Yes, medical assisting is a great career choice! Especially if you care about the well being of others and want a rewarding career choice. Medical assistants are a vital part of healthcare.
What is a Medical Assistant?
A medical assistant, also known as a MA, is a medical professional who is responsible for working alongside physicians in medical care facilities. In this position, you will have administrative and clinical duties.
Administrative duties include:
- Arranging hospital admissions and lab services
- Entering and updating patient records
- Billing and insurance forms
- Greeting patients
- Scheduling appointments
- Answering phones
Clinical duties include:
- Assisting physicians during an exam
- Authorizing prescription refills
- Changing patients dressings and removing sutures
- Drawing blood and collecting lab specimens
- Helping patients understand medical treatments and therapies
- Taking the medical history of patients
- Preparing medical therapies and administering them under the direction of a physician
- Preparing patients for exams
- Taking vital signs
Medical assistants can work in different types of practices and can specialize in different medical fields. A few examples of specialties could be cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, family medicine, geriatrics, internal medicine, OB/GYN, oncology, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, transplant surgery, urology, and women’s health.
Caris College Medical Assisting Program
At Caris College, in a short 10 months, you can receive a diploma from Caris College’s Medical Assisting School. At Caris, the program uses a hands-on clinical lab approach to medical assisting. This gives the students an opportunity to practice real-world simulations under supervision.
Caris College is accredited by ABHES and provide externship opportunities. Caris College graduates will not only learn the skills needed to secure once of the highest-demand positions but will also receive lifetime job placement assistance throughout your MA career.
7 Pros of Medical Assisting As a Career Choice
- The path to becoming a medical assistant is relatively short. The path to becoming a MA is 10-months at Caris College and includes on-campus training as well as externship hours.
- You can work in different locations. MAs have a wide variety of medical facilities they can work in. These facilities can range from clinics to assisted living facilities and everything in between.
- You can build relationships with patients. As an MA, you greet the patients. In this role, you are able to build relationships with the patients as you prepare them for exams and get them ready for their appointment.
- When you are certified, you can work in any state. As an MA, you can take a certification exam so you are able to work in any state. Not all clinics require MAs to be certified, but if you are certified you will be recognized by every state.
- You can work regular hours. As an MA, if you are working in a clinic you only work when they are open. Typically, the MAs schedule is fairly regular.
- You can gain experience before you graduate. Every program is different, some require the students to complete an internship or externship while earning their degree. Caris College provides an externship. This will help you gain experience before you begin your career.
- You’ll be in high demand. MAs are in high demand and this occupation is growing much faster than most other occupations.
Demand for Medical Assistants
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of medical assistants is expected to grow 23% from 2018 to 2028. Also, they have predicted that over 150,000 new MA positions will be added between 2018 and 2028.
There are many reasons behind the demand for MAs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics mentions that the growth of the aging baby-boom population will continue to increase demand for preventive medical services. Resulting in the need for more medical assistants to perform routine administrative and clinical duties.
Similar Career Paths and Programs at Caris College
Caris College offers its 10-month Medical Assisting program as well as other healthcare-related programs.
Dental Assisting
Caris College offers a 10-month Dental Assisting Program accredited by ABHES. In Indiana, dental assisting is in demand and the number of jobs is expected to increase by 18.69% between 2016-2026. Nationally there is a demand for dental assistants, too. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, dental assistant employment is expected to grow 11% from 2018 to 2028. For more information on dental assisting in Indiana, view the article by Caris College “Dental Assistant Training in Indiana.”
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Caris College offers a 24-month Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program accredited by ABHES. Diagnostic medical sonographers are in high demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment is expected to grow 14% from 2018-2028. For more information on the medical sonography program and their hands-on experience and personal thoughts on the program, view the articles “Ultrasound Students Learn Hands-On During Clinicals” and “Ultrasound Students Complete First Year of The Sonography Program: Here’s What They Think So Far” by Caris College.
Are you ready to start your new career as a Medical Assistant? Schedule a tour of our campus to view our labs and talk one-on-one with an admissions advisor.