Becoming a Medical Assistant: Multitasking and Organizational Skills

Medical assistants are skilled multitaskers. Their hands, eyes and ears are always tuned in to what’s going on around them. It’s a skill refined by necessity and mastered through experience. Multitasking and organizational skills are valuable competencies, equally essential to anything learned in training. 

Fine tuning your multitasking and organizational skills is helpful in any career, but especially for those who become a medical assistant. Enhancing soft skills like multitasking and organizing can make you a better, more competent, and highly sought-after medical assistant. 

Experienced medical assistants organize and multitask daily without skipping a beat. How do they do it?

Triaging Phone Calls 

Answering phone calls from anxious patients is a big part of what medical assistants do. If you become a medical assistant, you’ll collect information from patients for physicians, separating relevant information from irrelevant details. During phone calls, you’ll need to enter data into the system as the patient is speaking, while also searching the patient file for history or other data the doctor might need. For example, if the patient is calling about flu symptoms, you will likely be scanning their chart to determine the date of their last flu vaccination. 

The more information you collect while speaking with the patient, the easier it will be for the provider to make treatment decisions, so having strong organizational and multitasking abilities is a must. 

Managing the Schedule 

Managing the schedule in a multi-physician practice is the ultimate multitasking experience. Before scheduling an appointment, medical assistants must know which providers are available, as well as know which supplies and instruments are needed in each exam room. For example, a patient complaining of chest pain, may require an EKG. Coordinating patient care with other clinical staff is an essential part of the job as well.

Rooming Patients 

If you become a medical assistant, you’ll be among the first to greet patients. You will also escort patients into exam rooms, take vital signs, and review and record medical histories. As the doctor’s first set of eyes and ears on a patient, it’s critical that your multitasking skills are ever vigilant as you are the person who will communicate vital information about the patient to the physician.

Assisting the Physician 

Many physicians perform minor procedures in their offices. When asked to assist with a procedure, you can expect to prepare equipment, pass instruments, and collect samples. It’s not uncommon for things to change quickly. Patients may need emotional support. Procedures may also reveal the unexpected, prompting quick decisions, additional treatments, and changes to aftercare. You must be flexible and able to multitask to ensure everything goes smoothly from start to finish. 

Unexpected Situations 

Emergencies and unplanned scenarios are commonplace in healthcare facilities. You may have done your best to prioritize your workflow so you could spend some time organizing a messy supply cabinet, only to have a coworker go home early and you’re left to take over their responsibilities. A light schedule can quickly become full. The key to effective multitasking is to start each day with a clean slate, reassess your priorities, and re-organize your workflow as needed. 

Ready to Become a Medical Assistant? 

Are you ready to put your multitasking and organizational skills to the test? If you’re excited about beginning your training to become a medical assistant, Athena Career Academy can help. The decision to become a medical assistant is filled with rewards and endless possibilities. Get your career off to the best start possible with a quality education, superior training, and expert guidance from seasoned multitaskers. Contact us to learn more about how to get started today.