Duties Of A Medical Assistant
We’re well acquainted with doctors and nurses but what do medical assistants do? Are they nurses or are their roles confined to an administrative capacity? These often overlooked professionals play a key role in office management and also perform certain clinical duties similar to that of a licensed vocational nurse.
Medical assistants work in both clerical and clinical capacities. They don’t have such extensive medical training as nurses and may perform clinical duties only under the order of the physician they work for. When they do, the duties normally include performing basic lab work, recording viral signs, changing dressings and recording a patient’s medical history.
Clerical duties, meanwhile, are very similar to that of office assistants. Appointments are made and arranged by medical assistants, patients’ records are filed and updated and bills and other related documents are maintained.
One of the biggest differences between a medical assistant and a nurse is that MAs can only work in the offices of healthcare practitioners. This means that they cannot perform clinical duties outside of their office setting so their role is more limited.
Like all medical-related roles, becoming a medical assistant requires studying clinical subjects. Certification courses provide this along with administrative subjects like accounting, typing and insurance processing.