Medical Assistant

Career Overview

Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice.

Education

Programs for medical assisting are available from community colleges, vocational schools, technical schools, and universities and take about 1 year to complete. These programs usually lead to a certificate or diploma. Some community colleges offer 2-year programs that lead to an associate’s degree. All programs have classroom and laboratory portions that include lessons in anatomy and medical terminology.

Future Outlook

Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 19 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. The growth of the aging baby-boom population will continue to increase demand for preventive medical services, which are often provided by physicians.

Work Environment

Most medical assistants work in physicians’ offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other healthcare facilities.

Recommended High School Courses

Chemistry
Biology
Communication
Science - as much as possible, including biology and psychology!
Anatomy
Health

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Record vital statistics or other health information.
Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
Interview patients to gather medical information.
Prepare patient treatment areas for use.
Give medications or immunizations.
Collect biological specimens from patients.
Control prescription refills or authorizations.
Explain technical medical information to patients.
Clean medical equipment.
Dispose of biomedical waste in accordance with standards.
Process medical billing information.
Conduct diagnostic tests to determine patient health.
Perform clerical work in medical settings.
Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
Administer basic health care or medical treatments.
Assist practitioners to perform medical procedures.
Inventory medical supplies or equipment.
Operate medical equipment.
Prepare medical instruments or equipment for use.
Apply bandages, dressings, or splints.

Schools

Alaska Career College- An...

Alaska Pacific University

Albion College

Allegheny College

Alvernia University

Angelo State University

Arcadia University

Arlington Career Institut...

Assumption College

Atlanta Technical College

Auburn University

Augustana University

Austin Community College...

Ball State University

Barry University

Baylor University

Bellevue University

Belmont University

Berea College

Berkeley College Online

Bethel University

Bob Jones University

Boston University

Bowling Green State Unive...

Bradley University

Brenau University

Carrington College- Albuq...

Carrington College- Boise...

Carrington College- Citru...

Carrington College- Glend...

Carrington College- Las V...

Carrington College- Mesa...

Carrington College- Phoen...

Carrington College- Pleas...

Carrington College- Portl...

Carrington College- Reno...

Carrington College- Sacra...

Carrington College- San J...

Carrington College- San L...

Carrington College- Spoka...

Carrington College- Stock...

Carrington College- Tucso...

Carroll College

Central New Mexico Commun...

Clackamas Community Colle...

Clark State Community Col...

Clover Park Technical Col...

Coe College

College Of Dupage

College Of Wooster

Colorado Christian Univer...

Columbus State Community...

Cook Inlet Tribal Council

Dakota County Technical C...

Daytona College

Daytona State College

Delaware Technical And Co...

Dickinson College

Durham Technical Communit...

Eastern Florida State Col...

Eckerd College

Edinboro University

El Centro College- Dallas...

Emily Griffith Technical...

Evangel University

Everett Community College

Fairmont State University

Ferris State University

Fortis College- Dothan Ca...

Franklin And Marshall Col...

Gateway Community College...

Herzing University- Atlan...

Herzing University- Birmi...

Herzing University- Kenos...

Herzing University- Minne...

Herzing University- New O...

Herzing University- Onlin...

Independence University

Institute Of Business & M...

Iowa Central Community Co...

Jefferson State Community...

Kapiolani Community Colle...

Lake Technical College- E...

Lanier Technical College-...

Lewis And Clark State Col...

Louisiana State Universit...

Macalester College

Midwestern Career College...

Miller-motte College- Fay...

Miller-motte College- Jac...

Miller-motte College- Ral...

Miller-motte College- Wil...

Miller-motte Technical Co...

Millsaps College

North Central Texas Colle...

Northeast Wisconsin Techn...

Northwestern Health Scien...

Oakton Community College-...

Palm Beach State College-...

Penn Foster Career School

Pikes Peak Community Coll...

Pinnacle Career Institute...

Pitt Community College

Plaza College

Red Rocks Community Colle...

San Antonio College

San Joaquin Valley Colleg...

Seattle Central College

South Coast College

Southern Technical Colleg...

Stark State College- Akro...

Sullivan University- Lexi...

Sullivan University- Loui...

Suny Columbia-greene Comm...

Suny Niagara County Commu...

Suny Onondaga Community C...

Suny Plattsburgh

Thomas Nelson Community C...

Ultimate Medical Academy-...

University Of Alaska Fair...

University Of Alaska Sout...

University Of Cincinnati

University Of Mississippi

University Of Northwester...

University Of Wisconsin-...

Vista College- El Paso Ca...

Waubonsee Community Colle...

Western Texas College

Westmoreland County Commu...

York Technical College

Bow Valley College- Do...

Brandon University

Campion College

Cdi College- Laval Cam...

College Of New Caledon...

College Of The Rockies...

Manitoba Institute Of...

Mckay Career Training

Professional Career De...

Stenberg College

Stratford Career Insti...

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$25,820.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$34,800.00 /yr

High End:

$48,720.00 /yr

Related Careers

Orthodontist

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

Recreational Therapist

Medical Sonographer

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.