Medical Assistants (MA) often take medical histories and record vital signs of patients. They have a unique role performing a mixture of clinical and administrative duties. Before entering a medical assistant training program, you’ll need to know what to expect as a medical assistant?. Let’s walk you through a day in the life of Medical Assistant.
Starting Day
Medical assistants start their day early in the morning depending upon the appointments available. Then they log into their Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system and check their schedule for the day and also check their email for any urgent requests assigned to them. They prepare for the day by looking at the patient schedule to distinguish the appointments as basic wellness check-ups, physicals, or more specific. This indeed helps them to prepare for the exam rooms with the appropriate supplies before each new appointment. They are also responsible for filling out paperwork needed for the day, such as surgical permission forms, health check forms and insurance paperwork.
Patient Arrives
As patients come in, they will assist them. They escort patients from waiting room to doctor’s room. The medical assistant must work efficiently to keep things flowing smoothly as patients start arriving for their scheduled appointment. In between rooming patients, medical assistants assist the physician with procedures. They give injections or medications to patients, answer phone calls, update patient charts, draw blood, perform laboratory tests and handle any emergencies that arise. They are also responsible for prescription refills through the pharmacy and also need to make sure that prescriptions are sent out and verified by the pharmacies.
Post patient appointments
Procedure needs to be cleaned immediately after a patient appointment. If there are specimens that need to be examined, they need to be handled in a timely manner.
End of the Day
A medical assistant’s day ends when the daily patient schedule is over. The end of the day brings time to finish work in peace without pressures. Rooms are restocked with clean gowns, specimen jars, and all the other products required for the next day. It is their duty to make sure that all paperwork and prescriptions are up-to-date.
Good organization skills, patience, stamina and love for the job are all favorable for managing the fast-pace of medical assisting. If you are interested to learn more about the Medical Assistant program, visit American Institute of Healthcare and Technology.
