What Needs to be in the Medical Assistant's Resume?

Most medical assistant students and new graduate are nervous, flustered and unsure how to write an effective resume to apply for medical assistant jobs. Did the medical assistant program fail to prepare them? Were they absent during this module? Or did the topic simply overwhelm them? Regardless, what are the most important items that new medical assistant grads must add to their resume to apply for a medical assistant job?

Medical Assistants to be Stationed at Rural Clinics

Friday July 9, 2010
News on thestar.com online

SEPANG: Medical assistants will be stationed at all rural clinics for the convenience of patients in the area, said China's Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Liow said the upgrading of the 2,000 rural clinics nationwide, currently run by community nurses, would be done in stages but it would take time to place a medical assistant in each of them.

“Having medical assistants at rural clinics would mean that patients in the area would no longer have to travel far to seek treatment for minor problems like influenza, fever or cough,” he said.

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In reading this news article I immediately wondered what the function and scope of practice for medical assistants in China might be. The article says, the rural clinics are run by community nurses. Therefore, the article seems to imply that there aren't necessarily doctors at all, if not any of the clinics, which then, if I spin this thought on further, would put the nurses in charge of the newly hired medical assistants there. Interesting, and quite a bit different from the function and supervision of medical assistants in the USA.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/9/nation/6635241&sec=nation

Job Interview: Landing the Medical Assistant Job

When Asked "What Is Your 5 Year Goal"

Five years is a long time. Best to break it down in two types of goals: short and long term.

Short examples:

1. apply my skills in all areas of the medical office (front and back)
2. sit for the national certification exam in (enter a date/month)
3. work closely with the doctor and medical office staff to gain valuable experience

Long examples:

1. stay current through professional memberships, workshops and seminars
2. look for the opportunity to move up within the organization
3. learn all I can about the profession to eventually go back to college (e.g. to get my degree, or become an RN). To learn more about the medical assisting career please visit Medical Assistant NET on the Web.

Medical Assistant Job Interview Survival Tips

Possessing the appropriate combination of credibility, training, and experience leads to opportunities. Surviving the job interview opens the doors! Here are our hottest tips for job seekers and working professionals.

Follow thise tips and you will be golden:

Make Them Want You!
Possessing the appropriate combination of credibility, training, and experience leads to opportunities. Surviving the job interview opens the door! Stay ahead of the curve by presenting yourself as a knowledgeable professional, and reliable member of the health care/medical office team. But realize, that since "value" is subjective, you will need to support your claim with objective, factual statements, and documentation.

Don't Be Shy!If you can show during the interview that you are their most qualified candidate it simplifies the decision-makers selection process. But at the same time, be careful, tough, because the interviewers expect you to prove your claim. So, before you talk about how you can add value to their office have the documentation that supports your claim with you and readily available.

Tell Them Your Qualifications
Don't tell them you are a great asset to their organization because your mother worked in a similar field for 30 years. Instead, tell them about YOUR traits and qualities that matter most to them in a medical office setting...

Traits that matter…• High standards
• Attention to detail
• Analytical skills
• Efficiency
• Dependability
• Integrity
• Persistence
…and

• Enthusiasm
• Listening skills
• Communication skills
• Flexibility
• Teamwork

Show Them You Mean Business!
You'll have to convince those present that your knowledge and skills provide genuine value and benefits to their business. After substantiating your best qualities, show them that you mean what you say. Pull out your "secret weapon" and hand over the following documentation to the decision makers in the room:

1. Resume (a detailed description of your achievements and experience)
2. Diploma from an accredited medical assistant school (MA program)
3. Letter of Recommendation (previous employers, volunteer supervisors)
4. References (individuals in your community, businesses, or organizations)
5. Professional certification documents (credentials by means of exams)

Now think about it!
Why wouldn't they want to hire a medical assistant like you? Do your homework so you are confident. If you don't you are more apt to struggle internally and blank out.

To learn more about educational requirements, and practical tips for handling emergencies, and proper documentation visit Medical Assistant Net on the Web. There is lots of additional "scope of practice for medical assistants" info at that web site.

