, the medical assistant annotates the lab slip with the date, who he/she spoke to over the phone, any other brief notes, initials it and files it back into the patient's chart and brings chart to doctor. A short annotation is enough (but very important!): "05/15/2009; results read to PT, referred to doctor; SMD, CCMA (initials)."

Medical Assistants Seeking Certified Phlebotomy Credentials

Medical assistants often are trained in venipuncture (blood drawing techniques) and are responsible for obtaining ordered blood specimens for diagnostic analysis in a laboratory. Medical assistants often seek phlebotomist certifications to work as phlebotomist or phlebotomy technician in a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare facility. The money is good and the jobs are plentiful. Phlebotomists, and medical assistants who perform venipunctures (and phlebotomy) as part of their daily routine in California need special approved phlebotomy training and phlebotomy certification in order to work in this occupation in this state. The certification exam is sponsored by a handful recognized certification sponsors that allow phlebotomy certification candidates to apply and take their proctored phlebotomy certification exams. A list of Professional membership organizations and agencies that certify phlebotomy candidates by examination in the USA is here: Phlebotomy Certifications.

Single Mom: Why I Wanted to Be a Medical Assistant and Not a Nurse

I was always interested in the medical field and a meaningful career and am interested in working as a medical assistant, rather than in nursing, which requires enrolling in a nursing program, which is hard to get into and takes time.- I like medical assistant because they work Mo - Fri in a clean environment. - Contrary to nursing, medical assistants work normal business hours, no weekends and holidays. This gives me time with my family. - Take home pay is good. Once you take the certified medical assistant exam it gets even better. When I needed to learn more about this career and what it entails I found EVERYTHING I needed to know quickly and easily on the website at www.certified-medical-assistant.com: -description -duties -rules and an easy school finder. The website helped me find the perfect school to get into medical assisting fast.

Teaching Medical Assistants of the Future

Are Medical Assistant Instructors Up for the Task? What Kinds of Duties Will Medical Assistants Have in 2015? Either through choice or necessity, more and more adults seek enrollment in secondary vocational programs, postsecondary vocational; vocational or skill-centered curricula. One responsibility that will fall heavily on vocational schools and for medical assistant instructors is keeping up to date. Advances in healthcare, new discoveries in medicine and technological changes in the workplace can happen quickly and must be followed. Often we are asked simple questions:

  1. Can a Medical Assistant give injections if he/she isn't certified?
  2. Can a Medical Assistant give injections in _________ (your state)?
  3. Are medical assistants allowed to start or disconnect IVs?
  4. Are medical assistants allowed to give narcotic injections?
  5. Are medical assistants allowed to inject collagen? Botox?
  6. Flu Shots?


But what about the more complex and technical skills, such as phlebotomy and specimen collection, and skills that are on the brink of discovery? Keeping abreast with the latest changes and discoveries often necessitate changes in the medical office workplace. Preparing the future medical assistant student body for these changes is important and essential for the student's success. If medical assisting teachers cannot anticipate and do not keep current with the latest changes, their vocational training programs quickly become state, outdated and obsolete. As a result their graduates must be retrained, or worse, they cannot find employment.

 

Teaching Employable Medical Assistants of the Future

In addition, medical assistant school teachers must keep up with workplace trends and customs, for example, men in nontraditional roles and positions in the medical office, medical assistants performing limited x-ray skills, CLIA waived lab procedures, training in specialty fields, electrocardiograms, ophthalmology chair-side assisting, podiatric procedures and starting IV lines. Their educational activities must be directed toward the preparation of individuals for productive and gainful employment in the medical office, or better ANY and all medical offices. While most state regulations remain vague on the exact role of their practicing medical assistants in their state some states have strict rules with the medical assistant's scope of practice clearly spelled out.

Measurable Occupational Learning Outcome



Although there are several ways to measure learning outcomes, the most common method employed in vocational education is occupational competency testing designed to assess mastery of skills and knowledge found in specific jobs. Learning and building a successful career path never ends. Many medical assistants, in addition to their recognized, certified credentials, are inspired to reach even higher and return back to the classroom to earn an academic degree, such as an A.S. degree in Medical Assisting or a Bachelors in Healthcare Management.

Medical Assistant Professionalism and Respect for Patients

New Medical Assistant - Anybody??? Review important medical assistant responsibilities, concepts and skills! If you are contemplating or planning a career working as a medical assistant we provide a creative look behind the scenes to help you evaluate your interests. Visit the New Medical Assistant .com website and evaluate your interests.

