If you are considering medical assistant career training, you may have heard of externships. These are valuable opportunities to shadow working medical assistants and gain real-world experience. More than that, externships can also lead to job offers. Prism Career Institute provides a Medical Assistant training program with externship opportunities. Here, we explore the benefits of medical assistant externships and how to turn your training into an employment offer.
What Is a Medical Assistant Externship?
First, it may help to define what an externship is. Many people are familiar with internships, or positions offered by businesses to prepare new workers for jobs in their industry. Internships involve reporting to a supervisor while completing basic tasks that are typical of their future careers. They generally last for a few months, and they may or may not be paid.
Externships function similarly to internships, but with a few key differences. They are less formal than internships, are unpaid, and typically focus more on observation. They are also shorter. A single externship placement may last a single day up to a few weeks. Most medical assistant programs require a minimum number of externship hours to graduate. Students meet this total by participating in many externships at different locations, gaining a wide range of experiences.
What Do You Do During a Medical Assistant Externship?
Medical assistant externships typically involve shadowing a professional during their day-to-day work. This provides an opportunity to learn by watching full-fledged medical assistants in action. You may also assist with some basic tasks under close supervision, including:
- Greeting patients
- Taking vital signs
- Preparing patients for examination
- Assisting with diagnostic tests
- Caring for wounds and changing bandages
- Filling and updating medical records
- Scheduling appointments
The types of tasks you’ll complete will depend on your placement. Future medical assistants could complete externships at a variety of locations, such as:
- Hospitals
- Specialist clinics
- Assisted living communities
- Urgent care centers
- Rehabilitation centers
- Blood banks
- Physician’s Offices
At these locations, you’ll work alongside other professionals in the medical industry, including nurses, doctors, and pharmacists. These healthcare providers offer additional supervision and guidance while you complete your tasks.
Are Medical Assistant Externships Typically Paid or Unpaid?
Medical assistant externships are typically unpaid. Instead of an earning opportunity, externships should be viewed as a chance to prepare for your future career. Externships provide a variety of benefits outside of income, including:
- Preparedness: Externships set your expectations for day-to-day work as a medical assistant, helping you prepare for your future career.
- Confidence: When you know what to expect from a future workplace, you are able to enter your first job placement with greater confidence.
- Exploration: Externships offer the opportunity to explore multiple types of placements and discover which healthcare settings are best for you.
- Connections: At your externship, you will work alongside a variety of professionals with the chance to build relationships within the industry.
- Experience: You will also gain hands-on job experience that can be listed on a resume, making you a stronger candidate for hiring.
These benefits mean that, while externships don’t provide any income in the short term, they do equip you with skills, experience, and connections that may improve your earnings in the long term. Completing an externship can be considered an investment in your future.
From Student to Employee: Getting a Job Offer from Your Externship
Not only do medical assistant externships improve your future employability, but in some cases, they lead directly to job offers. Externships are an opportunity to demonstrate your training progress, dedication, and other qualities to prospective employers. If hiring departments like what they see, they may offer you a position after graduation. For the employer, this guarantees a worker with the work ethic and trainability they look for. For you, this means a fast track into your first job.
Participating in an externship does not guarantee a job offer. Instead, you get what you put into it. If you put effort into preparing, learning, and building strong relationships, you’ll be more likely to impress an employer or create connections that can get you a job. This is why Prism Career Institute encourages students to approach externships with enthusiasm and a ready attitude.
Gain Job-Ready Experience with an Externship at Prism Career Institute
A medical assistant externship is your bridge from the classroom to your career. At Prism Career Institute, we understand the importance of real-world experience, which is why our Medical Assistant program includes a valuable externship component. Let us help you get the hands-on practice that leads to job offers. Contact us at a campus near you in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, or West Atlantic City, NJ, to learn more about externships. Apply online to start learning.