An Overview of Medical Assistant - Its Types and Training

Medical assistants are anticipated as the fastest growing occupational workforce of the decade in the United States. Easier training and a raised demand has made this in to one of the most sought out professions. A sound Medical Assistant Training is necessary and useful to secure a lucrative job for a rewarding career in allied healthcare industry.

The paragraphs below discuss different aspects of this profession, its types and the training.

Types of Medical Assistants

Administrative Medical Assistants-
These medical assistants are responsible to perform various administrative duties related to a medical facility such as filling out the patient’s insurance forms, fixture of laboratory services and hospital admissions. They are also responsible for handling incoming calls, scheduling appointments, correspondence, records and bookkeeping.

Clinical Medical Assistants-
This category of medical assistants interacts with the patients by studying their medical histories and they perform tests, explain different procedures to the patients along with conducting diagnostic tests. Their laboratory services include preparation of samples and performing basic tests, sterilization of supplies as well as disposal of contaminated supplies. They may instruct the patient on diet, medications and drug refills. These professionals also well trained to perform electrocardiogram tests on the patients.

Ophthalmic Medical Assistants-
The ophthalmic medical assistants perform certain additional duties in addition to everyday routine tasks. These may include eye examination of the patients and muscle tests, dressings and teach patients about contact lens care. Assisting ophthalmologists during the surgery, the assistants are also responsible to maintain surgical instruments.


Medical Assistant Education and Training

Most medical assistant training programs include short-term certified courses focused to cover subjects such as phlebotomy, anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, lab procedures, medical billing and medical office administration.

High schools, post secondary schools, community colleges, junior colleges and many private institutions offer such type of courses. Apart from classroom teachings, these courses include externship at different medical facilities.

A medical assistant plays an important role in providing better healthcare services; proper training can help in professional development as well as in growth prospects. The average working hours of medical assistants are around forty hours a week and work conditions demand interaction with the patients throughout the day.

Medical Assistant Training is very essential before one dwells into an allied healthcare profession, please visit www.nymedtraining.com for more information on training details and financial aids.

Strengthening the Backbone of Healthcare Industry through Medical Assistant Training

The health vertical offers a diverse range of professions and one of such is the field of assistants required in almost every medical facility to assist physicians and surgeons in treating patients. Medical assistants are responsible for carrying out diverse range of services such as administrative services that are coupled with basic work. They perform under the direct supervision of the physician and in some cases; they perform independent duties depending upon the kind of Medical Assistant Training they received.

Generally, medical assistants are of three types, which are administrative medical assistants, ophthalmic medical assistants and clinical medical assistants.

Administrative medical assistants are responsible for filling forms as well as updating the patient’s documents. Other responsibilities include filling of insurance forms, helping the patients in fixing appointments and handling correspondence as well as medical records.

Clinical medical assistants on the other hand have diverse responsibilities where assistants help in collecting samples for examination, supervise the tests and then disposing of these samples. They also help in preparing patients for medical diagnosis and explain them their treatment procedure and after-care medications.

Ophthalmic medical assistants are responsible for carrying out eye tests, diagnostic tests and eye-muscle function tests. Each type of medical assistant is trained for the desired skill and knowledge based on the chosen training program that is provided to them by a training institution.

Individuals who are planning to pursue this kind of professional training should ensure proper certifications, which are required for them to work in a medical profession. The programs can extend to few weeks and can be a formal associate degree of two years accredited by Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools or with Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Such extensive Medical Assistant Training program equips you with the desired skills and knowledge to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) or Registered Medical Assistant (RMA). The certification is achieved by passing the CMA examination conducted by American Association of Medical Assistants. American Medical Technologists (AMT) on the other hand conducts a different examination, which helps in becoming a registered medical assistant (RMA).

With the ever-growing expansions in healthcare industry, talented and versatile medical assistants will always be in great demand. The profession promises not only a lucrative pay but also a good working environment. Advancement in career can be easily achieved by gaining a good professional experience from a reputed healthcare institution, which would help them in becoming a technologist, nurse or even a manager.

At www.nymedtraining.com you can find more information about different kinds of Medical Assistant Training programs, their duration, affiliation, and scope in future.