Medical Assistant: Job Outlook and Career Overview

In a healthcare setting, a Medical Assistant New Jersey plays a dominant role both in front-desk operations and behind the scenes. Due to the shortage of nurses, a lot of private doctors need competent and hardworking medical assistants to run all of their office operations smoothly. They are very versatile members of the entire staff who are capable to do various tasks all around the dispensary and hospitals. They also play various administrative roles and deal with various patients. They also answer calls, file insurance forms, sterilize surgical equipments, draw blood, check out vital signs, and accurately record medical histories.

Weak economy cannot affect this profession because they also help nurses and doctors to diagnose patients and provide proper treatment to them. As per the BLS Listings, the job growth of medical assistant is expected to be 30.9% by 2020 with total vacancies of 162900 posts. Hence, the career of medical assistant and Pharmacy Technician New Jersey enjoy top positions in healthcare field.

Average Income

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary of medical assistants reported was $29100 in the year 2011. According to which, the topmost medical assistants were enjoyed the average salary of $40810 per annum, while bottom ones were earned around $20880 per annum. The highest-paid salaries were earned on hospitals and doctor’s offices. The highest-paid locations for these professionals are Alaska, Fairbanks, California, San Francisco and Massachusetts.

Educational Qualification

As per the requirements in job locations, these professionals may have to undergo medical training or clerical training. However, they don’t have to undergo formal training in most healthcare settings. Medical Assistants are also certified by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). Though this certification lacks in legal power, it is important to gain advancement in this field. Students learn to perform both front desk and behind-the-scenes roles by medical assistant training programs held by some high schools and vocational colleges.

Front and Back Office Duties of Medical Assistant

When it comes to perform front-office duties, these professionals have to play both secretarial and clerical roles. They also answer phone calls and schedule appointments for doctors. As an office in charge, they also keep all the files and office supplies well managed.

In order to perform back office operations, they take medical histories of patients, bring them to exam rooms and determine their problems to see the physician. Sometimes they also take blood samples to help doctors proceed easily.