Medical Assistant

The Medical Assistant is a multi-skilled health professional
rendering clerical, administrative and technical aid to the physician.
The help and support of a medical assistant is inevitable and it counts
a lot when the doctor is busy with great number of patients.

Duties Of A Medical Assistant

A
medical assistant generally works in the laboratory areas or in the
front/back office. The job of the medical assistant is directly
controlled by the department administrator.

Unlike the
physician’s assistants, medical assistants have to undertake/perform
some administrative and clinical duties as well. The administrative
duties incorporate attending telephone calls, scheduling appointments,
updating medical records of patients and many more. The clinical duties
are like preparing patients for medical examination, explaining
treatment procedures to the patients or assisting the physician during
the examination.

A Medical Assistant cannot perform any
independent practice or cannot make any independent decision about
treatment, diseases and/or emergency plan about the patient. The job of
a medical assistant is limited to the offices of health practitioners
such as the chiropractors, podiatrists, physicians and others and is
generally directly dependent on the practitioner’s specialty.

Academics

The
primary education of a Medical Assistant can happen in a technical
institute or community college or vocational school, technical
institute or proprietary school. If you are very much eager to be a
Medical Assistant in the future, but not interested in taking education
in any of the mentioned institute, then you can opt for the online
educational programs. Nevertheless, before taking up any particular
medical assisting program, make sure that the program is accredited by
any renowned institution.

Registration And Certification

Before
becoming a full time medical assistant, it is necessary to obtain
certification. For this you have to undergo a test conducted by the
National Board of Medical Examiners or the notable bodies. Once you
have cleared the exams successfully, then you are certified as a
registered medical assistant. If a person wants to become a Registered
Medical Assistant (RMA), then he or she should be at least 18 years of
age and should pass a medical assisting curriculum in a school
accredited by any renowned institution. To become a RMA, the person
needs to have a minimum of 5 years of experience.

Scope Of Practice By The Medical Assistant

The medical assistants have a huge scope of practice which have been listed as below:

Since
the medical assistants are not licensed, therefore, they are required
to work under the direct supervision of the licensed health care
professional like the physician or the registered nurse.

In case,
a medical assistant is working under the direct supervision of a
unlicensed health care provider, then it is necessary for both of them
to have authorization by the state for such practices as allergy
testing, needle injections, venipuncture and Mantoux skin test.
In some states, medical assistants are required to produce proof of
their qualification or seek permissions before exposing the patients to
x-rays or before blood tests, etc. Some states even require them to
pass a certain examination.

The
medical assistant acts as a communicator between the patient and the
physician. Therefore, the service of a medical assistant is
indispensable and utile in medical practice.