Medical assistant has the option, with the right training, experience and qualifications, to make a major transition and cross train into a number of rewarding and challenging health care careers.
By Colin McLean. A medical assistant has the option, with the right training, experience and qualifications, to make a major transition and cross train into a number of rewarding and challenging health care careers. Utilize your training and go from being a medical assistant to: Nursing Assistant. A trained medical assistant may even opt to become a nursing assistant to help to support hospital-nursing staff. It is a tough job, often requiring heavy lifting of patients and clean up. If you’re right out of medical assisting school, you’re likely to join the workforce as an entry-level CMA. Gaining experience, becoming proficient in skills and widening your medical knowledge base are all tools you’ll need to advance in your career as a medical assistant. You may decide to aim for a management job, work in a competitive area of medicine or go into teaching. What Medical Assistants Do About this section. Medical assistants often take medical histories and record vital signs of patients. Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice. Medical assistants held about 560,800 jobs in 2012. Most of these assistants work in physicians’ offices and other healthcare facilities. In 2012, more than half of all medical assistants worked in physicians’ offices. Medical assisting has a relatively short training period, and it can introduce you to a range of medical duties and careers. Experienced medical assistants may want to pursue additional education in healthcare administration. Some programs, termed allied health management, build on the skills medical assistants learn during their initial training period. They are, in essence, degree completion programs. Since most medical assistants work in physician’s offices and clinics, this career provides a clean, well-lighted employment environment with typical working hours that include 8-hour days, 5 days per week. Medical assisting is one of the most in-demand careers in healthcare. In order to become a medical assistant, candidates may be able to train on the job or can choose from a variety of medical assistant training programs that last anywhere from 8 months to two years. The median annual wage for medical assistants was $29,370 in May 2012. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,080, and the top 10 percent earned more than $41,570. Medical assistants held about 560,800 jobs in 2012. Most of these assistants work in physicians’ offices and other healthcare facilities. In 2012, more than half of all medical assistants worked in physicians’ offices. The BLS reports that the median wage for a medical assistant was $29,610 in 2013, up slightly from the prior year. The best-paid 10 percent of medical assistants made more than $41,910, while the bottom 10 percent made less than $21,280.  Consider transferring the medical assistant training and skills you have developed to become a medical transcriptionist. Clinics, hospitals and medical insurance companies, to name a few, often value competent medical transcriptionist candidates who can hit the ground running on day one of the job. Nursing Assistant. A trained medical assistant may even opt to become a nursing assistant to help to support hospital-nursing staff. It is a tough job, often requiring heavy lifting of patients and clean up. Physician’s assistants must earn at least a master’s degree to practice. As with most career fields, more education equals more pay. Physician’s assistants earn an average of $86,410 a year, plus benefits. This is substantially higher than that of a medical assistant. Medical assisting is one of the most in-demand careers in healthcare. In order to become a medical assistant, candidates may be able to train on the job or can choose from a variety of medical assistant training programs that last anywhere from 8 months to two years. What Medical Assistants Do. Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice. Medical assistants held about 560,800 jobs in 2012. Most of these assistants work in physicians’ offices and other healthcare facilities. In 2012, more than half of all medical assistants worked in physicians’ offices.
http://medicalassistant.everestcollege.edu/articles/medical-assistant-training-career-path-options http://theemedicalassistants.com/how-can-a-medical-assistant-advance-her-career/ http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Medical-assistants.htm http://www.healthcarepathway.com/Health-Care-Careers/medical-assistant-advancement.html http://www.onlinemedicalassistantprograms.net/career-comparison/ http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Medical-assistants.htm http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/medical-assistant http://medicalassistant.everestcollege.edu/articles/medical-assistant-training-career-path-options http://www.onlinemedicalassistantprograms.net/career-comparison/ http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Medical-assistants.htm
what career path does a medical assistant have