A medical assistant works as an administrative assistant in a medical facility. A medical assistant has to perform all kinds of office tasks such as receiving the clients and the patients and showing them where to go or what to do, answering phones, emails, letters, and any other administrative tasks she needs to do. In a small medical facility, there may be only one medical assistant, but in a big hospital, one will never be enough to ensure the good running of the facility, so more people are needed. The medical assistants play an important role, because they are the first faces that the people see when they enter the hospital/institution.
A medical assistant must keep a professional appearance. Office clothing is usually required, along with a friendly, helpful attitude. A medical assistant must have very good communication skills and act like a hostess as sometimes she needs to meet and greet whoever enters the facility. She needs to keep in touch with the clients and the providers of the medical facility. In a bigger hospital, good management abilities are also required. The medical assistant must appear helpful, and she needs to be able to provide any kind of information concerning the services of the medical facility.
It may appear that in a big medical facility there would be more work to do than in a smaller one; however, a medical assistant has much more tasks to complete in a small facility. In a big hospital, there are more medical assistants, each working on their own tasks within their department; however, in small ones, there is probably only one person trying to ensure everything.
The medical assistants also keep the records of all patients in a computer program, and show the patients where they need to go. They also assist the doctors when checking the patients, or prepare them for surgeries. Medical assistants can also write medical prescription given by the doctors to the patients.
To be a medical assistant, one needs to have very good computer knowledge. Keeping track of the records of the patients is done with the help of a computer. The medical assistants must know how to work in special medical programs, as well as in basic computer software such as MS Office, Word and Excel. Of course, knowledge of how to use the Internet is required - the most known browsers such as IE or Mozilla Firefox.
The medical assistants must have finished high school and some nursing school. However, nowadays, medical assistants mostly perform office duties, so the nursing license is not required in most places. Some training is provided when the medical assistant gets hired, and then they get experience while being on the job. The working hours are average; usually there is a 40 hour weekly schedule, sometimes with a longer schedule depending on the daily tasks.
The salary for being a medical assistant is about $30,000 a year, this depending on the state and the medical facility as well.
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