What Is a Certified Medical Assistant? Medical assistants are some of the most versatile healthcare workers since they're trained to handle a wide range of tasks. They also belong to the group of medical staff members who get decent pay and excellent benefits, and they have one of the fastest-growing and most in-demand careers in the country. So, if you want to have a rewarding job in the healthcare industry, you might want to become a certified medical assistant or CMA. Read this guide to know more about this career. Who Can Become a CMA? Medical assistants tackle both clinical and administrative duties, so you must be interested and knowledgeable in both math and science. You must also be flexible enough to handle a wide range of tasks …show more content…
and know how to manage your time wisely to ensure you'll get everything done before you go home. Being a people person can be a plus since you'll need to interact with many patients in a day.
But, if you're not really talkative and outgoing, don't worry since it shouldn't stop you from doing a good job. As long as you have good verbal and written communication skills and can express yourself clearly, you're good to go. How Do You Become a CMA? To become a certified medical assistant, you'll first have to obtain the required training. You can do this either by signing up for a training program that will give you a certificate or a diploma or by earning a medical assistant associate degree. The former helps you develop the specific skills that you'll need to do your job as a medical assistant, so you'll find yourself taking focused coursework and gaining hands-on experience through externship trainings. You can finish the program in more or less a year, which means you can be employed within the soonest possible time. Associate degrees, meanwhile, take around two years, but the extra time is worth it since you'll learn a lot more about your job. You'll take both clinical courses and general education classes and will have more time for your externship experience, which means you'll become a more well-rounded medical …show more content…
assistant. Once you've decided between the two options, you can enroll in an on-campus program (i.e.
you'll attend classes at a community college or technical school) or a hybrid program (i.e. you'll do your coursework at home and go to school for hands-on training and laboratory sessions). Each of them has pros and cons, so weigh them carefully to decide the best option for you. Make sure the program you choose is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and see to it that it includes an externship program so you can gain hands-on experience. After getting your diploma/certificate or earning your degree, you need to take the CMA exam, which is designed by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). If you pass this exam, you'll get to become a certified medical assistant and have more career opportunities at your fingertips. What Are Your
Responsibilities? Once you become a CMA and start working in a clinic, hospital, or any other facility, you'll have to tackle a wide range of tasks. Many of your duties are administrative and include scheduling appointments, updating medical records, and taking care of billing and bookkeeping. You'll also do basic medical tasks, including taking vital signs, obtaining medical histories, collecting laboratory specimens, and changing dressings. You'll likewise have to instruct patients on taking their medication properly, following the prescribed diet, and other topics and explain to them about any treatments or diagnostic procedures they'll have to go through. What Does the Future Look Like for You as a CMA? As a CMA, you'll most likely have enjoy job security and satisfaction and have access to lucrative pay and excellent benefits. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that medical assistants earn around $14 an hour as of 2012, which can lead to a median yearly salary of more than $29,000. This may be far from a six-figure pay, but it's significantly higher than what other healthcare workers earn. You can also increase your salary by moving to a city that provides high wages to medical assistants or working in a large, established hospital or clinic. Remember that you can also increase your earnings by developing your skills and gaining additional credentials which, in turn, can lead to promotions and higher pay. Of course, take note that salary isn't everything since you also have to take benefits into account. A lot of medical assistants enjoy medical and dental insurance, paid vacations, and retirement benefits, among many other perks. The best thing about being a CMA is that the industry is steadily growing. Data from the BLS shows that the occupation will grow 29 percent between 2012 and 2022 and that more than 160,000 new medical assistant jobs will be created during this time period. These info aren't really surprising since CMAs are highly needed in taking care of the growing elderly population and the rising number of clinics and other outpatient care facilities. With these employment opportunities, you'll find it easy to find the right job and build a strong and stable career as a certified medical assistant.
By your freshman year, you need to find and apply to the PA programs you are interested in. Before you start the PA program, you need to have some experience. Most programs require you to have clinical experience before starting the program (Kimberly para. 5.... ... middle of paper ... ...2).
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.
