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Five Must-Have Traits of a Brilliant Medical Assistant

A career in the healthcare industry may be apt for those who’re fascinated by medical science and wish to make a difference in people’s lives.

If you’re among them, then you can consider starting off as a medical assistant. It is a booming career path, and can serve as an excellent step to aid you in climbing the ladder of success in the healthcare industry.

However, being a medical assistant is no cakewalk. Whether it’s handling clinical duties, or performing laboratory or administrative tasks, an assistant needs to take care of several responsibilities. Moreover, there’s a stark difference between a medical assistant and an excellent medical assistant

If you aim to be the latter, you need to ensure that you have the skills needed for it.

Here are the top five traits of an outstanding medical assistant.

1. Meeting the Needs of Clients Effectively

First and foremost, a medical assistant needs to juggle a lot of responsibilities at once. You may have to deal with several patients at one time, and ensure that you attend to each one of them and address their concerns.

Moreover, you may have to deal with death and undesirable test results on a daily basis, which requires you to be strong. You may even have to deal with strenuous situations that may involve calming the patient. It is easy to get worked up in tense situations. However, as a medical assistant, you need to have the self-control to maintain professional composure, irrespective of what you may have to deal with.

2. Smooth Communication

Can you imagine how a patient would feel if he/she cannot understand the details of his/her health problem owing to the complex medical jargon?

This is where your role as an effective communicator comes into the picture. In fact, strong communication skills can enable you to build a top-notch medical assisting career. You should be able to translate medical lingo into the layman’s terms for the patient.

Being a great communicator also requires you to be a fantastic listener. Only by listening carefully to the concerns of patients will you be able to meet their needs perfectly. Moreover, doctors and nurses will also provide you with several instructions and case details throughout the day. By listening to every bit of them and meticulously noting them down, you will be able to provide a great client experience, thereby performing brilliantly at your job.

Remember, there is no room for mistakes. You need to always be on your toes and complete the assigned tasks with ultimate perfection.

3. Adaptability

The healthcare industry has been witnessing dramatic changes year after year. As a medical assistant, you need to be able to pick up on things quickly, be flexible, and adapt to changes.

Being a medical assistant is not just about having the medical assistant certification or other needed qualifications. For a medical assistant, keeping up with the rapidly emerging trends in the healthcare industry and adapting to them are supremely important. This is a golden opportunity for those who want to gain medical experience and carve a niche for themselves in the industry.

Multitasking and having an adaptable personality are critical to achieving success as a medical assistant.

4. Competency

Whether it’s recording the patient’s vital signs, completing medical histories, or performing routine administrative tasks, a medical assistant has a sea of responsibilities resting on his/her shoulders. A medical assistant certification tells the potential employers that you meet certain standards of competence, and are well-qualified to perform the duties of a medical assistant. So, having certification is, undoubtedly, the first step towards achieving competency.

Depending upon your job role and the facility you will be working at, your job responsibilities may include, but not be limited to:

  • Administering injections
  • Drawing blood
  • Ordering supplies & equipment needed to keep the facility running smoothly
  • Preparing the exam room for the physician
  • Scheduling appointments for patients
  • Taking vital signs
  • Recording patient medical history

5. Team-Player

As a medical assistant, you will be working with an intricate team, which would involve everyone from the receptionist, and the coding and billing department to the technicians at the laboratory. You need to be able to get along with others and work cooperatively with peers as well as the other health care providers in order to work efficiently.

Conclusion

Being a brilliant medical assistant requires one to put in tremendous effort and develop the above-mentioned characteristics. A small mistake on your part could land you in a lot of trouble, which is why you need to have a keen eye for details. Acquiring the aforementioned qualities will give you an edge over your competitors. Further, they will also go a long way in helping you build strong relationships with your patients and co-workers. Remember, you need to be confident in performing your duties and comfortable in working with people from varied walks of life to be a truly successful medical assistant.