Some people in healthcare want a job that includes mostly behind-the-scenes, office-based functions. Others want a job that involves working with patients. People who want to spend their workdays doing all of these functions may be drawn to a career as a medical assistant.

Benefits of Career

In a healthcare environment, everyone works to help patients. Some people work behind the scenes, and others work directly with patients. Medical assistants often have the best of both worlds. They may schedule patient appointments, conduct lab tests, and help to provide patient care. They are vital to the success and efficiency of a hospital or doctor’s office, so their work is not to be underestimated.

There are other advantages to this career, as well. The schedule can be more predictable than many other jobs in the healthcare field; in addition, the career is stable because there will always be a need for people in this role.

Education

Medical assistant education programs provide aspiring medical assistants with the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in this career. The program is a relatively brief duration, but it is rigorous and covers a variety of topics to prepare medical assistants for the role, which may include clerical work, as well as taking medical histories, recording vital signs, preparing patients for their exams, and explaining the treatment to patients.

Salary

The healthcare industry covers a wide variety of settings. Many people work in hospitals, and others work in clinics, physicians’ offices, dental offices, outpatient care centers, and so on. For medical assistants, as for other positions in healthcare, the salary may differ based on the setting. However, the recent median annual wage was $31,540; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,870, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $45,310.

A medical assistant’s salary may also depend partly on the duties of the job. Medical assistants who perform only clerical duties will make, on average, less than those who perform clerical duties and provide patient care. Generally speaking, the more responsibilities a medical assistant has, the greater the salary.

Finding a Job

There’s good news for medical assistants and those aspiring to this career: the field is experiencing job growth. This may be due to a combination of factors: a predicted surge in the number of physicians’ offices and outpatient care facilities, technological advancements, and a growing number of elderly Americans who need medical treatment.

It may help to make this growth a little more concrete. The healthcare industry overall is experiencing rapid growth, and the projections for medical assistants reflect that. Medical assistant jobs are projected to increase by 23 percent through 2024; this is more than three times faster than the national average of seven percent.

Do You Want to be a Medical Assistant?

At 365 Healthcare Staffing Services, we specialize in the recruitment and placement of healthcare professionals in per diem, travel, and permanent assignments in healthcare facilities across the country. Do you want to work with patients and perform essential office functions? If so, you may have a future as a medical assistant. We’d love to work with you when you’re looking for an assignment; give us a call when the time comes: 310.436.3650.