The career paths for medical assistants are plentiful, and while some opportunities for advancement require a higher education degree, some don’t call for a degree at all. Here, Prism Career Institute outlines the potential career tracks available for medical assistants that can be obtained with clinical training at a career training school.
- 1.Administrative Medical Assistant
The majority of administrative medical assistants work in hospitals or physicians’ offices. As an administrative medical assistant, you’ll be tasked with a wide variety of clerical work. Typical job duties include scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records, submitting health insurance claims and coordinating medical tests. They may also be in charge of billing, payment transactions and bookkeeping.
- 2.Clerical Medical Assistant
Like administrative medical assistants, clerical medical assistants are responsible for front office duties. However, they’re involved in a greater number of secretarial tasks, like scheduling appointments, answering phones and greeting patients. Clerical medical assistants also serve as a liaison between physicians, nurses and patients to help ensure a positive experience.
- 3.Clinical Medical Assistant
If you prefer to be involved in the direct care of patients, then the clinical medical assistant career track might be the right path for you. Clinical medical assistants perform a vast array of duties, which vary from job to job. They’re often responsible for taking medical histories, lending a helping hand during examinations, educating patients on diagnoses and treatments and so much more.
- 4.Specialization Options
Interested in a specific field rather than general medicine? The medical assisting field has many paths to suit your interests. You could work at an ophthalmologists’ office and teach patients about eye health. Or, you could work in a chiropractic setting, assisting the chiropractor with holistic treatments. If you prefer a more hands-off approach, you could also pursue a career as a medical lab assistant.
- 5.Pediatric Medical Assistant
Working with children requires an extra level of compassion and patience. However, using your medical assistant degree to pursue a position in a pediatrician’s office, children’s hospital or other pediatric medical facility can be an extremely rewarding career path for those who love kids. Your days will include many of the standard clinical and administrative duties faced by most medical assistants, but can also involve building a rapport with children who may be nervous or scared, explaining procedures in age-appropriate terms and, sometimes most importantly, putting a smile on little ones’ faces.
Ready to Get Started?
Enroll in the Medical Assistant Program at Prism Career Institute, and receive the medical education and career-focused training you need to embark on the exciting medical assisting career track. Call admissions today at 1-888-966-8146 to learn more about our programs and the full spectrum of medical assistant careers.