Exploring Different Specialties for Medical Assistants: Finding Your Niche

Becoming a medical assistant can open so many doors for you in the healthcare field. Once you have become a medical assistant, you can explore where you think you will be most successful. When you find your niche, there are additional training options that can allow you to advance in your career. The time when you are in the process of becoming a medical assistant is a great time to explore your options.

Becoming a Medical Assistant in a Clinical Setting

In a clinical setting, a medical assistant works with the medical team to provide the best possible experience for patients. As a medical assistant, you will usually be the first member of the team to interact with a patient, so you need to have strong interpersonal skills to set patients at ease. You will take medical histories, vital signs, and convey that information to the rest of the team. During the exam, you may be needed for other tasks. As you gain more experience and get additional training for new procedures, you can begin to advance in your career.

Becoming a Medical Assistant in an Administrative Role

Many medical assistants assume they’ll work in a clinical setting, but this isn’t always the case. Many medical assistants are needed for administrative roles that will keep a medical office running smoothly. As a medical assistant in an administrative role, you’ll manage appointment scheduling, billing, communicating with insurance companies, and speaking with patients and other medical offices on the phone. Administrative medical assistants can advance in their careers to become office managers, but they will need to hone their organizational and interpersonal skills to be successful.

Exploring Different Medical Specialties

When you work with different specialties, you will have different responsibilities. There are many different medical specialties, but some of the most popular places for medical assistants to work include:

• Endocrinology: Working with disorders in the endocrine system, such as diabetes.

In endocrinology, you will likely have more phlebotomy tasks and will be responsible for collecting samples, giving injections, and assisting with medication. 

• Cardiology: Working with heart patients.

If you are interested in cardiology, you will likely need to have additional training to learn to perform tests as well as giving the doctor the results. Because you’ll be seeing a high-risk population, you will likely need specialized certifications. 

• Ophthalmology: Working with eye disorders

If you are fascinated with vision and eye disorders, you may want to look into becoming a medical assistant in an ophthalmology office. You will need additional schooling to be certified, but you will be able to administer a basic eye test, teach patients to insert and remove contacts, and assist with tests and procedures.

Working with Different Populations

Are you great with kids? Maybe becoming a medical assistant in a pediatric office or a family medicine clinic is the right fit for you. Do you connect well with the elderly? Compassionate and caring medical assistants can find a great fit in geriatrics. Are you fascinated by the idea of working with pregnant patients? OB-GYN could be your calling. These three specialties will all require you to have strong clinical skills, but you can hone your soft skills to fit best with each population. In a family medical setting, you may be tasked with putting children who may be scared or crying, along with their anxious parents, at ease.

When you can help calm down a nervous child, the appointment can be far easier for everyone. Working with geriatrics may require you to understand how to navigate Medicare insurance and help your patients manage their care as they age and their needs change. In OB-GYN, you’ll often help women who may feel uncomfortable or nervous about procedures or pregnancy, and you will have the opportunity to assist with different procedures. In all of these age populations, the more you learn, the better you will be.

There are many options for jobs as a medical assistant, but when you find your niche, you will be the most successful. Take the time during your training to become a medical assistant to explore the different requirements of each role to determine the best fit for you. If you’re ready to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to become a medical assistant, contact Athena Career Academy to learn more about how to enroll.