What is the most important role of a medical assistant?
Medical assistants are equipped to transition smoothly between being a caregiver and performing administrative duties. Since they take on clinical and administrative tasks, they are the healthcare industry's backbone.
A medical assistant career can be gratifying due to the projected job growth of 1.35% annually and over 19.2% in the coming ten years.
If you are a person who loves the medical field and variation in their work, the medical assistant job is the most suitable career option for you. To become a medical assistant, you must possess time management, communication, and empathy.
In order to create a medical assistant resume, you should know the major responsibilities, skills, and qualifications that every organization will seek in its medical assistant. What better can be than to go through a medical assistant job description?
Read on to know all about the medical assistant job description and some related FAQs:
- What is a medical assistant?
- How much does a medical assistant make?
- How to write a medical assistant job description?
- Medical assistant job description sample
What Is a Medical Assistant?
Medical assistants are specialists in performing clinical and administrative tasks. They work alongside medical professionals to cater to the needs of patients and healthcare institutions.
As a medical assistant, you will be responsible for taking the patients to the medical examination room, doing essential checkups, and asking general questions about their health conditions.
On the administrative forefront, you will schedule appointments, respond to emails, and fill up medical records to ease the work of doctors.
What Is the Salary of Medical Assistants?
Medical assistants have a base salary of $46,633 per year. They get many benefits like medical insurance, paid time off, and employee assistance programs.
If you plan to build your career in this field, the medical assistant job description and salary will help you align your skills with the requirements of the role and how much they will compensate you.
The salary of medical assistants largely depends on skills, education, and location. If you are in New York, you can easily make $54,048, while in Chicago, you can expect $50,650 per year.
How to Write a Medical Assistant Job Description?
If you are seeking a medical assistant career, you should read the job description for medical assistants carefully. The job description will give you an idea about the roles and duties expected from you at your workplace.
But what is the job description of a medical assistant?
The job description of a medical assistant will highlight the job summary, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills relevant to the job.
When attempting to apply for the medical assistant position, it is essential that the medical assistant job description correctly outlines the duties, preferred credentials, and specifics regarding the workplace.
The medical assistant job description will include the following:
Medical Assistant Job Description Title
The title of the medical assistant job description will convey the profile for which the recruiters are looking for suitable candidates. In many cases, if the company is looking for specialized candidates, they mention it in the job title.
A compelling job title helps attract maximum candidates, and the medical assistant job description title will tell you the level of seniority in the company and the tasks associated with it.
Given below are some common job titles you will come across in a medical assistant job description:
- Urgent Care Medical Assistant
- Healthcare Assistant
- Certified Healthcare Assistant
- Clinical Medical Assistant
- Specialized Medical Assistant
Medical Assistant Job Description Summary
The medical assistant job description summary will outline the overall job expectations of the company. While the medical assistant job responsibilities will highlight the same, the summary will give an overview.
In most of the medical assistant job description summary, you will find the key responsibility mentioned with the years of experience required so that you can immediately get to know if you qualify for the position or not.
The summary can help you pick suitable keywords for your medical assistant job description resume and increase your chances of making it through the ATS software, which is highly popular among recruiters.
Example: Our company is seeking expert medical assistants who run our healthcare institution smoothly by performing clinical and administrative duties. As a successful medical assistant, you will work directly with doctors to assist them in collecting test samples, maintaining patient records, and explaining medical procedures.
What Are the Duties and Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant?
After a summary of the job description of a medical assistant, you will come across the duties and responsibilities section, which will explain in detail the company's expectations concerning the role.
A medical assistant monitors patients and maintain their medical records. From taking patients' vital signs to administering samples, medical assistants take care of all. They also assist doctors in helping the dosage given to patients.
A medical assistant will perform the following duties:
- Updating and maintaining patient’s records and collecting specimens and analyzing them.
- Converting hard copy documents to digital ones
- Preparing the medical room for examination.
- Operating the medical equipments when required .
- Greeting the patients and their families warmly at all times.
- Scheduling appointments and keeping a record of check-ins and check-outs.
- Keeping track of medical inventory to help managers.
Medical Assistant Job Description Qualifications
The minimum qualification for a medical assistant is a high school diploma or GED; however, pursuing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree will increase your chances of employment. In some advertisements for medical assistants, medical assistant qualifications might include an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree along with a high school diploma.
Topping up your education by obtaining a medical assistant certification will make you eligible for most medical assistant job description and salary will be decent as well.
The certified medical assistant job description will overtly state the requirement for a certification from a medical assistant program. Some of the popular medical assistant certifications are mentioned below:
- Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
- Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) offered by American Medical Technologists (AMT)
- National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) offered by National Center for Competency Testing (NCTT)
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) offered by National Healthcare Association
Medical Assistant Job Description Skills
To become a medical assistant, you must have a suitable skill set. Since the role requires interacting with patients and performing administrative tasks, you need to have both soft and hard skills.
The office skills for a medical assistant job would require scheduling appointments, making calls, and maintaining electrical medical records, while the clinical duties of a medical assistant require offering CPR, injections, and life support.
You can go through the job description of the medical assistant to get an exact idea of what the company is looking for and then match the skills present in your medical assistant job description resume.
Given below are some of the general skills that you need to have if you want to flourish in a medical assistant job role:
| Vital Signs Measurement | Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG) | Phlebotomy |
| Record-Keeping | Multitasking |
| Telephone Skills | Time Management |
| Attention-to-detail | Medical Coding |
| Communication Skills | Organizational Skills |
| Medical Knowledge | Customer Service Skills |
| Computer Skills | Problem Solving |
| Teamwork Abilities | Empathy |
Sample Medical Assistant Job Description
Here is a sample medical assistant job description that you can go through to understand a medical assistant's key responsibilities and skills.
Medical Assistant Job Description
We are looking for dynamic healthcare assistants to assist our medical professionals and carry out administrative duties. You will act as a caregiver and perform administrative tasks as well. To excel in this position, you must have excellent organizational and clerical abilities and some medical knowledge.
Medical Assistant Job Responsibilities
- Maintaining records of patient’s medical histories, test results, and other vital information for medical records.
- Converting hard copy records of patients to a digital format if and when required
- Prepare the medical room before clinical examination and check the instruments for discrepancies.
- Scheduling appointments for patients and maintaining records for timely check-in and check-out.
- Offering excellent patient care and supporting families at all times for their medical requirements.
- Set up medical equipment, administer medicines and injections, and gather standard specimens
- Preparing and assisting medical professionals in administering medications as required.
- Help the nurse and office manager keep track of the medical inventory and place orders for fresh supplies as needed.
Medical Assistant Job Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree in medicine or a medical-related field.
- Hands-on experience for at least a year in a medical setting.
- A medical aid certification would be preferred
- Extraordinary communication skills with an ability to maintain harmonious interpersonal relationships with patients and their families.
- An ability to show patient care and administrative processes with empathy and attention to detail.
- Knowledge of medical terminologies, tools, and examination process.
Also Read: Why is it essential to write a perfect job description?
Key Points from the Blog
- Medical assistants act as both caregivers and administrative staff for the organization.
- The medical assistant job duties involve maintaining patient records, preparing the medical examination room, assisting the doctors with daily medicine dosage, and maintaining a cordial relationship with patients.
- Some common medical assistant skills are communication, medical knowledge, customer service, computer skills, empathy, teamwork, EKG, CPR, and Phlebotomy.
- The medical assistant requirements are a high school diploma or GED with a certification in the medical assistant program.
- Obtaining a certification in medical assistance program can increase your chances of shortlisting as it will enhance your skillset and knowledge in the domain.
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