Medical Assistant Professionalism

Nowhere is the need for professional commitment and personal integrity as great as in the healthcare profession. While professionalism is certainly difficult to define, it encompasses several distinct criteria such as respect, competency and dedication. In the medical office where doctors, nursing staff and medical assistants are constantly dealing with people and their illnesses a medical assistant must develop and maintain personal traits that foster and promote a good rapport, trust, respect and performance. People Knowledge and Mature Judgement People knowledge, empathy and mature judgment must guide the care provided to any patient. This is especially crucial when the care involves touching. As a member of the healthcare team, medical assistants are responsible for providing complete, quality care to those who need and seek their service. This care must also be provided in a manner compatible with their patient's mental abilities, tolerance and intellectual capabilities.

1.) Common sense dictates that when medical assistants care for a patient, sensitivity to both verbal and nonverbal communication is paramount. Remember: a grin, a frown, or an expression of surprise may all be misinterpreted by the patient.

2.) Explanations and reassurances will go far in preventing misunderstandings of actions or intentions.

Religion and Nonreligious Beliefs

A large majority of people have some form of belief system that guides many of their life decisions and to which they turn to in times of distress. Medical assistants must accept the religious or nonreligious beliefs of others as valid for them, even if they personally disagree with such beliefs. A person's religious beliefs frequently helps them give meaning to suffering and illness; those beliefs may also be helpful in the acceptance of future incapacity or death. Although medical assistants may offer religious support when asked and should always provide chaplain referrals when requested or indicated, it is not ethical for medical assistants to abuse their patients by forcing their beliefs (or non-beliefs) upon them. Medical assistants must respect their freedom of choice, offering their support for whatever a patient's needs, desires and religious beliefs may be.

Proper Supervision of Medical Assistants: Doctors Take Massive Risks Little oversights, simple miscommunications, unintended slip-ups, distractions and kind favors can lead to serious consequences and repercussions for each individual medical assistant, the doctor under whom they work, the patient and everybody else involved. Medical Assistant Charged with 10 Felonies and Unlawful Practice A medical assistant was arrested in 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada for administering Botox treatments in her role while under the direction of a doctor. She was under the impression that she was simply doing what all medical assistants do and it never crossed her mind that she may be practicing outside her scope of practice as legislated by the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners. Nevada law prohibits medical assistants from administering any kind of medications, this includes giving injections. While the restriction had largely gone unenforceable it wasn't until this medical assistant's arrest on 10 felony counts on allegations of "unlawful practice of medicine" received media attention. The unsuspecting medical assistant's whole world came to a crashing halt when she was charged.UPDATE: Betty Guerra’s nightmare is over.

On October 14th the Las Vegas Review Journal reported that the 45-year-old former medical assistant learned from her attorney that the 10 felony counts against her on allegations of “unlawful practice of medicine” will be dismissed. The State Medical board reversed its position, determining that state law allows medical assistants to administer everything from flu shots to Botox as long as they are under the “direct supervision” of a physician; meaning the doctor is on the premises. Doctors Taking Massive Risks Another medical assistant was fired in 2011 in Fort Collins, Colorado after inadvertently putting young children in harms way. She only administered half the amount of a pre-measured children's influenza vaccine to children in the pediatrics office. Assuming it was an adult dosage in the vial, she simply withdrew half the amount of the vial into the syringe and administered it, hence each child received only half the required dosage.

In addition, after drawing up the vaccine from the vial the assistant removed the needle from the syringe and replaced it with a sterile needle, but not a new syringe, potentially exposing each child to bloodborne pathogens and serious infections by reusing the syringe. Safety Guidelines in the Administration of Medications Medical assistants must never be tempted to do, or say, more than they should and never attempt procedures that they weren't adequately trained and properly supervised to do. They should administer only those medications for which the physician has written and signed the order and must always check with the ordering doctor when in doubt about any medication dosage. When dispensing medications, they must carefully check to make sure that everything on the medication order corresponds exactly with the label on the package or container and medications that are not clearly labeled should never be used, or put back into the medicine closet. You might ask: "What are the 5 Rs?" Danni R.

 

How to find the dream job of becoming a medical assistant? The medical field is the only area that can never get saturated at all. No matter what era you live in, no matter what place you live in and no matter what, but there is and always be need of a professional and energetic medical staff all over the world. However, becoming a medical assistant will require serious planning and dedication. The path of getting into the field of medical assisting though will be decided by your very own choice and needs. There are various options that you should keep open at the time of choosing the correct path for your career. We will make sure that we provide you a firm base for making your decision in the right direction of your career by providing the basic 3 tips. These 3 tips will make your path smooth and comfortable to reach your destiny

Tip # 1: Online Job Placements Like any other products or services, hiring people online is also becoming a very frequently used practice in recent times. That’s the reason why more and more job announcements are taking place on online job portals. These job portals possess different categories for different specialist field; there you will also find a category for medical assisting. The best part of online job placements is that it will clear you at the description of the job opening that what certifications are required for you to apply for a certain job. In this way, you can learn what certification you need to have to get better medical assistant jobs.

