by Kimberly James
A medical assistant carries out clinical and administrative duties in the offices of doctors and other medical practitioners. The tasks he/she performs vary depending on the type, size and location of a medical practice.
In smaller practices, a medical assistant usually performs both administrative and clinical functions, reporting to either a physician or an office administrator. On the other hand, he/she tends to specialize and reports to a supervisor or department administrator in larger practices.
The administrative functions of a medical assistant include correspondence, answering telephone calls, filling out insurance forms, scheduling appointments, updating and filing medical records of patients, handling medical billing and accounting, greeting patients, and arranging for hospital room admission.
The clinical functions on the other hand, vary in relation with individual state law. Some of the clinical functions of a medical assistant may include taking medical histories, preparing patients for examinations, taking blood samples, changing the bed sheets and pillowcases, changing the clothes of disabled patients, sterilizing medical instruments, recording vital signs such as blood pressure and pulse.
Medical Assistants may be required to remove sutures, explaining treatment procedures to patients, providing the physician assistance during examinations, taking electrocardiograms, maintaining medical equipment and supplies, instructing patients about diets to be followed and medications to be taken, performing basic laboratory tests, preparing formulas and medications as directed by a physician, administering those medications to patients, collecting and preparing specimens needed in the laboratory, preparing patients for X-ray tests, disposing of contaminated supplies, and allowing drug refills as directed.
Medical assistants are different from physicians’ assistants. The latter normally have more extensive clinical functions. Some medical assistants in the offices of specialists are given extra clinical functions that are specialized. The typical work schedule of a medical assistant is a 40-hour work week. Some work part-time, nights or weekends.
A medical assistant deals with all sorts of patients, ranging from the most gentle to the most irritable and with medical conditions ranging from the most minor such as fever to the most life-threatening such as cancer. Because of these, certain job skills are required in a medical assistant.
He/she must be cheerful, polite and well-mannered to put patients at ease and efficiently deal with the public. He/she must have manual adroitness and visual keenness to perform particular clinical functions. He/she must also personally have a respect for privacy of other because the medical records of patients are deemed confidential, thus, he/she must have strong ethical standards and professional observance of confidentiality.
He/she must have extreme perseverance and patience in dealing with irritable patients and performing tiring routine duties. A strong attention to detail is also a must so that clinical functions are done efficiently and accurately. He/she must have excellent communication skills, both in speaking and listening, to clearly explain the physician’s instructions. A sense of organization is also a must, because this is needed in filing and sorting patient records and other administrative functions.