A day in the life of a medical assistant can be both diverse and demanding. Whether you provide front office administrative support, back office clinical support, or a combination of both, your workday will likely be fast-paced and busy. A career in medical assisting is rewarding work. It takes a profound passion for the profession and the drive to be your best each day.
We wanted to know a little more about the medical assistant career. Who better to ask than a medical assistant that has also chosen to dedicate her life to providing educational opportunities for future medical professionals? That’s why we sat down with Stacey Clark, a graduate of Ross Medical Education Center, who is now a Registered Medical Assistant, Certified Allied Health Instructor, and the Assistant Campus Director of Education at Ross Medical Education Center in Port Huron, Michigan. Stacey is passionate about medical assisting and providing quality education, regularly visiting the Port Huron Medical Assistant program classrooms to teach and share with students.
Stacey shared with us about a typical day on the job for a medical assistant:
“Depending on the type of medical practice and the specific job description, a dedicated medical assistant arrives early to begin their shift. The administrative medical assistant will begin the day by preparing their workstation for the day ahead. Phone messages must be retrieved and relayed to the appropriate departments, the schedule must be reviewed and paperwork prepared for the patients appointments.
“Once the phone is turned over from the answering service, the busy office atmosphere is evident. The administrative medical assistant will answer and transfer calls, relay messages, handle patient check-in and check-out, collect copays, verify insurance, enter the patient’s encounter and provide a receipt detailing the patient’s visit, balances due, and schedule follow-up visits.
“As a clinical medical assistant, the day begins with checking control logs, refilling supplies in the exam rooms, and preparing to room the first patient of the day. As patients arrive, the clinical medical assistant will call the patient to the back office, verify the patient’s name and birthdate, take the patient’s vital signs and their chief complaint or reason for their visit, and document the information prior to the physician entering the room to assess the patient. Each patient presents with a variety of medical complaints.
“Once the physician decides the course of treatment, the medical assistant may need to revisit the patient room to administer injections, draw the patient’s blood for testing, or assist the patient to another area for additional testing done in another part of the facility. The clinical medical assistant, like the administrative medical assistant, must learn to juggle the many facets of the role and keep the patient’s wait time to a minimum when possible.
“Though many tasks are done on a day to day basis, this career is anything but boring. Each day presents itself with unique challenges and rewards. The work is exhilarating and exhausting. A medical assistant is an important supporting role in any medical practice. This role is not one to take lightly. Along those lines, National Certification for medical assistants is more important than ever before.”
Interested in pursuing medical assistant training? Stacey has some direction for you!
“To sit for certification, training from an accredited school like Ross is essential. As a Registered Medical Assistant and a graduate of Ross Medical Education Center, I couldn’t be more pleased with my career choice. I have been given the opportunity to work in a field that I love. Almost 10 years ago, I was given the opportunity to work with Ross Medical Education Center and teach in the classrooms. Educating medical assistants has been the most rewarding aspect of my career to date. I often tell people “this program has paid for itself over and over again.” I have never regretted a single moment and look forward to my continued success. Thank you Ross Medical Education Center!”