Tip # 2: Reliable Technical or Vocational Centers There are plenty of reliable technical or vocational centers that enable you to gain very precious experience in medical assisting. These centers are very different from traditional colleges or university and provide you hands on practical training that helps you to get into top ranked institutions as medical assistant. Even if you are found to be good enough professional with skills, professionalism and ability to cope with any situations, then these temporary centers can also hire you on permanent basis. This is a great way to interact with real life experienced people and analyze your own self as a new comer in this profession.

Tip # 3: Resume Should Be Appealing Resume is often the most underestimated part of getting a job as medical assistant or even in any other profession. Your resume should be appealing to the employers and show a proper analytical picture of your skills, experience and ability to lead from the front. You must explain your career goals, your motivations and the dedication to reach your destiny. If your resume holds these ingredients of a successful resume, you will most likely be able to fetch a very high paying job soon. Thus, if you give proper attention and concentration on these under-rated points, you will increase the chances of getting selected for medical assistant jobs. Last but not the least, are you looking for best medical assistant jobs?

Proper Utilization and Evaluation of Medical Assistant Skills

United States laws restrict who can give medical and health advice, or apply certain medical treatments and modalities to patients, making the unauthorized practice of medicine a serious crime. Physicians and non-physician practitioners (physician assistants, or nurse practitioners) are in charge and responsible for the care of their patients and must keep a watchful eye over those to whom they delegate tasks. Practicing Medicine Without a License Between 2000 and 2007 the state Board of Medicine and State Board of Osteopathic Medicine in Pennsylvania has fined 57 people for unlicensed practice of medicine, among them numerous medical assistants. One of the more infamous cases involved a Pennsylvania certified medical assistant, who, acting on a doctor's orders, administered an experimental intravenous drug treatment that killed a 5-year-old boy in 2005. The doctor who authorized the unapproved treatment for autism spectrum disorder faces civil and criminal charges including manslaughter. The medical assistant, who reportedly never administered an IV-push before, has not been charged. Proper Utilization of Medical Assistants in the Medical Office Procedures that may lead to medical acts of negligence and scope of practice violations must be recognized so that they can be prevented. Such may include assigning procedures to medical assistants that cannot be delegated under the state's medical practice law, or performing procedures that carry a higher risk of injury, such as injections, venipunctures, radiographic imaging, ultrasound, and other procedures where a medical assistant must first have been properly trained, instructed, taught and supervised. Read a summary of the Medical Assistant's Scope of Practice here.

Which is Better? Formal Medical Assisting Training or Training on the Job?

There is a great debate going on in the world of the medical assistant. Which is the better plan, the education or on the job training? It’s a good question and the answer really depends on you. While no public facility would hire anyone without proper training, most also require a good deal of practical experience. Some private facilities will hire an untrained assistant but your wage potential will be dramatically decreased. It’s a catch 22 really. Blow off school and go for the immediate job or go the longer route by getting the medical assisting degree and open up a whole world of opportunities for the future. Both are going to get you a job, they’re both going to get you employed, just in slightly different jobs and in a very different time frame. Education will win the battle almost every single time, particularly in markets that rely on technical detail. However, what if you don’t have the time or the financial resources to become a degree holding medical assistant? Sometimes jumping right into the job market is the only option. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing, nor does the inability to go to school have to mean that you cannot have a career in medical assisting, it will however limit the places that your job opportunities. Education versus on the job training is a choice that only you can make. By weighing both the pros and the cons, only you can determine which is the better path for your career in medical assisting. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you end up doing what you really want to do, regardless of which road you go down to get there. As long as the end destination is where you want to be, the road there really can be irrelevant.

Medical Assistant Students Frustrated Over Medical Billing and Coding Expectations

Medical assistant students enrolled in medical assistant courses often have difficulties understanding the medical billing claim form and have problems understanding evaluation and management codes. We often hear from frustrated students on our active online forums; many wind up venting. One medical assistant student recently posted into the forum that her instructor wasn't very helpful; she felt the instructor apparently wasn't well versed in the medical billing and coding process herself and therefore was unable to explain the process in a manner that made it clear to the class.

