Medical assistants take on a wide range of different roles and responsibilities throughout a given day. While these professionals are tasked with handling both clinical and administrative tasks, they perform a wide variety of different clinical duties. Prism Career Institute provides healthcare training programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill and West Atlantic City, New Jersey. Here, our team explores the expected medical assistant clinical duties to help you better understand the role.
Medical Assistant Clinical Duties
Medical assistants spend their days working alongside other medical professionals, such as doctors and nurses. While they aren’t relied upon to provide diagnoses, perform surgery, or prescribe medications, their versatility makes them one of the most important team members. Your daily duties will depend on your work environment, however, some of the clinical duties you’ll need to do include the following:
Taking Vitals
Regardless of the reason for a patient’s visit, one of the first things that needs to be done is taking their vital signs. This helps doctors better understand their condition and overall health, which will come in handy when considering which medications to prescribe or which treatment options to administer. Checking vital signs is not overly complicated but does involve an array of different tools and equipment. You’ll be asked to check the patient’s pulse, respiration, pulse oximetry, blood pressure, and body temperature. You may also be tasked with collecting samples depending on the purpose of the visit.
Assisting in Physical Exams
In general, the patient’s doctor will be the one performing the physical exams. However, medical assistants will need to be well-trained on these exams as they may be asked to help. Some procedures medical assistants will need experience performing include eye and ear irrigation, pediatric exams, gynecologic exams, newborn screening tests, and more. Those in this position can also help educate patients on exams, such as instructing women how to properly perform a self-breast examination.
Non-Invasive Procedures
Medical assistants are asked to carry out several different non-invasive tests on patients. These include urine tests to help determine pregnancy, electrocardiograms to assess heart function, and more. You may also be asked to administer immunizations and medications, remove stitches or staples, change wound dressings, apply ice bags, and more. For patients who are receiving mobility aids and other devices, you’ll need to help them learn how to use them properly.
Invasive Procedures
While many doctors will undertake these procedures on their own, medical assistants must be prepared to lend a helping hand. Minor surgeries, including biopsies, colposcopies, incisions, and drainage may be required to be performed in the office. This can help treat cysts, boils, ingrown toenails, and even infections. In some cases, you may need to assist during emergency medical procedures.
Other Duties of a Medical Assistant
As a medical assistant, you’ll need to display strong organization and communication skills every day. Listening to patients as they describe their symptoms, recording and updating their medical histories, and passing pertinent information on to their doctors is a critical part of the job. This helps ensure no detail is forgotten.
You’ll also need to help patients understand any new medications and how they work to ensure they feel comfortable taking them. If patients have recently made lifestyle or dietary changes that may impact their health, you’ll need to make note of this so that doctors can identify any potential correlation between these changes and the patient’s medical issues.
Our Medical Assistant School
The medical assistant program at Prism Career Institute is available at our campuses in Philadelphia, PA, as well as Cherry Hill and West Atlantic City, NJ. Our curriculum helps students get expansive medical assistant training from our passionate instructors. The program runs for 40 weeks and requires 720 total hours, including a mix of classroom and online lectures, lab hours, and externship hours, offering both traditional textbook learning as well as hands-on, practical training. Our NJ campuses even allow students to enroll in evening classes to give busy learners the convenience they need.
Once you have completed the program, you’ll be eligible to take the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam provided by the National Healthcare Association (NHA). Should you decide to take the exam, we’ll even cover your exam fee to help you further your education and jumpstart your career.
Work Towards Your Future by Enrolling in Our Program
The role of a medical assistant is one that anyone interested in helping others should consider. You’ll get to work with like-minded professionals in a fast-paced environment, and the range of medical assistant clinical duties means each day will feel fresh. We offer programs in PA and NJ, and our financial aid department is prepared to assist you when it comes to payment plans. Contact us today or apply online if you’re ready to enroll.