Medical Assistant Schools, Salary, and Career Field

A medical assistant is responsible for performing clinical and administrative tasks and they need to ensure the smooth running of the offices of chiropractors, podiatrists, physicians and other healthcare practitioners. On the basis of the size, location, and types of office, the duties and responsibilities of medical assistants vary.

Medical Assistant Job Description

As a medical assistant, you are responsible for greeting patients, making appointments, completing insurance forms, attending telephone calls, handling correspondence, assisting with billing, scheduling laboratory and hospital services, etc. The state law also assigns lots of responsibilities to the medical assistants, which include taking vital signs, preparing lab specimens, assisting with examinations, conducting general test labs, speaking to the patients regarding treatments, taking the history of patients, disposing of used materials, sanitizing medical supplies, etc. Providing diet and medication information to the patients, adjust dressings, remove sutures, perform electrocardiograms, prepare patients for X-rays, take blood samples, submit prescriptions, etc are also coming under the duties and responsibilities a medical assistant. Cleaning exam and waiting rooms, maintain, organize and buy instruments and materials, etc are their other duties.

Educational Requirements to Become a Medical Assistant

If you want to become a medical assistant, you must undergo training through an accredited and recognized program. Usually, vocational schools, junior and community colleges, etc conduct medical assistant training programs. You can earn a certificate by undergoing one year training program. In order to get an associate degree, you must enroll in a 2-year training program. An associate degree or a certificate is enough for getting entry level jobs in this field. The curriculum of medical assistant training program includes:

* Medical terminology,
* Physiology,
* Anatomy,
* Record keeping,
* Accounting,
* Transcription,
* Typing,
* Insurance processing, etc.


Medical assistant schools also provide training in lab methods, diagnostic procedures, administration of medicine, basic first aid, medicine and drug princiicples, ethics and law, etc as a part of the course. After completing the accredited program, you must undergo an internship, which can be completed in clinics, or hospitals. While you select a medical assistant school for undergoing training, you must ensure that the training program of that institution is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Another accrediting agency of medical assistant training programs is the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

Medical Assistant Certification

A medical assistant certification is not required for working as a medical assistant, however it ensures that you meet certain standards of knowledge. It is also helpful for differentiating formally trained or experienced medical assistant from an entry level assistant. There are also attractive online medical assistant certification opportunities which may help depending on your lifestyle.  So you will get higher salary and lots of employment opportunities if you have a certification. Certification is awarded by various associations such as Association of Medical Technologists (AMT), American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), etc. The process of certification varies as per association. If you earn a certification, you can do some specialization in the field of ophthalmology, optometry, podiatry, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities of Medical Office Assistant

A medical office assistant is responsible for performing clinical, clerical and administrative duties in a medical office. As per the analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is a fast developing occupation and the medical office assistant salary continues to rise in recent years. As a medical office assistant, you can seek employment in hospitals, physicians’ offices, medical billing offices, ambulatory care centers, nursing homes, clinics, medical centers, etc. The duties of medical office assistant vary as per the size of office, specialty, location, etc. Major responsibilities of a medical office assistant are:

* Greeting patients,
* Handling front office duties,
* Attending telephone,
* Maintain and update electronic medical records,
* Arranging laboratory services and hospital administration,
* Processing the forms of insurance claims,
* Scheduling appointment,
* Adjusting schedule for emergency cases,
* Obtain insurace authorization and verification,
* Insurance billing,
* Bookkeeping,
* Compose routine office correspondence,
* Accounts payable and accounts receivable,
* Medical billing and coding,
* Medical office collections,
* Maintain OSHA guidelines,
* Laboratory services,
* Operate computer, copy and fax machines
* Take medical history of patients,
* Assist physicians during examinations,
* Prepare patients for examinations,
* Take vital signs, etc.

After the completion of graduation in medical office assistant training program, you can also work as medical coder, insurance claim analyst, coding specialist, coding technician, health information specialist, medical records clerk, medical billing specialist, etc.

Medical Administrative Assistant

If you want to become a medical administrative assistant, you must meet certain medical assistant requirements for handling the responsibilities. As a medical administrative assistant, you must be able to do various duties such as transcribe dictation, order supplies, record medical histories, assist physicians with proceedings of conference, reports, articles, and speeches, prepare correspondence, etc. You must also be able to operate telephone systems, videoconferencing equipment, photocopiers, scanners, and fax machine. Awareness in the creation of spreadsheets, composing correspondence, creating presentation, managing database, etc are also essential to handle the responsibilities effectively. You must also have a good negotiation skill to handle the vendors in relation with the supply of necessary equipment to the office.

Education Requirements of Medical Administrative Assistant

You must undergo specialized training in medical administration for teaching students regarding the specialized billing techniques and medical jargon. The course work includes transcription, computer technology programs, project management skills, website design, bookkeeping, etc. The students also need to study topics such as:

* Medical terminology,
* Medical laboratory procedures,
* Medical law and ethics,
* Office automation,
* Business,
* Accounting,
* Medical records systems,
* Customer service, etc.

You can obtain the necessary skills by enrolling in a 4-year training program. After the successful completion of the course, you can obtain a certification by appearing the National Healthcare Association examination. If you qualify in this examination, you can become the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant. As per the reports of US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a medical administrative assistant can earn around $42,660 per year (2008 data) depending on experience and qualification.

Medical Assistant Salary

The medical assistant salary is determined by various factors, such as experience, certification, education qualification, geographical location, place of work, skill, etc. However, it is estimated that a highly qualified certified medical assistant can earn around $39,570 per year (2008 data). If you are working in surgical or general medical hospital, you can earn around $29,720 per year. If you are employed in universities, colleges or professional schools, you can expect $28,820 per year. The annual expected salary of certified medical assistant in physician’s office is $28,710. If you seek employment in outpatient care centers, you can earn around $28,570 per year.