What Do Credentials and Specialization Mean for Medical Assistants?

By SCMA On 10/04/2017  

Understand what Medical Assistants do and why they are important to physicians' offices and healthcare centers.

Medical Assistants work alongside physicians and have administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities.

Their tasks include:

• Administrative duties like greeting and scheduling appointments, admitting and arranging laboratory services, maintaining medical records, insurance forms, financial bookkeeping etc.

• Clinical duties which include maintaining patient information including history of the patients, patient preparation, assisting in common procedures, first aid and emergency care, specimen collection, phlebotomy, maintaining infection control practices, pharmacology office practices, etc.

What is the job outlook for Medical Assistants?

Medical assisting is one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States. Rapid growth in the demand for health care makes this profession a great choice for people who want to get into the medical field.

The greatest demand will be for Medical Assistants who have formal education and credentials in the field. ⁽¹⁾

According to U.S Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 23 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations. As their practices expand, physicians will hire more assistants to perform routine administrative and clinical duties, allowing the physicians to see more patients. ⁽²⁾

Why do physicians prefer to hire Medical Assistants with formal certification and specialization?

Certification of a Medical Assistant ensures better productivity in terms of both patient and clinic management. Therefore, physicians are at ease when they have a certified, specialized Medical Assistant and a specialty-trained assistant gives them the leeway to see more patients and improve their practice. Specialization further ensures that a Medical Assistant understands a field over and above others, besides carrying out the general duties of a Medical Assistant.

Check Out Our Medical Assistant Certifications By Specialty

Is there any state regulation in United States for licensing a Medical Assistant?

No states currently license or individually regulate medical assistant practice, duties may vary on a state-by-state basis. Some states do require special training for certain duties to be performed by the medical assistant. ⁽¹⁾

Reference:

Kaplan. Medical Assistant Exam Strategies, Practice & Review with Practice Test (Kaplan Medical Assistant Exam Review).5th Edition: p3- 4.

Available from: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-assistants.