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Medical Assistant Career – Opening Doors to a Profession in Healthcare Services

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:00:25 +0000

Medical Assistants

Medical Assistant Career – Opening doors to a profession in healthcare services.

Medical Assistant careers are gathering demand in the background of a healthcare industry boom worldwide.

A Medical Assistant essentially is a healthcare professional with multiple responsibilities and skill sets required to execute the same. Both administrative and medical tasks that do not need much medical proficiency fall into the ambit of a Medical Assistant.

Medical Assistants are indispensable in any modern day healthcare practice. Engaged under physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners. Medical Assistants attend to the complexities involved in delivering medical services.

By accomplishing administrative and other responsibilities, Medical Assistants make it easier for the practitioners to concentrate on attending to and treating patients.

Medical Assistants execute varied administrative, laboratory and clinical tasks in different health care institutions.

Often, Medical Assistants are seen as generalists who are involved with many aspects of the medical profession but do not specialize in them.

A detailed overview of the activities of a Medical Assistant is given here:

Administrative duties:

General administration which includes day-to-day activities and other tasks. These include:

• Communication – both internal and external and office correspondence.

• Patient welfare – maintenance of patient records, insurance forms, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission.

• Billing and bookkeeping.

• Maintain medical and drug supplies.

Clinical duties:

Clinical duties require discreet manual dexterity and visual acuity. A Medical Assistant has to support the medical practitioner with the following:

• Recording vital signs.

• Preparing patients for examination, explaining treatment procedures to patients.

• Assisting the physician during the examination.

• Instructing patients about medications and special diets.

• Preparation and administration of medications.

Laboratory tasks:

Laboratory tasks include:

• Collection and preparation of laboratory specimens.

• Performing basic laboratory tests on the premises.

• Draw blood, prepare patients for X-rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures and change dressings.

• Disposal of contaminated supplies and sterilization of medical instruments.

Medical Assistants employed at small medical outfits may undertake both administrative and clinical duties and report directly to the office manager or health practitioner.

Larger medical outfits have Medical Assistants reporting to department administrators and specializing only in a particular area.

Medical Assistant – Essential qualities and skills:

Duties entailed in medical assisting vary with the type of health care facility, size, location and specialisation.

A pleasant disposition is a must as Medical Assistants constantly interact with patients and public. Courteous manners, a well groomed personality and an aptitude for making people feel at ease are essential.

Simple medical and clinical skills and administrative abilities are integral to the profile of a Medical Assistant.

Traditionally, Medical Assistants did not need to be certified as they learnt on the job. This scenario has changed and contemporary medical practices prefer trained and certified Medical Assistant professionals to untrained individuals.

Medical Assistant Training and Certification:

Healthcare industry is increasingly in favour of trained Medical Assistants. The need for technically sound personnel who have the flexibility of handling both clinical and administrative tasks is on the rise. The trend is an offshoot of the need felt by doctors to concentrate on treating patients rather than on other functional details.

Certification is a mark of the individual having been trained and qualified in the profession.

A Medical Assistant certificate stands as a certainity of successful training. Also, securing a Medical Assistant certificate assures higher professional satisfaction and recognition. Compared to uncertified individuals, the formal education and the Medical Assistant certificate help them in advance faster in their profession.

The Medical Assistant certificate can be secured by both experienced and inexperienced individuals. Experienced professionals may not have to take a certification exam. Inexperienced candidates though will have to undergo rigorous training from an accredited vocational training institution.

Medical Assistant certification or registration will put the individual a step ahead from counterparts.

Medical Assistant registration and certification are the same. It’s just that different certifying bodies have different terms for referring to a Medical Assistant cerificate.

With many Medical Assistant schools mushrooming in the market, it is important that one acquires education and secures Medical Assistant registration from a reputed and reliable source.

Medical Assistant Education:

Medical Assistant education obtained from a high grade vocational training institution is a sure way to a successful Medical Assistant career.

Schools offering Medical Assistant education abound in the market. Making the right choice of schools makes the difference in education in medical assistance.

St.Augustine’s School of Medical Assistants offers accredited and affordable distance Medical Assistant education online.

