What Is a Medical Assistant?

If you want to know what a medical assistant is you must understand what a medical assistant does, and appreciate why so many are drawn to this rewarding career among healthcare and medical professionals.

A medical assistant should not be confused with nurses, or non-physician licensed healthcare practitioners, or clinicians, such as the Physician Assistant (PA), Emergency Medical Assistant (EMA), licensed practical nurse (LPN), certified nephrology nurse (CNS), medicine aide (MA), or certified nurse's aide (CNA). Although their abbreviated credentials can sometimes look similar to that of the medical assistant's credentials they are NOT the same.

The healthcare field continues to create many job opportunities for men and women interested in a medical office career. Over 819,000 physicians in the USA alone are in constant need of medical assistants, along with 2.4 million registered nurses, 77,000 occupational therapists, 182,000 physical therapists, 94,000 respiratory therapists and a multitude of other allied health professionals who also rely on medical assistants to keep the medical office running smoothly and patients taken care of.

Medical Assistant Job Description

The medical assistant works under the direct supervision of a doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. You mostly find them in a medical office, ambulatory emergency, or diagnostic screening facilities, colleges, universities, out-patient plastic surgery centers, and in some cases correctional facilities and physical rehabilitation centers  updating patient charts and electronic medical records, verifying insurance coverage and specialist referral authorizations, processing insurance claim forms, scheduling appointments and adjusting schedules to fit in emergency cases, fetch instruments for the doctor, replace old and empty prescription pads with new ones, fix the stethoscope and other simple equipment, stock the medical supply closet, dispose of expired medications, trash and infectious material, mop up spills, administer medications as ordered, monitor patients receiving treatments and be ready to stop what you are doing whenever the doctor needs you in the examination room, or other areas.

• Administrative medical assistants update and file patients' medical records, fill out insurance forms, and arrange for hospital admissions and laboratory services.
  
• Clinical medical assistants have various duties, depending on State law. Some common tasks include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing patients for examinations, and assisting physicians during examinations.
  
• Ophthalmic medical assistants, optometric assistants, and podiatric medical assistants are examples of specialized assistants who have additional duties when they help ophthalmologists provide eye care.
  
• Podiatric medical assistants work under the supervision of a podiatrist where they may explain therapeutic exercises, wrap and bandage patient's feet, arrange examining room instruments and equipment, and purchase and maintain supplies and equipment.

Once you have successfully graduated from your medical assistant training program, or landed your first job in a medical office where you will be trained to perform numerous duties you may also be responsible for processing patients in and out the office, check for health insurance coverage as they arrive for their appointment, directing them to the appropriate examination rooms, answering telephones, sorting mail, and organizing and filing paper work.

Physicians and hospitals in the USA rely heavily on the skills of their medical assistant team and new job offers for medical assisting positions open and close daily:

While medical assistants aren't doctors, licensed practitioners, or practicing clinicians they have earned their mark as valuable members of the health care team as a whole through their unmatched services in the medical office and a wide range of ambulatory clinics everywhere.

In your role as a medical assistant you will keep the doctor on schedule in a succinct, courteous manner, patients informed and comfortable, waiting areas and examination rooms clean, clinical floors on track and the over-all office workflow running smoothly. No matter how busy the office gets, you may also have to make room for new medical assistant hirees and medical assistant students on externship to show them the ropes and the necessary routines. All in all, as a medical assistant you will be BUSY acting as an important contributor to your employer's medical practice and business. To succeed you need to be vigilant, engaged, pro-active, alert, inquisitive and well informed, know what you are allowed to do and what a medical assistant is NOT allowed to do.