Medical Assisting Career Overview

Last Updated August 19, 2024

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Medical assistants perform administrative, clinical, laboratory, and direct patient care tasks. They are often the first person a patient meets in a medical situation, and their responsibilities can include greeting patients, managing medical records, assisting physicians during examinations, and handling specimens for laboratory tests. Read on for a more extensive list of what medical assistants do. Medical assistants provide essential support, whether scheduling appointments, assisting the doctor, or explaining procedures to patients.

The employment of medical assistants is expected to continue to increase as the population ages, meaning they have job security and the satisfaction of helping people daily. And because medical assisting covers a breadth of tasks, they can choose a work setting where they can best fit with their preferences and strengths.

What Is a Medical Assistant?

Medical assistants are healthcare workers who work alongside physicians and other medical professionals to help provide quality care to patients. They are also multi-tasking experts who assist healthcare professionals and patients by performing administrative, clinical, laboratory, and direct patient care tasks.

Typical Medical Assistant Job Description

Here is a detailed list of the types of responsibilities typically held in this role:

Administrative Tasks

• Greeting patients
• Scheduling appointments
• Answering phone calls and fielding questions and requests
• Working with industry-related computer software applications
• Recording patient histories
• Creating, updating, and maintaining patient medical records
• Managing the logistics of hospital admissions, laboratory services, and more
• Performing medical billing and basic bookkeeping
• Processing insurance claims
• Managing inventory
• Purchasing supplies and equipment
• Authorizing drug refills and placing telephone prescriptions to pharmacies (under the direction of physicians)

Clinical Tasks

• Clearly explaining treatments and procedures to patients
• Educating patients on things like medications and special diet requirements
• Preparing patients for examinations, procedures, and X-rays
• Assisting physicians with examinations and procedures
• Preparing and administering medications (as directed by physicians)
• Drawing blood samples and administering injections
• Cleaning wounds
• Changing dressings
• Removing sutures
• Performing electrocardiograms (ECGs)
• Preparing, cleaning, and sterilizing examination rooms, equipment, and supplies

Laboratory Tasks

• Collecting and handling specimens from patients
• Processing specimens for laboratory testing
• Performing basic laboratory tests on specimens while carefully following standard protocols
• Communicating test findings to physicians or other medical professionals
• Safely disposing of contaminated supplies

It is important to note that some states regulate the clinical tasks that medical assistants are authorized to perform. Not all tasks are permitted in all states.

In addition, there are medical assisting specializations, including:

• Administrative medical assistant: Focuses on handling administrative duties and doesn't usually take on clinical or laboratory tasks. These professionals often perform more advanced billing, bookkeeping, and insurance tasks.
• Clinical medical assistant: Concentrates on clinical tasks instead of administrative or laboratory tasks. The job description depends on the authorizations regulated by the specific state of residence.
• Ophthalmic and optometric medical assistant: Focuses on work within optometrist offices or ophthalmic departments of hospitals and surgical centers. These assistants are often responsible for assisting with eye care, teaching patients how to insert and remove contact lenses, testing, measuring and recording eye function and sight, and much more. They may also assist during eye-related surgeries.
• Podiatric medical assistant: Specializes in assisting podiatrists (i.e., foot doctors) in diagnosing and treating foot-related injuries or issues. Typical duties can include taking, exposing, and developing x-rays, creating castings for feet, and assisting during foot-related surgeries.

How Much Do Medical Assistants Make?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 2023 median pay for full time medical assistants was $42,000 per year.

Numerous factors can affect salary rates, including experience, work environment, and location.

Where Do Medical Assistants Work?

Some of the most common areas of employment for medical assistants include:

• Physicians' offices
• Other healthcare practitioner offices
• Outpatient care centers
• Hospitals and surgical centers
• Colleges, professional schools, and universities

Other healthcare facilities that tend to employ lower numbers of medical assistants (but provide higher pay) include:

• Scientific research and development centers
• Insurance agencies
• Dental offices
• Specialty hospitals (except psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals)

Medical Assisting Job Outlook

National projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, show that the employment of medical assistants is expected to increase by 14 percent over the ten years from 2022 to 2032. That makes medical assisting among the fastest-growing vocations.

Some of the factors that are influencing the growth of the occupation include:

• The aging baby-boomer population and its increased need for preventive healthcare
• The number of healthcare facilities opening to fill the increasing demand
• Additional tasks that are required due to the continued trend of healthcare facilities switching from paper files to electronic health records

Benefits of Working in Medical Assisting

Some of the most common advantages of working as a medical assistant include:

• The opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of people daily.
• Knowing that your work directly impacts the health and well-being of others.
• Having the opportunity to join one of the fastest-growing occupations also means having a good chance of obtaining a position quickly.
• Peace of mind—job security tends to be quite good due to the demand for medical assistants, regardless of the general economic situation.
• Working directly with patients without putting in the necessary time, money, and effort required to become a physician.
• Enjoying a wide variety of job responsibilities makes it unlikely you will become bored with your work.