Are you a natural caregiver with a passion for helping others? Do you dream of a future in the medical field, working directly with patients? Are you interested in both the clinical and administrative aspects of the healthcare industry? If so, medical assisting may just be the right career path for you.

You may have found yourself here because you are considering a future in medical assisting, but want to first learn more about what the job description entails. You may have questions like, What medical assistant duties will I be responsible for once out of school? What will my day-to-day look like? Or, What types of medical assistants can I become? As a prospective medical assisting student, these are all important questions to ask.

Medical assistants are in fact a vital component to an organization’s clinical team. They are the professionals who ensure all is running smoothly; the extra set of hands needed by nurses and physicians. They, in essence, are a strong foundation to any medical practice.

Whether in a hospital or private practice, medical assistants carry great weight on a day-to-day basis, as their role is multi-dimensional.  Medical assistants are involved in both the clinical and administrative areas of the field.  Therefore, they must possess clinical and laboratory skills as well as organizational and people skills. Alongside technical knowledge, they must also have a knack for customer service and strong sense of compassion when working in patient care.

As a leading medical assistant program in the state of Connecticut, Goodwin College centers our medical assistant curriculum around the skills that employers are looking for today. Here, we aim to bring hands-on training right to campus, preparing our students for all types of medical assistant duties and further futures in the field.  All the way from the classroom to on-the-job experiences, our medical assistant degree program bridges the gap between administrative and clinical support.

Here are some of the many medical assistant duties we will prepare you for at Goodwin College:

Administrative Medical Assistant Duties

• Greeting and welcoming patients
• Answering telephones
• Updating and filing patient records
• Ensuring patient reports, results, and information is filed and available in patients’ medical records prior to their appointments
• Scheduling patient appointments
• Filing insurance claims
• Handling bookkeeping and billing tasks
• Arranging hospital admissions or laboratory services for patients

Clinical Medical Assistant Duties

• Taking patient medical histories and personal information
• Measuring and recording patient vital signs, such as blood pressure
• Administering medications and injections as directed by a physician
• Setting up EKG machinery
• Taking ultrasounds and EKGs (may need to be licensed by state)
• Removing stitches
• Drawing blood samples and preparing them for laboratory tests
• Collecting and preparing lab specimens
• Preparing patients for examination
• Assisting physicians during exams
• Stocking medical supplies and sterilizing medical instruments
• Explaining medical procedures or treatment plans to patients

Within the field, there are many medical assistant career options you can pursue. You can choose to work in the office of a physician, hospital, or another clinical facility. Your role may vary depending on the size and type of the practice you work in, as well as if and which specialization you choose.

As a medical assistant, you can expect to work directly with physicians, nurses, and patients. You will take on many duties and your team will depend on you to complete them efficiently and effectively. Undoubtedly, medical assisting is a busy, fulfilling career, as well as a rewarding one—In Connecticut, the starting salary for medical assistants is $26,691; the average medical assistant salary is $36,133.

No matter which type of medical assistant career you choose, no matter where you desire to work, rest assured that the job outlook for medical assistants is bright. Medicine is an industry that is constantly prospering. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical careers on the whole are expected to grow 19 percent by 2024, compared to the projected 7 percent growth across all other industries. Even more, medical assistant job openings are expected to surpass many other healthcare occupations. Specifically, medical assistant careers will grow 23 percent over the next decade. For medical assistants pursuing a career in Connecticut, the career outlook is over 27 percent – an incomparable rate

From scheduling appointments to organizing insurance claims; performing laboratory tests to administering medications; from holding a hand in the waiting room to educating patients on their treatment plans, the extent of medical assistant duties is vast. Are you ready to take them on? Are you ready to jumpstart a thriving, fulfilling career in the medical field?

You can start right at Goodwin College. Here, our medical assisting degree programs are specifically designed to help aspiring medical assistants develop the skills they need to succeed. That way, prospective MAs like you can gain a solid grasp of each practice and responsibility that may come your way in the working world.

To learn about our medical assistant training program, please visit us at www.goodwin.edu/learnmore or check out all of our programs to see why we’re a leader in healthcare education in CT!