Medical Assistant education at St.Augustine’s is comprehensive and does not leave out any element crucial to training. The 24/7 online training facility provides classes, knowledge resources and virtual laboratory training online.

Distance Medical Assistant education:

St. Augustine’s Medical Assistants school offers distance education through online courses. Distance education is favoured by Medical Assistant aspirants who are already working and studying part time. Distance Medical Assistant education gives such candidates the flexibility of scheduling their study time around their working hours.

The Medical Assistant Program at St.Augustine’s:

Medical Assistant program at St. Augustine’s is an online training course that is available anytime and anywhere. With this program, accomplishing certifications is a matter of just 6-8 weeks from commencement.

The program includes complete online courses along with training on laboratory skills and facilities to perform laboratory tasks.

The advantage with St. Augustine’s Medical Assistant program is that, the student can take up the course at his own pace and convenience. Since it is online, the course can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

Whether it is a full time student or a working person wanting to study part time, the online Medical Assistant program is a convenient way to Medical Assistant registration.

The course ware for the Medical Assistant program is developed and regularly updated by experts from diverse disciplines, health care professionals and practitioners making it one of the best available programs for Medical Assistants.

Medical Assistant classes online:

On signing up for the Medical Assistant program, students have the convenience of accessing classes online. According to individual schedules, Medical Assistant students can access these classes at their own convenience.

Medical Assistant classes at St. Augustine’s deal with the following subjects:

Medical Terminology, Human Body Planes, Basic Human Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Office Professionalism, Patient Communication, Medical Records, Basic Medical Law, Scheduling Appointments, Medical Billing and Insurance Claims
, Infection Control, Surgical Instruments, Emergency Care, Clinical Equipment, Patient History and Physicals, EKG and Lab Testing, Specimen Collection and Lab Safety, Introduction to Patient Medications.

The classes also cover Clinical Laboratory training online. These include:

Virtual Phlebotomy Lab (Collecting a Blood Sample), Virtual Injection Lab, Medication injections, Measuring A Pulse, Introduction to CPR and Basic Ultrasound.

At St. Augustine’s School of Medical Assistants, enrolling gives students the advantage of well designed Medical Assistant programs, curricula, online classes, an accredited Medical Assistant certificate within 6-8 weeks!

St. Augustine’s educational services:

Educational services offered by St. Augustine’s Medical Assistant school aim at providing vocational training for Medical Assistant aspirants.

St. Augustine’s educational services are unique in their approach to training, course design, teaching techniques etc. The ultimate goal is to give students the best value for the money they have invested in Medical Assistant registration training.

The distance education program offered under St. Augustine educational services online is a high turnaaround, quality program that is accredited, affordable and convenient.

St. Augustine’s online educational services are affordable as they cut down travelling, instructional material and other costs. It can be accessed by students wherever they are, whenever they want and brings the convenience factor into education. Online educational services at St. Augustine’s are accredited and hence give best value for money spent on educating oneself.

St. Augustine’s educational services online are a passport to a shining career as a Medical Assistant.

Health care careers are fruitful for certified Medical Assistants:

Health care careers are being sought after nowadays as high return professions both on the monetary front and on the satisfaction front. The booming health care industry is demanding technically qualified personnel and the market is ripe for professions like Medical Assistants, Hospital Assistants and others.

Thanks to the boom, health care careers are highly in need of well trained staff. Vocational education in professions like Medical Assistants provides an effective solution for the demand. By training students for the specific job and also focusing on overall life skills, educational services like that offered by St.Augustine’s are enhancing employability of individuals.

Health care professionals – upgrade skills for advancing careers:

Employment opportunities in flexible health care careers like that of Medical Assistants are predicted to increase mutifold. Infact Medical Assistant health care careers are expected to grow much faster than the average for all other occupations.

Certified Medical Assistants with experience will definitely be highly sought after as a result. Health care professionals like registered Medical Assistants with experience stand to gain in a big way.

Experienced and trained Medical Assistants may be able to advance faster than other health care professionals. By adding on to their existing skill sets and certifications, they can gain over health care professionals.

