Medical Assistant In A Specialty Focus Area

medical specialty

Web definitions
medicine: the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques

Medicine and health care encompass many specialties and subspecialties. A skilled medical assistant with sufficient basic training in all clinical, administrative and general areas of the discipline should be able to fit into any of these with additional training. 

A quality medical assistant vocational training program build the foundation for medical assistant school graduates to enter into family medicine, internal medicine (subspecialties include cardiology, gastroenterology, hematology, allergy and immunology, etc), sports medicine, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation (pain medicine) and many more. There is a plethora of different choices; the possibilities are countless.

If you are a fully qualified medical assistant and your goal is to work in a certain medical specialty area or a certain type of medical office you can prepare yourself by taking the following steps:

• Networking - network with people who are already working in that specialty
• Workshops - attend specialty focused workshops and job seminars
• Studying- concentrate your studies toward your chosen direction
• Volunteering - volunteer at community health center

Let's say you would like to apply your skills in the specialty area of dermatology, it may be expected of you that :

1. you understand the anatomy and pathology of the integumentary system
2. you are familiar with routine diagnostic tests and treatments for skin disorders
3. you are able to assist the doctor during routine and special examinations of the skin
4. you are able to explain the diagnosis and plan of care in simple terms to the patients
5. you can correctly apply prescribed treatments, such as ointments, bandages, and dressings

To find a medical assistant school near you
visit Medical Assistant NET.

Medical Assistant Student Notes - A Blast From The Past

I attended the medical assisting vocational training program at Porter and Chester Vocational Training Institute in 1998 to become a fully qualified medical assistant. At that time, Porter and Chester had a campus in Stratford, Watertown, Enfield, and Weathersfield, Connecticut and Chicopee, Massachusetts, only one of many accredited schools in my area. Their program focuses on the clinical and administrative skills of this occupation. 

I sat for the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification exam conducted by the AAMA immediately upon my successful graduation from the program, which had earned me my Medical Assistant diploma. 

I just found some of my old study notes and decided to scan some of them into my PC. Here is my illustration of the muscular system, anterior view (front).

Muscular system, anterior view

Muscular system, posterior view

I especially enjoyed anatomy and physiology (A & P) and medical terminology class. I took elaborate notes and added artful illustrations. My instructor was always very impressed and often annotated my work with excellent, and have you considered going into medical illustration.

The shoulder joint (illustration)

 Another subject I truly enjoyed was medical transcription and practicing writing our own clinical notes in different formats, such as the SOAP note. Here are a couple of my SOAP note writing exercises, corrected by my instructor. Those who wish to learn a bit more about SOAP note writing can check my website at http://www.medicalassistant.net/Skills/soap_note.html. 

Medical Assistant Interview Assignment

I cannot believe instructors still give this mundane assignment. Although, as a former instructor (and MA student) I do very well understand the idea behind this exercise, it is unrealistic to send students out to find a medical assistant whom they can interview and then, give them a bad grade if they were not able to secure an appointment.

MA Students Being Asked to Interview a Medical Assistant

Countless MA students have approached me over the years, posted to my forums and here on facebook seeking a medical assistant they can interview, however, fact is conducting the interview online or by email defeats the intended purpose. The presumption is, that the MA student goes out and approaches a live person in hopes that it helps them to overcome any shyness and hesitation and teaches them to speak to a complete stranger when they formulate their questions. 

One student posted to our Medical Assistant Message Board:

Project help!

Hello, I am doing a career research project for a class in which I had to pick a career that I am interested in, a tool that is commonly used in that trade and interview someone in that profession on the tool; my tool is the scalpel. So, if someone could answer these questions it would be much appreciated: What is the best brand of scalpels? How could they be improved? How many different blades do you use? How much of a difference is there between a regular scalpel and a laser one?

Source: http://pub10.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=792761550&frmid=14&msgid=1318336&cmd=show   

Another MA student sent out the following S.O.S:

Need to Interview a Medical Assistant - Please help!

Hello! I am looking for a Medical Assistant that I can interview. I am currently enrolled in a Medical Assisting program at my Community College. For an English course I have to write a Memo about the career that I have chosen. One of the requirements is that I interview someone already in the field. We can do this over email, I just really need some help ASAP! Thanks in advance.

Source: http://pub10.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=792761550&frmid=14&msgid=1300914&cmd=show

The Purpose of the Assignment

Supposedly, the exercise will help to build rapport with someone they don't know who is already working in the field and solidify interpersonal communication skills, while also coming across professionally and with courtesy in a medical environment. Any thing other can be faked and put together by surfing the Web, or looking through textbooks or professional magazines. That is not the purpose of this assignment, which in the end, most medical assistant students wind up doing anyway because they just cannot find a working medical assistant who has the time for an interview, either during or after work.

Why Interviewing a Medical Assistant Is Difficult

Why not just bring a seasoned medical assistant into the classroom for 1 hour instead and then allow everyone to ask a question, or two? In the end, if everyone takes a turn, everyone gets to hear 20-30 good questions and answers and the same exposure to a working medical assistant under less stress. I find it unrealistic to expect a medical assistant student walk into a medical office and beg a medical office manager for an interview with their medical assistant. Everyone's time is limited! Most physicians and medical office managers feel their MAs should be working, and rightfully so, therefore I see this as an assignment that has gone out of style and done nothing but frustrate students, except a few lucky ones who were able to get the live interview, and earn an A.

