Medical Assistant Research Paper

Running head: Medical Assisting 1

Medical Assisting
Aycee C. Kaimo
Kaplan University

Medical Assisting 2

Abstract
Growing up in a family that loves to do public service, helping people specifically in medical field influenced me in my decision in choosing Medical Assisting as my profession. I feel that Medical Assisting is a good start in advancing my medical career. It has been said that the job of a medical assistant is expected to be one of the tenth fastest growing jobs through the year 2018. No matter what, there will always be a need for medical workers.

In this paper, I will discuss the overview of the profession I am pursuing, its educational requirements including any relevant certifications or credentials,
the current issues relevant to it, the summary of my career goals and where I see myself in 5 years.

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Medical Assisting
Medical assistants work in hospitals, doctor’s offices, or clinics.
They usually work 40-hour weeks and maybe some weekends. The work is always in clean, air conditioned offices, which makes it a very comfortable work place. The medical assistants are always interacting with other people and they may have to handle a lot of responsibilities at once.
The work of medical assistants is always different. They are responsible for administrative and clinical tasks. Their administrative duties include updated files and patient records, scheduling appointments, handling telephone calls, and filling out insurance forms. Their clinical duties may include preparing patients for examinations, drawing blood, taking vital signs, giving medication, collecting lab specimens, and taking x-rays. This profession is very demanding.
Medical assistant’s salary varies depending on location, experience, and education. The more experience and/or training you have the more likely to make. That is why it is very important to obtain degree. The average salary is $25,240, although it can be as high as $29,720. This number is still rising due to the number of positions being made available for medical assistants.
Educational
Requirements
In some states, there are no formal educational requirements for becoming a medical assistant. Most have at least a high school diploma. Many medical assistants learn through on-the-job training. However in order to be eligible for medical assistant certification you must first graduate from a medical assistant training program that is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
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Programs (CAAHEP).
There are currently about 700 Medical Assisting programs accredited by these two organizations. Some schools for medical assistants offer a one-year certificate program. The other option is to take a two-year program which will provide you with an associate’s degree at the end. Before you start looking for medical assisting colleges, be aware that you must enroll in a career college that is accredited. Accreditation means that the school has been given the stamp of approval by a higher organization. What this means for you is that you will be getting best education possible from the best medical assisting college around. Always make accreditation a top priority when you are researching medical assistant schools to attend.
Current Issues Relevant to Medical Assisting
As it continues to grow in size and importance within the healthcare landscape, the medical assisting field faces a number of challenges. (Taché & Chapman, 2004, 2006). These challenges will turn into issues that we will be facing as we progress on becoming a successful Medical Assistant. Some of the issues are: * Low pay relative to other Allied Health Profession. Medical Assistant received lower pay compared to LPNs/LVNs, medical clinical laboratory technician, radiology technologist or technicians, medical secretaries, and medical records and health information technician, all profession who perform function similar to those medical
assistant * Lack of regulation or consensus on the value of certification. Most states and employers do not require certification for employment. Although certification does
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translate into higher salaries, only ~15% of Medical Assistants in the United States hold either the CMA or RMA credential. * Undefined career ladder. Medical Assistant does not have clear outline career paths not like nursing (e.g., CNA LPN/LVN RN). The field might face difficulties with recruiting and retaining its workforce without these defined opportunities. * Lack of standard scope of work. As a medical assistant we have varied scopes of work depending upon the state in which we practice, the physician we work under, and their work settings.
Summary of my career goals

I believe that success is the balancing of many things, education, family, work and personal pursuit. It means being able to maintain that balance while striving to grow and be better at and enjoy each of them.
My dream job would be to work in a hospital. I enjoy the challenges associated with health care and learning to appreciate patient care. Perfection would be having flexibility to work as a single mother of two, while taking care of my kids.
My career goal is to keep up with ever-challenging rules, regulations and laws in the medical profession. I will try my best to make a visit to the doctor’s office a positive and good experience for each patient. My other goal is to become involved in professional development activities. Professional organization such as the American Association of Medical Assistants

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offer seminars and continuing education opportunities for medical assistants to improve their skills.
In five years, I would like to see myself as a successful Registered Nurse in a pediatric section of the hospital. Since I love working with people, helping them with their needs. I would see myself being good at what I do.

References
Kerrie Berends (2011). Applied Science in Medical Assisting. Kaplan University.
Donald Balasa (2013). Follow-up: Specific nature of Medical Assistant. Legal Eye of Medical Assisting, American Association of Medical Assistant pages retrieved from URL http://aamalegaleye.wordpress.com/