Moreover pliable health care professionals like Medical Assistants have open occupational choices and opportunities form a variety of health care setups.

The future certainly seems to be beckoning Medical Assistant careers. All one needs to do is to gear up with an accredited Medical Assistant certificate.

The health care industry wants you – Medical Assistants, sit up and get registered!

Advance your careers with online Medical Assistant distance education programs from St.Augustine.

Copyright : St. Augustine Educational Services

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Ravi

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A Glimpse into Medical Assisting School

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:18:30 +0000

by: Russell Williams

Medical assistant schools can be found across the country. Most offer diploma or certification programs, associate’s degree programs or both.

Diploma programs are open to students with a high school diploma or GED. Generally a year in length, these programs teach the knowledge and skills common to any medical assistant job. These include basic medical terminology, clerical and computer skills , preparing patients for examinations, assisting in exams and recording patients’ vital signs.

Associate’s degree programs are also open to holders of high school diplomas or GEDs. Running 18 to 24 months, they too cover the essentials of a medical assisting career, but also include general studies courses such as psychology, sociology, critical thinking and problem solving.

Regardless of the type of program, students with a successful high school background will find medical assisting classes challenging, but not overwhelmingly technical or advanced. Classroom work ordinarily includes lectures and multimedia presentations. The other side of any medical assisting program is hands-on learning in a lab, a simulated health care clinic or in an office. Medical assistant programs are streamlined with knowledge and skills you’ll actually need to thrive on the job. For example, you can expect to take classes in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, transcription, office practices, laboratory techniques, pharmaceutical principles, medical law and ethics. Most programs also include a period of externship, providing on-the-job experience in physicians’ offices, hospitals and similar facilities.

Most medical assisting school instructors are experienced medical assistants themselves and use their first-hand knowledge and experience to educate students. Tutoring is also normally available.

Many health care schools require their students to come to class dressed for their future profession – in clean scrubs, looking professional and neatly groomed. This prepares students to be professionals as well as provides them with the opportunity to experience real-world medical assistant culture first-hand.

Class hours vary, but most schools offer schedules that allow students to work while attending school. It’s not a breeze, between class work, home study, a job and the day-to-day business of living; it can be a real challenge. What makes it all worthwhile, though, is knowing you can look forward to the satisfaction and security of a meaningful job, in an in-demand, expanding field.

Medical Assistant Job Description – Diverse Duties of Cma

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:43:50 +0000

The medical assistant job description is quite varying in its list of duties. You would be amazed at what all a medical assistant position entails.

The duties of a medical assistant vary depending on the size and location of the office. For instance, if it is a small rural office, probably the job description includes things like secretarial duties, nursing duties, phlebotomy duties and lab work. Anything a large staff would do, the medical administrative assistant will be doing in a small rural office.

In a large office, however, duties will include things like greeting patients, updating patient charts, filing patient medical records and answering telephones. Scheduling appointments and arranging for admissions to the hospital also fall under the responsibilities of a medical assistant.

The medical assistant job description includes working a full 40-hour week which could include evenings and weekends depending on the doctor’s hours. They also work with people every hour of each work day, so if you don’t like working with people, this is not the position for you.

Because the position requires so many diverse skills, training is quite extensive. In order to get in, you have to have a high school diploma or a GED. This will be required of most schools. Employers will prefer that you graduate from a medical assistant training program with at least a certificate if not with an associate degree.

Further, in some states will require the passing of the state certified medical assistant exam. This is because some states require the certification of medical assistants (CMA).

Clinical duties can vary depending on the state laws. In some states, taking vital signs and charting can be done only by the doctor or nurses in the office. In others, a CMA can perform these duties and quite often do. The same goes for explaining procedures to patients and performing simple patient tasks.

State laws also stand over lab tasks. Some states allow performing lab tests to be performed by medical assistants, while others do not. If they are allowed, the CMA will not only draw the blood, but perform the tests.

One thing goes across the board, however. That would be that regardless of the medical assistant job description or state laws, medical assistants should never be confused with physician assistants who not only diagnose but treat patients. Louis Zhang, Medicalassistantvacancies dot com