The medical assistant job description is quite varying in its list of duties. It would shock you to see all the different things they need to do.
Where the office is and how big it is factor in on what the medical assistant needs to do. If they work in a small place in the country, tasks could include phlebotomy, lab work, nursing and administrative assistant tasks. To match the tasks of numerous employees, a small clinic will make use of the medical administrative assistant.
In a large office, however, duties will include things like greeting patients, updating patient charts, filing patient medical records and answering telephones. You will need to make appointments and admit patients as part of your tasks as well.
A medical assistant must work when the doctor needs him, and so you may be required to work evenings and weekends during your 40 hour per week shift. You will be with people at all times on your shift, so if that doesn’t appeal to you, you should consider something else.
Medical assistant trainingencompasses many different things because the job requires it. Only high school diploma holders can gain admittance. Almost all schools will need the same prerequisite. Employers will prefer that you graduate from a medical assistant training program with at least a certificate if not with an associate degree.
Further, some states will require the passing of the state certified medical assistant exam. The certification of medical assistants (CMA) is needed in some states which is why there is an exam to take.
The technical tasks you perform are based on the laws of your state. Some states won’t even allow you to update charts or take vital signs unless you are a doctor or nurse. In others, a CMA can perform these duties and quite often do. The same goes for explaining procedures to patients and performing simple patient tasks.
State laws also stand over lab tasks. Medical assistants can do lab tests in some states but not others. The CMA can then draw blood and subsequently do the lab work on it if the state doesn’t object.
There is one standard point. A medical assistant job description is always different from a physician’s assistant, as the latter helps treat and diagnose patients, regardless of state laws.