Differences Between an Administrative and Clinical Medical Assistants

You know you want to work in healthcare. The promises of making a difference in people's lives while getting paid excites you. You know it's a career that will provide personal fulfillment, but you don't want to spend years training. Perhaps becoming a medical assistant is the right fit for you.

Medical assistants work wherever medical care is performed, such as clinics, hospitals, physician's offices, and other healthcare facilities. They keep things running smoothly and move around in an office wherever they are needed. They perform a variety of duties that are mainly split into two categories; clinical and administrative.

Clinical Medical Assistants

Clinical medical assistants serve and the right hand of doctors and nurses. They are charged with basic and routine tasks involved in patient care. Clinical medical assistants do things like:

· Take medical histories.

· Sterilize equipment.

· Take patient vital signs.

· Draw blood.

· Change wound dressings.

· Remove sutures.

Medical assistants also prepare patients for exams, explain treatment procedures to them, and instruct them on medication and special diets. They keep everything running smoothly so physicians can move on to treat the next patient quickly and efficiently.

Administrative Medical Assistants

Administrative medical assistants are typically the first people patients see when they walk through the door. They handle a lot of clerical duties and keep the front office running. These duties include:

· Keeping various paperwork organized.

· Scheduling patients for future appointments.

· Checking patients in.

· Answering the phone.

· Processing insurance payments.

· Maintaining, stocking, and organizing supplies for the office.

Overall, administrative medical assistants support doctors and nurses by keeping the front office running. They also provide customer service and comfort to patients who are often in need of a friendly face as they prepare for a medical exam or procedure.

Becoming a Medical Assistant

The role of medical assistants is extremely valuable to the healthcare industry in both clinical and administrative roles. While there are no formal requirements to work as a medical assistant, most employers will only hire certified medical assistants who have completed an accredited training and certification program. You will learn both sides of this job through a medical assistant program like the one offered by Athena Career Academy. It will prepare you to be qualified for both an administrative medical assistant and a clinical medical assistant job position, and also one that will expect you to do the duties of both. In a large medical facility, you may have the duties and responsibilities of one or the other. In a smaller facility you may be expected to do both clinical and administrative duties.

Athena Career Academy's clinical medical assistant (CMA) program will provide you with all of the necessary skills for employment in the healthcare field. The program consists of 800 hours of training. It can be completed in as little as 7 1/2 months, plus a six-week externship. Students will receive a certificate of completion and will be eligible to take the National Certification Exam after completing the program.

If medical assisting sounds like the right career for you, contact Athena Career Academy today!