The career outlook for medical assistants is positive. This is mostly due to the fact that the healthcare industry is one of the only industries that consistently demonstrates growth.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employment is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2008–18 decade. Employment of medical assistants is expected to grow 34 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. Job opportunities should be very good, particularly for those with formal training or experience, and certification.
Many healthcare facilities already require certification, which is relatively easy to obtain and does not typically require a four-year degree.
There are an increasing number of outpatient clinics, nursing homes, rehab facilities, doctors' offices, hospitals (both private and public), urgent care clinics, and more. These facilities all need medical assistants to run smoothly. The increasing prevalence of conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease also will increase demand for healthcare services and medical assistants.
Medical assistant jobs include both clerical and clinical duties, combining administrative experience with healthcare. Their duties vary depending on what kind of healthcare facility they are employed at.
These workers update and file patients' medical records, take fees, fill out insurance forms, schedule appointments, take patient documents, and arrange for hospital admissions and laboratory services. They also perform tasks such as answering telephones, greeting patients, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, and handling billing and bookkeeping. They may follow up with insurance companies and help patients with claims.
Some of these workers are clinical medical assistants, meaning they perform administrative and healthcare duties. These include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, prepping rooms for nurses and doctors, preparing patients for examinations, and assisting physicians during examinations. They can even perform basic lab tests and interpret results.
They may also dispose of contaminated medical supplies such as needles, gauze, or dressings and sterilize equipment.
Clinical medical assistants may instruct patients about medications and special diets, prepare and administer medications, answer questions, authorize drug refills, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, give vaccinations, draw blood, prepare patients for x rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, take x-rays, and change dressings.
There are also more specialized medical assistants, depending on the type of physician or doctor's office they work for. For example, chiropractic medical assistants may prepare a patient for an exam and take x-rays. Ophthalmic medical assistants conduct diagnostic tests, measure and record vision, test eye muscle function, apply eye dressings, show patients how to insert, remove, and care for contact lenses, provide chair-side assistance, instruct patients about contact lens use and care, conduct preliminary tests on patients, and provide assistance while working directly with an optometrist.
Podiatrist medical assistants take x-rays, remove dressings and bandages, clean and dress wounds, make castings of feet, develop x-rays, give shots, and assist during surgery.
Pediatric medical assistants may take vital signs of children, ask questions, give developmental tests, administer vaccinations, take medical histories, and get the weight and height of patients.
