Training for this profession is offered as there are now many accredited medical assistant schools that can give a quality degree with proper training for those who are interested in taking up this field.
Accredited medical assistant schools offer certificates where applicants are trained for one year; other institutions offer an A.B. diploma for 2 years, and there are also other accredited medical assistant schools that offer their coursework and training online.
Those undergoing medical assistant training are required to learn about terminologies in the medical field, biology, physiology, and basic medical procedures such as first aid, drug administration, diagnosis, as well as other clinical hands-on practice. More secretarial skills are also taught such as bookkeeping, essential computer skills, and other organizational and administrative skills.
The efficient thing about being a medical assistant is that they can begin their career in this setting without having to complete high amounts of coursework and studying compared to other medical professionals, but they gain their experience and knowledge, advancing their skills while on the job.
The job description of medical assistants is never just localized into one area and a medical assistant can learn many different things in different areas of medical practice and settings because of the various tasks that will be assigned to them.
Sometimes, duties of medical assistants include secretarial duties such as handling the phone calls, organization of patient charts, insurance forms, patient files, bill statements and accounting as well as organizing and managing appointments. Other medical assistants learn more from the job through tasks that are more in-depth such as clinical duties like dealing with the patients and doing the basic procedures in order to prepare them for medical examination and tests. There are varying areas and opportunities that a medical assistant may land himself/herself into depending on the work area or setting he/she enters.
Aside from the obvious, other essential qualities that would be needed to make a good medical assistant would be the ability to multi-task well, have good organizational skills even when under pressure and in a highly fast-paced surrounding such as a hospital setting and also having good people skills despite being constantly under near-relentless strain.
In the past, graduating from high school can make for enough eligibility to apply as a medical assistant but as the competition nowadays becomes fiercer, institutions give more preference to those who’ve already had prior experience to the field as well as an additional certificate or diploma; that is why obtaining official training through attending accredited medical assistant schools spell for an advantage against other applicants. Having hands-on experience is a major plus as well.
The prospects for those looking to getting into this career spell a development rate of about 34% all through to 2018.
The demand will be higher for specialists in the medical field and having formal certification from accredited medical schools is definitely an edge when more and more are interested to apply.
Taking and passing an exam from the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) would make one a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). Training must still be continued after every five years in order to maintain the certificate and to assure better employment and salary offers.
