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Healthcare staff represents a community of individuals who are passionate about supporting people in need and are dedicated professionals who offer medical care for us.
Many people do not get a chance or cannot afford becoming physicians, so they find the job of a medical assistant equally satisfying and rewarding.
If you are interested in preparing yourself for a career as a medical assistant, you should take into consideration all the positive and negative sides of this field, and only then make a decision.
Article Table of Contents
Job Description
Good medical assistants are dedicated people, reliable, hard-working and responsible above all.
They must have excellent communication skills, be detail-oriented and well-organized, to be able to accomplish all their daily tasks.
When working in a medical filed where anything can happen, then you need to be in charge of everything and provide the first aid.
The requirements of a medical assistant depend on the facility and the amount of work that it has.
Daily duties may include scheduling routine and emergency appointments, taking x-rays and EKG, preparing patients for an examination or administer prescribed medication.
For those who like helping people, all this might look very easy, but you should bear in mind that this vocation can be physically and emotionally very demanding.
Becoming a Medical Assistant in West Virginia
As the USA state of West Virginia does not require formal education to become a medical assistant, many young people will not continue their education to get a certification or license.
However, because medicine is in constant development and the needs are greater and more serious, this is leading to the demand for higher education related to the medical field.
West Virginia young people can choose among three options available: completing a medical assistant certificate, diploma or associate degree program.
It is crucial to choose programs that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).
By entering any of the approved courses, you will get all the information you need related to first aid, health care law and ethics, medical terminology, CPR and emergency procedures.
Proper education is provided by a licensed college instructor.
Requirements
Although West Virginia does not license medical assistants, the requirements are set by the employers themselves.
Qualifications are important when getting the job and more people are deciding to take any of the programs or courses organized, to get a license or certification and improve their prospects of getting a better-paid job.
The employer emphasizes the importance of possessing at least minimum requirements:
- Graduation from a medical assistant degree program
- Completion of a medical assistant training program
- Completion of a medical assistant certification program.
The accredited associations who offer these kinds of programs are:
- Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)
- Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)
- Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA)
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)
- Medical Assistant (NCMA)
To achieve the national certification, you will need to pass the Certified Medical Assistant Exam, which is a multiple-choice test related to general medical assistant subjects, clinical medical assistant subjects, and administrative medical assistant subjects.
Getting a Job
The medical assistant profession has gained more importance in recent years, and that leads to the growing number of employers, resulting in good job opportunities, but at the same time, the number of novices licensed medical assistants is rising too.
Medical assistants can look for the job in clinics and hospitals, private offices and other medical facilities.
The licensed candidate has numerous advantages, like choosing between a job in small private facilities or large hospitals, and can even negotiate the salary.
Reputable clinics are looking for assistants who know what they need to do and the job offer in West Virginia is huge.
Medical assistants may look for job opportunities in:
- Preston Memorial Hospital in Kingwood
- Plateau Surgical Associates in Oak Hill
- MedExpress in Charleston
- MedExpress in Cross Lanes
- CRC Health in Dumont
Salary
The growth in new medical assistant jobs because of the higher number of old people might lead to higher wages of medical assistants.
Nowadays, the salaries of a medical assistant in West Virginia are modest and among the lowest ones when it comes to other US states.
The average salary varies among the cities, and it is estimated to be $ 30 497 in Huntington, while it is the highest in Morgantown and Wheeling where it reaches $ 33 722 per year.
The table below shows average salaries for medical assistants in major cities of West Virginia, presenting the difference from one place to another:
Annual Salary Range:| Location | Avg. Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Charleston,WV | $31,453 |
| Huntington,WV | $30,497 |
| Morgantown,WV | $33,722 |
| Parkersburg,WV | $30,663 |
| Wheeling,WV | $33,722 |
Regional Salary in West Virginia
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beckley, WV | 280 | $31,420 | $15.11 | $36,350 | $24,550 |
| Charleston, WV | 590 | $34,460 | $16.57 | $39,820 | $28,910 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 990 | $35,450 | $17.04 | $43,640 | $28,880 |
| Morgantown, WV | 580 | $35,950 | $17.29 | $42,590 | $29,710 |
| Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 230 | $33,140 | $15.93 | $39,010 | $28,120 |
| Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH | 240 | $34,040 | $16.36 | $40,090 | $26,420 |
| Wheeling, WV-OH | 300 | $35,320 | $16.98 | $40,050 | $29,450 |
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Duties
The typical day in a hospital includes numerous duties that a medical assistant has to manage.
Starting from discussing with the patients about their medical history, discussing with the doctor about the patient, assisting with treatments, etc.
The daily work of a healthcare team depends a lot on the services of medical assistants, so the ideal candidate for this profession need to be willing to learn new skills and develop his/her abilities as an assistant.
Some of them might be asked to maintain clean and sanitary conditions in the exam and operating rooms.
All this depends on the education and talents of each assistant.
That is why more and more employers look to hire people who have certifications from accredited schools and colleges since they need people who are ready to perform medical duties once they start working and not to be educated at the facility.
Summary
Most people nowadays care about their welfare and come to regular checkups.
The awareness of the importance of the early discovery of diseases which makes the chances of recovering and curing better makes the medical assistant job even more demanding and requires a higher level of knowledge in dealing with new illnesses.
This is a vocation that offers a stable career, decent salary and when medical assistants are in question, there is a variety of job offers and finding a job is not such a big problem, so they do not need to worry about their future.
The need for their services can never diminish.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Medical Assistant
Medical Assisting by City
Medical Assisting by State