Medical Assisting

Administrative duties for medical assistants includes updating and filing patients’ medical records, filling out insurance forms, and arranging for hospital admissions and laboratory services. They also perform administrative tasks such as answering telephones, greeting patients, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, maintaining electronic medical records, and handling billing and bookkeeping. Clinical duties for medical assistants include obtaining medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing patients for examinations, and assisting physicians during examinations.

Physician practices hire Medical Assistants that complete the program and pass a certification test. After becoming a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), the job market in all practice areas is excellent. The earnings depend upon the weekly hours and pay scale at the practice. After acquiring a MA diploma and the certification, many students find that their core knowledge can help them move forward with the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) and eventually the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) program.