Towards the end of their studies at Prism Career Institute, students in our Medical Assistant Diploma Program are required to complete an externship in the field. This opportunity yields an array of benefits, from providing hands-on experience to putting everything you’ve learned in the classroom into practice. However, a medical assistant externship can also be a challenging time as you adjust and learn all you can about your future profession. Here’s a look at some of the top difficulties externs face during this time.
Learning to Multitask
It can be overwhelming enough for future medical assistants to learn and perfect all of the various clinical and administrative tasks that will be expected of them upon gaining employment. What often comes as a surprise to these students, however, is that they will encounter situations every day that require them to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. You’ll have to learn to multitask efficiently to perform the following duties at a moment’s notice:
- Collecting the medical history and pertinent information of each patient
- Preparing patients for exams or procedures and assisting doctors and nurses during appointments
- Administering medications, blood tests, vital sign checks, and electrocardiograms (EKGs)
- Providing each patient with information on what to expect during their exam, treatment, or procedure, as well as explaining how to take their medications or stick to their special diets
- Handling a variety of administrative duties including welcoming patients, answering emails and phone calls, scheduling appointments, updating medical records, billing, and bookkeeping
Receiving Constructive Criticism…And Learning From It
It’s a necessary part of your professional growth. It can be common to feel discouraged after receiving constructive criticism from your superiors during a medical assistant externship. Instead of taking any negative feedback personally, use it to your advantage and learn from your mistakes. You will need to find ways to improve your performance, apply new skills, and appreciate how far you’ve come on your career journey since starting your education at Prism Career Institute.
Achieving a Work-Life Balance
By the time you’ve started your medical assistant externship, your life outside of work has probably gone through some transitions. From balancing schoolwork with your required 275 externship hours to adjusting to your future profession, your schedule can become very busy, and you still have much to learn before gaining full-time employment. You may even find work at a healthcare facility that is open 24/7, so it can be difficult to establish a routine if you’re changing between daytime and nighttime shifts.
As confusing and challenging as this time might be, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s all going to be worth it in the long-run. Once you’ve completed your medical assistant externship and receive your diploma from Prism Career Institute, you’ll be in an optimal position to secure full-time employment which will eventually make it easier to achieve a work-life balance in your new endeavor.
A Challenging Externship Will Lead to a Rewarding Career as a Medical Assistant
It’s essential to choose a career training program that enables you to tap into a strong network of contacts, which can set you up with the right medical assistant externship for your interests and career goals. That way, the challenges you encounter along the way won’t deter you from doing your best and becoming fully prepared for the road ahead. You’ll find just that at Prism Career Institute – contact us today, and if you’re ready to begin your journey, apply online.