The students are frustrated and overwhelmed. Another person posted a request for help:

  • I work for a Cardiologist. We are trying to get clarification on:· CPT 93454 (Catheter place in coronary arterty(s) for coronary angiography, imaging supervision, and interpretation·
  • CPT 93458 (with left heart catheterization including intraprocedural injection(s) for left ventriculogy, when performed

QUESTION: Can these two codes be billed together if both of these services are performed? Medical Coding and Billing Questions in the Certification Exams We receive many, many, many similar forum discussions from frustrated medical assistant certificants. Some posted right after taking the medical assistant certification exam where they stated that they were totally stumped over the amount of medical coding questions in the exam. The questions were multiple choice and asked about specific numeric codes, or modifiers, for a given specific diagnoses or procedures. Now, ask any medical assistant to cite a specific code without any reference book/manual; he/she would be hard-pressed to give the right one, since there are so many, not to mention specific modifiers. We also heard from a physical therapy instructor who teaches the basics of medical coding and billing as it pertains to PT because the majority of his students do their own billing and coding. One question this has raised is why do medical assistant students have to learn medical coding and billing and why is such an extensive part of the medical assistant certification exams? Rather, shouldn't students who want to learn about it sign up for medical coding and billing classes?



Should Medical Assistants Learn Coding and Billing?

 

I can see where medical assistants (MA) need to have an idea of medical practice financial management, such as banking deposits, accounting and bookkeeping, dishonored check processing, payroll - and even that is nowadays often outsourced. Nevertheless, in any profession you should get a picture of how the whole kit and caboodle functions to make it run. In our opinion, as far as medical assistant students being introduced to the billing and collections process in GENERAL is okay--only to give them a well-rounded understanding of the practice and how things work. This way, they can better address patient questions and communicate with the medical billing and coding staff efficiently should certain issues arise. However, as far as actual billing and coding responsibilities in my role as a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), I wasn't NEVER involved in the actual billing and coding process, neither were any of my medical assistant colleagues, with the exception of one medical office manager, who had worked her way up through the ranks as a medical assistant in a small single-physician office. Many believe medical assistant programs who focus too much and dive too deep into the medical coding and billing process as part of their teaching curriculum are wasting their time. Most medical assistant students feel this time would be better spent drawing up injections, or drawing blood.

What Stands Behind the Medical Assistant's Name?



Have You Ever Asked Yourself: What Stands Behind the Medical Assistant's Name? medical assistant If you asked anybody, whether a healthcare professional, neighbor, or friend what stands behind a medical assistant's name, chances are you might get one of the following two responses:

1.) what the heck is a medical assistant?

2.) let me think about that for a moment

The latter will give it a moment's thought and then very likely say:

a.) I don't know

b.) a bunch of letters?...

by which they are referring to various certified medical assistant credentials, such as RMA, NCMA, CCMA, and CMA. You know the gamut of certified credentials and designations! However... what truly stands behind a medical assistant's name are not roles, titles, credentials, or the letters that signify a certification, but MOSTLY and more appropriately their dedication, hard work and pride in their profession and what they do. Not every medical assistant is certified, but every medical assistant is proud and giving it their very best helping people and making a difference in their community, even if it is as "only" a medical assistant (MA) without any special certifications. So, if you are a medical assistant I would like to hear your stories and thoughts on What Stands Behind the Medical Assistant's Name - be spontaneous - right off the top of your head!!! (And don't come back with answer a.) - You already KNOW what a medical assistant is.

Are Medical Assistant Required to State their Name?

On January 8th, 2011 Mandy Roads asked: Are medical assistants supposed to provide full name or only 1st name to a patient who asks? All doctors provide full name, but do patients have the right to full name disclosure of Medical assistants, also? If not, how do patients keep track for reference who said what, or did what medical care etc. on a given date and time etc.?

Medical Assistant Name Admin Says: March 23rd, 2011: In my opinion, and many will agree here, there is good policy and practice to state your full name when greeting a patient. By stating your name you establish an identity and build rapport with the patients. Most medical assistants simply use their first name, while wearing a name badge with their full name and credentials printed behind it, e.g. MA, RMA, CMA, CCMA, NCMA, or whichever designations they have. A typical greeting, once a patient has been called in from the waiting area, is: “Hello, my name is Judy, and I am your medical assistant.” However, if a patient asks for the full name, I believe it would be improper and unethical to refuse to give it. I am sure this would not go over well with the doctor under which the medical assistant works. To me, refusal to state the name immediately implies lack of cooperation, lack of empathy, lack of courtesy and comes across as unprofessional. In addition, from my own observations as a patient, I always find it odd if a medical assistant calls me in for my exam, takes me to the exam room, begins to take my vital signs and NEVER stated her name. Often, I will say politely something along the lines: “Excuse me, but I didn’t get your name”, just to let him, or her know I’d be more comfortable knowing with whom I am in the room. I, in my own role as a medical assistant and also, as a patient, highly recommend that every medical assistant automatically states his, or her name. The patients will appreciate it. Danni R.

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