Geriatric Medical Assisting is more than just handing out medications and taking specimens; it’s about creating a connection and helping these people live out the rest of their days with grace, dignity and happiness. Working with Geriatrics is not the same as working with all other types of patients. Everyone has their own wants and needs that need to be met. I plan on doing everything I can to earn about geriatrics and do the best I can to take care of this population of people.
Geriatric Medical Assisting
Geriatric Medical Assisting is a combination of clinical and non-clinical duties. All basic Medical Assisting duties are used when working with Geriatrics such as; taking vitals, collecting specimens, checking in and registering patients, etc. With Geriatrics, for me, it goes beyond that though. Beyond just the actual job roles you can see with your eyes. For me, it’s also about making a connection with these patients. Sometimes, you are all they have and just talking to you can make their day.
I have always had a passion and goal to work with geriatric patients. This dream of mine is what lead to me going to school for CAN back in 2014. I eventually ended up with Novant Health where I am not utilizing all my skills and rarely ever get to work with patients.
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Medical Assisting is such an important role. Geriatric medical assistants are responsible for checking in and registering the patient when they first walk in the door. From there, they then take the patient back to the exam room and begin taking vitals. Other specimens such as; blood, or urine, maybe need to be taken as well. A lot of the time, elderly patients, will need help completing all of these tasks. They will also take a history and review any information in the chart, in preparation for the doctor’s arrival. All of this, while maintaining that connection and conversation, which we all know elderly patients
A Physician Assistant (PA) practices medicine with a national and state license. They are authorized to prescribe medicine in all the fifty states (What is a PA? para. 1). Physician Assistants’ responsibilities vary on the state laws, the practice setting, and their experience. They can perform procedures, get medical histories, conduct physical examinations, diagnose and treat illnesses, prescribe medications, order and interpret laboratory tests, and assist in surgeries and counseling (What is a PA? para. 3) PA’s can care for about eighty percent of patient conditions (Vorvick & Zieve para. 2).
I worked with Dementia and Alzheimer patients as a Certified Nursing Assistant for almost three years. Working with the elderly has been one of my greatest achievements. I assisted my residents with bathing, grooming and making them feel comfortable. I was able to create a favorable environment for my residents while working with them. I had the opportunity to see patients go from early stage to their last stage of dementia. This gave me an opportunity to want to do more for people who are in need of my care. From my experience, I learnt that nursing is not just a job; it’s a responsibility and a calling, and it requires that you derive joy in what you are doing even in the toughest moment of caring for your
As a medical assistant, you will spend most of your day interacting with patients from all types of life. There will never be one type of patient, they will always be different. You will need to be helpful to physicians, nurses, all medical staff and patients. You will need to be able to communicate with your patients, co-workers, and other medical professionals.
Physician assistants (PA's) practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. PA's are trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive health care services, as delegated by a physician. They work with members of a healthcare team, they take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and x rays, and make diagnoses. PAs may be the principal care providers in rural or inner city clinics where a physician is present for only one or two days each week. In such cases, the PA confers with the supervising physician and other medical professionals as
Moreover, as a physician assistant, my duties and responsibilities would include various tasks. I would examine patients and review patients’ medical history. I would perform diagnostic tests and diagnose a patient’s injury. I would provide treatment and console patients’ on the proper treatment. Lastly, I would assess
The job duties also vary from home healthcare situation to the next. Each patient receiving home healthcare differs in level of independence and cares required. Thus their job duties vary. Personally, the lady I take care of in a home healthcare situation requires many cares. She brushes her own teeth and stands on her own. However, she needs help with her daily cares and transferring. I cook, clean, and do her laundry. This is the typical situation of many home healthcare jobs. Some home healthcare aides transport the individual as well, in addition to doing their shopping.
