Definition Of An Medical Assistant
Children often don't like going to the doctor. When poked, pricked and prodded, they cry and sometimes even scream. After working as an online medical assistant program assistant in a pediatric virtual office for four years, Lisa Snaders is accustomed to the outbursts and enjoys her job.
And she's not the only one. Her job is one of the 10 fastest-growing occupations through the year 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "I wanted to go into the medical field as a online medical assistant program assistant because I saw there were jobs everywhere, and I knew I wouldn't have problems finding a job," said Sanders, 24, a medical assistant at Baby and Child Associates in Kansas City.
The increase in jobs reflects the growth of the industry and the number of health-care practices that use support personnel. Job prospects will be best for those with formal training or experience and those who work in outpatient settings.
"We've hired medical assistants in our office for 20 years, and it's always been a difficult process to find a person who seemed to possess enough personal qualities to assure they would be a good medical assistant," said Frank Vaughters, pediatrician at Baby and Child Associates. "It does entail a great amount of responsibility. It isn't a job that everybody can do and succeed at." Medical assistants work in physician's offices or clinics of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and optometrists. They work with patients - taking vital signs, administering medications and injections, and sometimes performing routine laboratory tests. They also might perform administrative tasks, including scheduling, billing and insurance processing. Medical assistants should not be confused with physician assistants, who examine, diagnose and treat patients under direct supervision of the physician. They should be courteous and attentive to details regarding a patient's condition that might need to be passed on to the doctor. "The medical assistants need to take the job very seriously,"Vaughters said. "They are an important part of the medical team of an office and can have an impact in the quality of care that is given. It's a pretty important role." Kim Staley, a medical assistant for Carondelet Family Medical Care of Kansas City, knows her job is important. "I very much like that I'm helping people on a daily basis. I get to meet lots of new people and get to spend every day working with children, which I love," Staley said. She has worked in the field for nine years.
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