Missing Men in Medical Assisting Careers

The above image was shared on the Medical Assistant Net facebook page. It is a great image that speaks volumes! I am glad to see different personalities and women of different ethnicity shown doing what they do best, but I immediately noticed that there is something MISSING... where are the men? Not all unsung superheros are female. 

Referring to history we find that traditionally speaking, men have been discouraged from entering care giving and nursing occupations, especially medical assisting. Nobody knows for sure how many men are working in this traditionally female dominated discipline today, but it is safe to say that the numbers remain remarkably low in comparison to the women in this field. Although when asked, most men agree that they are very interested in a medical assistant career, however when looking for jobs they run into problems. Sadly, the gender (un-) equality in medical assisting remains deeply rooted within our society.

Gender (un-)Equality in Medical Assisting

Study after study demonstrates that misconceptions about men working in a care giving positions and medical assisting role still exist. A study from 10 years ago revealed that male medical assistant students made up less than 10 percent in vocational training programs. Despite of an expressed interest of men wishing to enter into this career they have been discouraged and frequently denied access to medical assistant positions on the job market.

For nearly a decade we have put in our own efforts to change the public image of men working as medical assistant by building awareness through articles and images we post. Many male and female MAs responded in a positive manner, however, some also came forward and shared their stories with us, mostly frustrated and disappointed men who went through the training but could not find a job due to bias.  A lot of this has to do with how the media portrays medical assistants--most images posted show females in scrubs and stethoscope. Such images, of course, also influence how doctors see and hire their medical assisting staff and how vocational training institutes enroll students into the medical assistant programs. We need to reshape the image people have of what a typical medical assistant is (i.e. males and females!) and get more male medical assistant stories and images out.

The New Medical Assistant NET For Mobile Devices

We went mobile!!! 

We have built a mobile app version of the Medical Assistant NET website for those who access the Internet using mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.  Best part is, the website knows whether you are using a PC or mobile device.

We created the mobile app website for medical assistants because we want them to stay informed and in touch while on the go. Medical Assistant NET was the 1st website for medical assistants on the Internet when we built it in 2002 and it remains the top site for medical assistants today, designed to fit nicely on a mobile device like your iPhone, or Droid.

Our well-designed mobile website begins with a nice, clean navigation menu and only displays the most important information to keep it lightweight and easy to read. When you compare it to the Internet version of the site, you notice we've left out much of the web design to focus mostly on text content. This improves usability for our viewers.

Try it out!!!
Just go to http://www.medicalassistant.net form your PC (your every day web browser) and you see the normal site, then use your mobile device and you will be AUTOMATICALLY taken to the mobile version of Medical Assistant NET. Yes, our website is THIS smart.

When Asked Whether You Have Experience...

Many new medical assistant school graduates seeking their first job wonder, how do you get experience when no one wants to hire you?

If you graduated successfully from a medical assistant training program, then you are a trained worker with job specific skills, you are well prepared and able to learn; a valuable asset to any potential employer. As part of the curriculum you already are trained in clinical and administrative medical office routines, medical terminology, common laboratory tasks, the proper techniques and safety measures involved, as well as venipuncture. 

If you did an externship as part of this training, then you even have direct medical office job experience. Even previous jobs, such as truck driving, customer services or cashier is experience. Why do people forget that during an interview when asked? KNOW that customer services, punctuality, accuracy, honesty, as well as planning, or multitasking is VERY important in a medical office! I don't care, even if it was "just a McDonald's cashier job! If your cash in your cash drawer was always correct at closing, that is valuable experience that can play a major role in a medical office (accuracy, honesty, detail to attention, courteous customer interaction).

Learn what doctors expect of medical assistants

Remember, that the medical assistant is the FIRST point of contact patients see when they come and go for their appointments, or call the office, and they expect accuracy, honesty, detail to attention, courteousness and satisfaction. Doctors could not run their practice without these services the medical assistant provides. Even previous jobs, such as sales clerk, customer services attendant, or cashier is experience. Why do people forget that during an interview when asked? KNOW that customer services, punctuality, accuracy, honesty, as well as planning, or multitasking is VERY important in a medical office! I don't care, even if it was "just a McDonald's cashier job! If your cash in your cash drawer was always correct at closing, that is valuable experience that can play a major role in a medical office (accuracy, honesty, detail to attention, courteous customer interaction).

Remember, that the medical assistant is the FIRST point of contact all patients see when they come and go for their appointments, they too expect accuracy, honesty, detail to attention, courteousness and satisfaction. Doctors could not run their practice without these services the medical assistant provides. Remember, that the medical assistant is the FIRST point of contact all patients see when they come and go for their appointments, they too expect accuracy, honesty, detail to attention, courteousness and satisfaction. Doctors could not run their practice without these services the medical assistant provides. 

When asked during an interview about job experience, remember your training and externship and say yes! Say it like you mean it. 10 or more successful phlebotomy draws under the watchful eyes of your instructor in the schools clinical lab = experience. 50 accurate blood pressure readings taken = experience. Setting up a sterile field as part of your finals = experience.

So, as far as the question, do you have experience goes, let a coach, or someone you trust help you to tweak your answers and rehearse them. State your skills with confidence next time you are being "grilled" when meeting with a potential employer. Use charm and honesty along with your knowledge and skills to create an aura people would expect and appreciate in a medical office setting. There just has to be a doctor who would love to have you on the team.