Daily Career Connection

Ability to find a job and job security are two of the biggest concerns for people in our economy but medical office assistants rarely suffer from these concerns.  Even in an economy that is only starting to recover, medical office assistants are finding that there are many job openings for them.  The health care field is growing and is stronger than ever and anyone who has medical training is likely to find a job.  If this field is unfamiliar to you, finding out what a medical office assistant does is your first task.

Most medical office assistants start off as a receptionist.  This gives them the ability to become more comfortable in the job without actually getting involved physically in some of the more challenging aspects of the job.  Billing and scheduling are some of the typical tasks that a medical assistant at the front desk will do. Medical coding will also be part of their job so it is important that they are knowledgeable about the diagnostic codes for diseases and disorders.  Coding is essential in this job so if you are taking a course to be a medical assistant make sure that this is part of the course.

Behind the Reception Desk

If you want to be more involved or if you want to use the medical assistant job as a springboard for going into nursing this is the part you are likely more interested in.  Behind reception is where the action takes place.  You would be likely to do things like doing readings for respiration, taking patients’ blood pressure, and drawing blood for tests.  You may prepare cultures or specimens for the lab or get patient histories.  Here contact with the patient is even more involved so your training will be very important.

Knowledge of Terminology is Essential

Medical terminology is important because you will need to use it every day.  As part of your job, you are likely to be required to transcribe notes from physicians.  These may be hand-written notes or they may be recorded audio notes.  To be able to transcribe the notes correctly, you will need to be not just familiar but very knowledgeable about terminology.  Not only is this important to be able to do it correctly but it can also affect the health and even the lives of patients.

Education and Job Outlook

Our economy is going through a lot of changes as we try to recover from the recent recession but medical office assistants that have taken the time to get good training will find that there are many jobs open to them.  As office assistants are being promoted to jobs that hold even more responsibilities as the job needs in health care increase, medical offices need people to replace them.  Those who have recently graduated from an accredited college will find that they are quick to become those replacements.

There are many business colleges that are offering training as medical office assistants and you will find that there are more options than ever before.  You can attend in class courses or you can even take courses online.  You can choose from a variety of hours that are well suited for adult learners, as well.  There are even many funding options available to help you pay for your courses.