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The Medical Assistant Career
Medical assisting is really a field of opportunities for individuals who enjoy working alongside with doctors, nurses, and other allied health care professionals in a medical office or clinic. The common goal is the health care and health management of men and women of all ages, ethnicity, and walks of life.
What's the Role of the Medical Assistant?
Generally the medical assistant (MA) is really an experienced, multiskilled professional who plays an important role within the medical office reception and administrative area, or even the clinical floors in the back. Those invoved with the leading office schedule appointments, greet the patients, handle referrals, call and return telephone calls from patients, call the pharmacy, oversee paperwork, handle correspondence, make certain lab test answers are mailed to patients, request hospital admission, and take care of billing and bookkeeping.
People who work with the physicians and nursing staff in the back-office call the patients in in the waiting area, place their vital signs, demonstrate to them towards the exam room and treatment areas, question them about the reason behind their visit, and collect information like a list of medications. They collect specimens as ordered and make sure that lab work is done and followed up on, help with examinations and treatments, sterilize instruments and supplies, help with minor surgery, and administer medications as ordered by the physician, and finally, make sure the office's onhand way to obtain medications is correctly maintained and samples are restocked, and waiting areas and exam rooms are clean and attractive.
Men In Medical Assisting
Traditionally, medical assisting is a profession covered with women, primarily due to biased training and recruiting because of misconceptions about men in the health and medical care workforce. However, truth is, opportunities abound for males and ladies alike. The key to a successful medical practice or clinic is to hire COMPETENT personnel to deal with routine tasks, NOT hire by gender. When given a chance, men, much like their female counterparts, make highly valued and respected people in the medical office team.
Medical Assistant Training
Formal training, while generally preferred, is not always required. Some are trained at work, even though this is becoming increasingly less common. Applicants usually need a senior high school diploma, or even the equivalent, after which enter an 9-12 month long vocational training course to earn their medical assisting diploma.
Recommended senior high school courses include mathematics, health sciences, biology, typing, bookkeeping, computers, and office skills. Because MA students must acquire both administrative skills, and competencies, and clinical skills and competencies prior volunteer experience in the healthcare field, or working as a nurse assistant or home health aide can be very helpful. Although there is no licensing requirements some States require these to take a test or perhaps a course before they are able to perform certain tasks, for example taking x-rays.
Occupational Outlook
Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics the area will be among the fastest growing occupations with the year 2010. Medical assistants held about 329,000 jobs in 2000. 60 % worked in physicians' offices; 15 % worked in hospitals, including in- and outpatient facilities. The remainder were used in nursing facilities, offices of other health practitioners along with other healthcare facilities. Employers would rather hire experienced or certified applicants who have passed a national certification examination, indicating that the person meet certain standards of competence.
An essential Question
Recently I was asked whether a medical assistant has to know how medications are prescribed and also the strength of drugs. I explained, that effective and safe drug therapy requires more than simply handing out medications as ordered, or administering a drug to some patient as prescribed. Even though it is not inside the MAs scope of practice to independently order medications or write prescriptions a significant part of the repertoire of skills is really a basic understanding of pharmacology.
An MA is anticipated to have a basic knowledge of common types medications and be familiar with common names of prescription medications, their logo and generic names, their usual indications, and their recommended dosages, and dosage forms. They also must understand the main difference between regulated drugs and also over the Counter (OTC) medications, and laws associated with them.
Furthermore, they are likely to know the purpose and effect of drugs, conditions under which drugs may or may not be utilized (i.e. pregnancy, drug interactions, toxicity,) have the ability to summarize possible reactions to some drug, understand all medical terms and abbreviations that show up on a prescription label and on an itemized prescription, properly get rid of regulated substances in compliance with government guidelines and office policies and operations. The most efficient method to get ready for these responsibilities would be to know basics of pharmacology. Only this way do they really notify the health care provider under whom they work of medications that the patient is taking, and medicines are properly administered, stored, and discarded.
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Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 -
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