Demand For Medical Assistants

The need for well trained medical assistants remains high. At any given moment there are over 100,000 job offers for medical assistants and other healthcare professionals available across the nation, hundreds in every state! Most disciplines require thorough knowledge of medical office procedures and basic pharmacology principles...

What is a medical assistant? Tips on how to become a medical assistant. Medical assistant resumes and applications. Salary and job listings for medical assistants.

To learn more about educational requirements, and practical tips for handling emergencies, and proper documentation visit Medical Assistant Net on the Web. There is lots of additional "scope of practice for medical assistants" info at that web site.

I Feel Like I Wasted my Time

Most Medical Assistant Program Graduates Get Frustrated When They Do Not Find a Job Right Away...

One frustrated Medical Assistant student let off some steam and posted on our Medical Assistant Web Forum that she is tired of seeing medical assistants being hired right off the street, while she cannot land a job anywhere with her training. She says: "I feel like I wasted my time... how 'bout you?"

------------------ The Project:
With my curiosity sparked, I did go ahead and spent a good amount of time on looking into whether "MAs are getting hired right off the street". Since I found the statement a little bit off, I REALLY wanted to know whether that was indeed so. I know that if I WERE A DOCTOR, I would not want to jeopardize my reputation, and licence, nor quality of services by hiring someone off the street to take care of my patients (and business).

All right, I admit, that a little under three hours of research will NOT EVEN CLOSELY speak for every doctor in the entire United States, however, based on what I have seen I dare to refute the assertion that properly educated and trained medical assistants have a huge disadvantage over their untrained counter parts walking the streets.

My simple research focused on the following three main areas:

1.) Job offers on the Internet (Monster & CareerBuilder)
2.) Job offers in the local newspaper (Last week Saturday & Sunday, and Wednesday)
3.) And a quick trip to FutureWorks Career Center


------------------ The Result:

I have seen thousands of Medical Assistant job offers in all disciplines posted for places in every state.

Rarely did they NOT ask for at least the medical assistant diploma, and experience, but most were looking for certified medical assistant.

One ad that remotely can be understood as mildly indicating that there is a chance to get the job without specific qualification, but offering a chance to may be work your way up eventually as a medical assistant was worded as follows:

Front Desk Staff Person
Company: Ozog Eye Care
Description: Front Desk Staff Person

Front desk person needed for fast paced Ophthalmic practice. Must be dependable, detail oriented, able to multi-task and organized. Patience and compassion in a patient setting required. Answering of multi-phone lines, scheduling, chart preparation, knowledge and entry of patient insurance billing information. F/T, M-F, Benefits available. Salary DOE. Mail resume to:1417 9th St South #100Great Falls, MT 59405Source - Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls, MT


------------------ My Comments:
I was very pleased to find that MANY of the advertised jobs NOW OFFER benefit and bonus packages to the medical assistants! Although the hourly wages still range close to what they were 5-7 years ago, benefits and bonuses were HARDLY EVER offered to medical assistants back then.

So, I was really glad to see what I hope is the beginning of a new trend and employer's realization of the value of their medical assistant staff. If a medical assistant can earn $12 PLUS benefits, that's a big step up.

All in all, I did not find any evidence that recruiters, and employers seek to hire medical assistants off the street to train them themselves. As a matter of fact, I believe the trend is indeed the exact opposite.

The U.S. Department of Labor has predicted year after year and continues to do so:
Employment in health care will continue to grow for several reasons. The number of people in older age groups, with much greater than average health care needs, will grow faster than the total population between 2004 and 2014; as a result, the demand for health care will increase.As the largest industry in 2004, health care provided 13.5 million jobs—13.1 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 411,000 jobs for the self-employed.

8 out of 20 occupations projected to grow the fastest are in health care.

More new wage and salary jobs—about 19 percent, or 3.6 million—created between 2004 and 2014 will be in health care than in any other industry.


------------------ Sources & References:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Occupational Statistics
Medical Assistant/Healthcare Jobs

CareerBuilder.com
Medical Assistant/Healthcare Jobs