I have always known I wanted to be in the medical field I just did not know where to start. Deciding to be a medical assistant was and easy choice; it is hands on but not so much that I would be stressed out, I can work in any office like a pediatrics or in an obgyn. Being a medical assistant has many opportunities for one to grow and advance in the medical field.
In many states one does not need education to become a medical assistant; they can have a high school diploma and learn on the job but many offices prefer that one has a degree. A Medical Assistant “Whether it’s in the front of the office or behind the scenes, a routine visit to the doctor is really a visit with an entire team—including a growing number of medical assistants. Medical assistants are likely the first and last faces you see during any medical appointment, either in your doctors’ offices or at a larger medical organization.
The job is a mix of traditional office work—like manning the front desk, answering phones, and filing insurance forms—as well as hands-on tasks including checking vital signs, drawing blood, sterilizing surgical equipment, and making sure medical histories are accurately recorded” (Medical assistant salary, 2012). There is a lot that Medical Assistant’s do in their field of work. Not many doctor offices do not require certification to apply as a medical assistant, “Medical assistants typically have a high school diploma or equivalent.
There are no formal educational requirements for becoming a medical assistant in most states. However, some medical assistants graduate from formal education programs, and employers may prefer such training. ” (United States Department of Labor, 2012) Official training is not essential but highly recommended. Many high schools offer course that cover those needed to provide enough education to begin a career in Medical Assisting. However, without formal training, certification is not eligible until about five years of experience is reached.
Formal education is recommended by many employers. Most accredited programs include an internship that provides practical experience in healthcare facility or physicians’ office. (AMT, 2011. ) “Most employers prefer graduates who graduated from an accredited Medical Assisting program. Accredited Medical Assisting programs are offered in postsecondary vocational schools, junior colleges and in colleges and universities. Postsecondary programs usually last either one year or less which results in a certificate or diploma or two years with an associate degree. (AMT, 2011).
So if your high school has credible courses for you to take for you to become a medical assistant I highly recommend them or if not take some collage classes that will help you in getting a medical job and just get the job training if you do not feel like taking a lot of college courses. There will always be issues going on the medical field, whether it is people cannot afford insurance or that there isn’t enough help in the offices, “A shortage of nurses has trickled down to the medical assisting field.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for medical assistants nationwide is expected to increase 59 percent by 2012. This is largely due to the increase in outpatient care. “The older population is growing more and more, living longer,” said Barbara Dahl, a former practicing CMA who heads the medical assisting program at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham. “Patients aren’t going into the hospitals unless they are extremely sick. (Vinson, 2006) Our parents and grandparents are living longer lives and becoming a medical assistant will help them live longer fuller lives.
Every career has goals, a couple of mine are is to graduate with all the classes and requirements that are necessary, keep up with science and technology, to keep up with the regulation, rules, and medical laws, o be able to read the patients chart and know exactly what it says, and most importantly to be able to make the patient feel important and that we care and happy to see them.
Five years from now I plan on seeing myself in California working in a doctor’s office checking out the appointments for the day, making sure that all the rooms have sterile equipment needed, making sure that if there are any new patients coming that they have filled out the correct insurance forms.
If a patient doesn’t speak English or doesn’t understand something help out the front desk fill by explaining what it is that they need to put down on the insurance forms for her child, or helping a seventh month pregnant woman to her ultrasound and asking her if it is a girl or a boy to make small talk. No matter what it is that I am doing, I know that I will be in a physician’s office taking a patient’s vital signs, weight, and height, helping the front desk in taking appointments, and Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
No matter where I am working as a Medical Assistant I will be working in the medical field, I will be helping patients, and I will be doing something that I love. With the education I receive at Kaplan I will be able to do those things, it will take some time but I know that with everything that I have learned along with my career goals and where I see myself it will help me achieve my dream. Being a medical assistant seems like a lot of work but I know that in the end it will all be worth it.