Medical assisting is one of the nation's fastest growing careers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical assistants perform a vast number of daily duties administrative and some clinical tasks. Medical Assistant are the glue that keeps the various healthcare facility running smoothly. There will be a time when a medical assistant may have to answer the telephone, greet patients, fill out medical records and update them as needed, schedule appointments and handle correspondence and billing.
Any job in the medical field is great, because it will always be needed no matter what. Doctors, nurses, techs, etc. are all very important and necessary people, but the people behind the scenes are just as important, medical administrative assistants. Being a medical administrative assistant seems awfully difficult, you have all these responsibilities but at the end of the day you’ll have a sense of satisfaction because you may have possibly really helped a patient or family with a serious and hard situation. There are different types or categories of medical administrative assistants, you have the front office, the back office, the clinic setting, private practices, and the floating position. Duties for
The healthcare field is a large organization filled with individuals that work towards the common goal of helping others. In the past several years’ health care organization have focused their attention in improving healthcare as a whole by focusing on factors such as access to primary care, control cost, increase efficiency and improve outcomes. A growing trend in trying to meet these challenges has been the use of physician assistants. According to Assistant, physician (PA). (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8593 a physician assistant is a mid-level medical practitioner who works under the supervision of a licensed physician. Their education qualifies them to examine patients,
As medical assistants we are trained in both clinical and administrative duties, which is a unique skill, and sets us apart from other healthcare professionals. Administrative duties include tasks such as answering telephones, greeting patients, appointment scheduling, and arranging hospital admissions and laboratory services. Clinical duties include responsibilities such as taking medical histories, educating patients on any medical procedures, drawing blood, collecting specimens, and assisting the physician during exams. Because of the growing demand and extensive training of medical assistants, there is never a problem finding work in hospitals, clinics, or private doctors’ offices. (American Association of Medical Assistants, What is a Medical
The assistant part in physician assistant is generally understated. Physician assistants’ responsibilities actually bear many tasks that would suggest a long work hours and practices. Many may work alongside a team of specialists to coordinate treatments for their patients or some may work independently supervised by a
.... For example, cleaning and sterilizing instruments and disposing of contaminated materials. Using analytical skills they will record medical information and test results ( ). These are all common duties needed to be done to fulfill a job as a Certified Medical Assistant but it usually depends on the location and the company itself.
It’s hard to work with elders who often have over 15 issues and you need to figure out how to make them comfortable and not fix everything. Things like checking the feet and making sure they are cared for, or looking for sores, your job is to help them maintain whatever sort of life they are living and keep them going for the years or months they have left. It’s not a glamorous profession and though most doctors look for ways to do surgery, geriatrics often look for any method but that, due to the
The general purpose of being a medical assistant is that you are helping people that are in need of help. They also perform routine/ clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians and other practitioners running smoothly. Scheduling appointments for patients, billing, coding, etc. In this job you perform administrative and certain clinical duties under direction of a physician. Some tools/ skills that will be used daily is tools; hypodermic needle, blood pressure units, scope sets; skills; speaking, active listening, reading comprehension, monitoring, writing, active learning etc. Tasks and activities that will be performed
An important step to decrease an ageist attitude is to take a step back and recognize biases and preconceived ideas that one has about older adults (DeBrew, 2015). Recognizing biases in combination with furthering one’s education about the effects of aging and the specific needs of older adults will help increase compassionate care. To allow for effective interventions it is important that the nurse understand that illness and infection manifest differently in older adults than they do in the younger population (DeBrew, 2015). In addition, through ethnographic study it was found that when nurses spend time doing activities with older adults it helps strengthen relationships and sense of community between care providers and elderly patients (DeBrew, 2015). According to the article, “occupational therapists who worked with older adults felt ‘stigmatized’ by their peers because their work was viewed as less challenging and requiring less skill and intellect than caring for other populations” (DeBrew, 2015). To promote compassionate patient care it is important that nurses and other professionals get support from their peers to confirm that their work is not insignificant and looked down upon. Finally, include the older adult while creating the plan of care to show them that they are a valued part of their healthcare