How to Become a Medical Assistant in New Jersey

The finishing of secondary education for those who are not interested in entering a university leads to the seeking of a stable and fulfilling career.

The unemployment and difficulty in finding jobs might be experienced in some other professions, but when it comes to medical assistants, they are in control and can even choose where they want to work.

What you need is motivation and passion to pursue this career.

Job Description

Medical assistants can be found in a doctor’s office, hospital, outpatient clinic, or other healthcare facilities.

A medical assisting job is a rewarding healthcare occupation,  only for those who find satisfaction in helping others.

They are responsible for providing administrative support to ensure the efficient functioning of the medical facility as well as support doctors and patients through a variety of tasks.

The main aim is to complete all their daily activities accurately, with high quality and effectively so as not to slow down other healthcare staff.

Becoming a Medical Assistant in New Jersey

In New Jersey, you do not need to have additional education to get the job of a medical assistant.

Finished high school would be enough and you can learn the job once hired.

However, if you are applying with a person who has passed the certification examination, your qualifications would not be satisfying.

To increase your employability and career prospects, you should take into consideration completing a formal post-secondary medical assistant training program.

They can be completed in about 12 to 24 months depending on the degree, at a community college, university or technical school.

That way not only will you enhance your future career potential and earning prospects, but also you will become more self-confident and effective when performing daily duties.

Requirements

If you already have a high school diploma and a desire to specialize in administrative or clinical duties of medical assisting, then you should choose among various programs that prepare you to be effective while performing patient care and clinical duties, such as working with doctors and nurses and administering medication.

Additionally, New Jersey medical assistant education requires participation in an internship where you can demonstrate the competencies and skills that you have learned during the program.

Courses that are found in medical assistant education programs in New Jersey include lessons about:

• Human anatomy and physiology
• Medical administration
• Medical terminology
• Pharmacology
• Clinical and diagnostic procedures
• Medical law and ethics

The finishing of these programs offers you the eligibility to pass a national credential exam, to gain the certificate.

You should consider getting certified because your employer will be more confident in your skills and you will feel more self-assured as well.

The accredited associations who offer these kinds of programs are:

• American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) – Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)
• National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT)- National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA)
• American Medical Technologists (AMT)- Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) offers programs in Phillipsburg, Newton, Branchburg, Trenton, Clifton and Paramus while Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) programs are in Wayne, Morristown, Iselin, Lawrenceville, South Plainfield, Ocean Township, Egg Harbor Township, Voorhees and North Brunswick.

Getting a Job

The medical assistant’s job prospects are expected to grow as healthcare services are more frequently needed due to a large number of old and ill people and this means that almost anywhere you go, you can find a job quickly.

In New Jersey, there are several places you can find medical assisting jobs or you can join the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) to make connections with local healthcare employers and other medical assistants.

The more educated and more experienced assistants would certainly have priority and chances of landing a job in all kinds of healthcare facilities will be higher.

At the same time, your qualifications allow you to negotiate a higher salary.

Medical assistants may look for job opportunities in:

• Newark Beth Israel Hospital – Newark
• Patient First – Woodbury
• Healthy Woman OBGYN – Freehold
• Kennedy Health System- Voorhees
• Atlantic Health System – Morristown
• Catholic Health Initiatives – Denville
• Essex Diagnostic Group – Point Pleasant Beach
• Barnabas Health – Livingston
• Department of Veterans Affairs – East Orange
• Lourdes Health System – Woodbury
• Fresenius Medical Care- Princeton

Salary

Healthcare support occupations are the ones that are very responsible and demanding and should be among the well-paid ones.

Medical assistants perform a large number of serious medical duties and the fact that they are experiencing the greatest employment growth in the state it is expected that the pay rate might rise, too.

The average salary of medical assistants differs due to different education levels, experience, and obligations.

New Jersey belongs to those states whose medical assistants have the highest annual salaries over 40000 per year.

A medical assistant in Camden gets $ 37 154 annually, while his/her colleague in Jersey City gets up to $ 41 781.

The table below shows average salaries for medical assistants in major cities of New Jersey, presenting the difference from one place to another:

Regional Salary in New Jersey

Duties

The daily job of a medical assistant consists of three parts.

When entering the facility, before the patients arrive, they do administrative work such as filing insurance forms and interacting with insurance companies, answering e-mails, moving patient information online with an electronic health records system update the medical records.

Once the patients start coming, they greet them, schedule patient appointments, record medical histories, interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.

If the examination is scheduled, they prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, clean and sterilize instruments and help physicians examine patients.

At the end of the day, the collected blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens should be prepared for testing and all the equipment should be arranged.

Summary

If you have already decided to become a medical assistant, you definitely should complete proper education and training and take a certification exam to increase your employability prospects and increase your future salary.

The hard work and dedication to this profession will result in a stable, fulfilling and rewarding career.

Medical Assisting by City

Medical Assisting by State