What Does a Clinical Medical Assistant Do?

Medical assistants are highly in-demand nowadays because their skills are needed in any physician’s office, hospital, or clinic.

Their job responsibilities include providing hands-on care to patients, assisting doctors when providing medical treatment, and completing other tasks to ensure the office runs efficiently.

As a medical assistant, you can choose between two main types of careers: clinical and administrative.

Administrative medical assistants are responsible for clerical duties and the general operations of the office while clinical medical assistants work directly with patients, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers and assist in medical procedures.

Job Duties for Clinical Medical Assistants

Most clinical medical assistants work in a medical center or practice where they assist doctors, nurses, and patients.

They may perform hands-on care and testing under the supervision of a physician.

The job duties of a clinical medical assistant usually include:

• taking the patient’s medical history
• testing and recording vital signs
• collecting specimens for testing
• administering injections
• assisting the physician when examining patients.

Where Can I Find Employment As A Medical Assistant

As a medical assistant, you may work in a variety of healthcare settings: from large hospitals to small practices.

The most common place where medical assistants find employment are doctor’s offices and medical practices.

They may also work in rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers, research facilities, or therapy centers.

Education Requirements

Although there are no formal educational requirements for medical assistants in the United States, training programs can help prove your skills to potential employers.

These programs can be found at many schools across the country and focus on classroom education as well as hands-on training.

If you want to start a career in medical assisting you can find educational programs at community colleges, technical schools, vocational schools, universities, and trade schools.

Some employers also offer in-house training programs for medical assistants.

Most programs can be completed in one year and provide graduates with a certificate or diploma.

There are also post-secondary programs that provide an associate degree but these are usually two-years long.

Steps To Becoming a Clinical Medical Assistant

If you’re contemplating the idea of starting a career in healthcare it’s best to find as much information as possible about this profession before enrolling in a training program.

Find out what this profession means, how much it pays, where you can get your education and you can even discuss with someone who’s working in the field to find out more about what you should expect when starting a career in this field.

Afterward, the next step is to enroll in a medical assisting training program either through a program offered by a school or through your future employer.

You can also choose to specialize in a specific field, such as Opthalmology, podiatry, or optometry, but in this case, you will need to complete additional training.

Taking additional classes in computers and electronic medical records may also be required by some employers.

Once you have completed your training you are ready to apply for your first job in the field.