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Medical Assistant Jobs

Medical assistant jobs are essential jobs to be performed within hospitals, health care facilities and in clinics. The role medical assistants play in these organizations cover a varied range of responsibilities that include clinical and administrative duties, as well as front office duties. Medical assistants inform patients and hospital visitors on the operating procedures and the rules and regulations of the health facility. They also assist doctors when performing patient check-ups.

Types of Medical Assistant Jobs

Although there may not be a significant difference in the salaries received, there are four different types of medical assistant jobs. They are distinguished from one another by the main function they perform in the health facility.

• Administrative Medical Assistant and Medical Assistants – These two categories of medical assistants are concerned with the management of paperwork and are not often seen by patients and visitors to the health facility. However, their roles are regarded as providing critical support for the daily operation of the business because they are involved with issues such as billing, insurance processing, proper documentation, and medical supplies.
• Front Office Medical Assistant – These assistants operate much like a receptionist in a business office. They differ from them in working at a medical facility and handling medical only records.
• Clinical Medical Assistant – These assistants are concerned with the drawing of blood and with performing clinical procedures. They perform other duties such as working in a medical lab, dressing patients’ wounds and injuries, recording health and the vital signs of patients.

Professional Qualifications and Salaries

In general, medical assistants hold associate degrees that are accredited by the CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) or by the ABHES (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools). But the preferred qualification most employers look for in a medical assistant is the CMA or certified medical assistant certificate.

As previously mentioned, salaries vary very little between the different types of medical assistants jobs. The Bureau of Labor revealed that the highest paying medical assistant jobs in a hospital pay $29,720 each year. Medical assistants in a hospital are supervised by the hospital’s doctors and work in close contact with the patients. They take patients’ vital signs and histories, apply dressings, make notes on patients’ health changes, and give injections.

Medical assistants working in a medical office, earn about $28,710 a year. Most assistants today are employed by medical offices and doctors. In a medical office, medical assistants are usually concerned with the same duties as assistants in a hospital but with a great deal more clerical functions added. They are involved in appointment scheduling, with most of the from office tasks, provides information to patients on upcoming exams and explains their treatment and conditions.

Medical assistant jobs are also available in outpatient care facilities where assistants can earn $28,570 per year. In the outpatient facilities medical assistants prep patients for their diagnostic and surgical procedures. This involves providing information on the treatments and conditions, getting them ready for their tests and collecting any necessary specimens from them. Look online today for that dream job of yours!