These programs are usually available at the master's level and often require applicants to have bachelor's degrees and some amount of experience in the healthcare profession to gain admission. Many physician assistants serve as emergency medical technicians, nurses or paramedics before pursuing admission to physician assistant programs. Physician assistant programs generally take 26 months of full-time study to complete. During the first year, students focus on classroom instruction in medical science and clinical preparation. Courses may include pathology, pediatrics, diagnosis, surgical technique, emergency medicine, pharmacology and research methods. Afterward, the curriculum shifts to focus mostly on clinical rotations in various disciplines, such as general surgery, gynecology and behavioral medicine. During these rotations, students gain first-hand experience in patient care under the supervision of licensed physicians. Physician assistants are required to be licensed by the state in which they practice. Along with completion of an accredited training program, the licensing process entails passage of the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination. The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, evaluates fundamental medical and surgical comprehension (www.nccpa.net). PA’s who pass the PANCE may use the Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) designation. Physician assistants must earn 100 continuing education credits every two years. They are also required to pass the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam every six
Depending on your state’s laws and/or regulations, medical assistants are typically allowed to perform the following clinical services under the supervision of a physician or other healthcare provider, like a physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP):
The physician assistant is a team player in the medical world, working daily with surgeons, physicians, therapists, and many other health care professionals. Similar to the job description of physicians, PAs see patients, take medical histories, preform physical exams, make diagnoses, order and interpret tests, and develop treatment plans (Ludwig). A physician assistant, nowadays, may even perform procedures that were once performed exclusively by physicians. Because every PA must have a supervising physician who oversees their work, it is assumed by many that PAs are “assistants to doctors”, however, that is not the case because a vast majority of PAs work independently. The extent of supervision by a physician varies depending on location and branch of medicine. Although, a physician assistant may carry out much of the same roles as a physician would, the amount of schooling required to become a PA is nearly half as many as that of a physician. Physician assistant programs nationwide require an undergraduate degree in one of many sciences, such as biology, and certain
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
Aside from personality traits and characteristics needed in this field, certified medical assistants also need to possess certain applied skills. One of the most important skills is communication skills and listening skills. Certified medical assistants must also be able to comprehend diagnoses and medical charts, and may be required to perform medical coding for the purpose of billing. Most of the work is done on computers, therefore, certified medical assistants must be familiar with commonly used software and
...ch half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,080, and the top 10 percent earned more than $41,570. In conclusion Medical Assistants play a major role in the healthcare environment. They are doctors right hand man/woman and the help keep the office together and run smoothly. Medical Assistants will forever be needed, because every day a child is born and people are getting older. Medical Assistants care and their job is to provide good healthcare to patients.
Many people rush through their daily life without contemplating their actions, thereby missing vast opportunities for achievement. They waste valuable time engaging in frivolous matters instead of putting their energies towards more productive and meaningful purposes. In the words of the Dalai Lama: “Life is not about acquiring money and other facilities; it is about dedicating your life to helping others as much as you can.” The immeasurable value of helping others has been engrained in me since childhood. As a result of my own difficult family circumstances, I have become more sensitive, kind and mindful towards others and their own situations. I have developed a passion for helping others, which, in combination with a proclivity towards medicine has lead to my descion to become a Physician Assistant. I want to live a life where I can provide healthcare and aid to anyone who needs.
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
“It always seems impossible until it’s done”. This quote from Nelson Mandela comes to mind when describing why I aspire to become a Physician Assistant. It has always been a great motivation and inspired me not to get discouraged with failure; rather look forward for your goals. Frequently, it takes many trials and lack of success as well as achievements, for one to truthfully discover him/herself. I instinctively progressed through the motions of life. Many options were available and choosing a career as I grew up kept altering, until one day when I saw how helping other people is my sole purpose of life. Getting to know more of physician assistant drove me into the thoughts of pursuing it as a career.
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
I think it is very important to have the education, skills, and knowledge to be a medical professional especially in the medical administration field. I will obtain a degree in Medical Information Technology, ATA Degree-Medical Billing Specialist Certificate and my expected graduation date is June 2017. I have over 16 years of medical administration experience and with that I also have I have a lot of medical experience as a Navy Corpsman with a wide range of specialties. The most important issue I learned in my medical career is you can have all that experience and it will not help you understand the patients that you are treating, prescribing medications, and in general directions for follow up care.
Assistant (CNA) certificate. I have always wanted to be in the healthcare field since I was six