Is the Medical Assistant Career Still Hot?

Is the medical assistant career still hot? You bet it is!!!

The U.S. Census Bureau emphasizes that the current market trends along with cost control in the health care industry are making the medical assisting and related occupations some of the hottest careers in today's job market. Over 2 million people are employed as allied health professionals in the United States. With vocational training so readily available, salaries climbing (yes, they are!), and working conditions improving the demand for medical assistants is on the rise. It is a good time to enter into this exciting career in all disciplines (clinical and administrative areas).


What Are the Reasons For this High Demand For Medical Assistants?Medical care, therapeutic, and pharmaceutical services play an important role in our nation's economy and welfare. Driven by the ever increasing need for health care services opportunities in health care related disciplines abound wherever there are people.


Are There Opportunities for Men and Women Alike?
There is plenty of room for men and women in health and medical service related careers from major cities to rural areas, as long as they have at least a high school diploma and the drive to achieve their dreams -- and medical office managers and recruiters are ready to hire them. Employment is not limited by location, gender, race, religion, or even disability. Recruiters and employers everywhere are in constant need for more, and better qualified staff to serve patients and clients; this includes medical assistants, whose job it is to make sure that health care providers can fully focus their time on their work directly with patients.


What Do the Statistics Show?Medical assisting is an interesting and rewarding occupation. About 6 out of 10 worked in offices of physicians; about 14 percent worked in public and private hospitals, including inpatient and outpatient facilities; and 11 percent worked in offices of other health practitioners, such as chiropractors, optometrists, and podiatrists. The rest worked mostly in outpatient care centers, public and private educational services, other ambulatory health care services, State and local government agencies, employment services, medical and diagnostic laboratories, and nursing care facilities. Medical assisting is projected to be one of the fastest growing occupations over the 2004-14 period.


What About Late Bloomers?
A vast number of today's medical assistants joining the workforce are older and more career minded than those of even a few years ago. Their average age is between 25-38 years and up. Some medical assistant students are as old as in their late forties and fifties and are doing very well.

These so called late bloomers have very specific career goals and they see job-related training or college as a way to fulfill them no matter what the real and imagined obstacles might be. When it comes to medical assistants their age plays no role at all.

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

The Salary Question....

A much discussed topic among new medical assistants is their salary. Low medical assistant pay, and whether the medical assisting profession should be more regulated by the state to increase standards, and wages is a much debated topic in our active Medical Assistant Web Forum.

Many are so discouraged, they are torn. It is obvious that they find the medical assisting career attractive, and they'd love to work in the medical office under the direct supervision of a licenced health care provider, but on the other hand, they are thinking about going into the nursing field for the money instead.

I wish I had all the answers for those who are frustrated, undecided, under the crunch, or in a slump. Because a career path is such an individual choice, and without going into the pros and cons of personal reasons for becoming a medical assistant, or LPN, I can share the following food for thought.

Here are some of my own awareness and decision making exercises in hopes that they serve as a guide, or inspiration. Whenever I have to make career choice, or arrived at a cross to advance in a certain direction, these are some of the things I always ask myself about myself, and my work situation first. Knowing the answers helps me to remain competitive and on the right track, which includes getting what I want (not just give what others want) out of my career, and the right salary.

An employee may not have the final say-so over their salary, but they have the power to create a true win-win situation, if they know the following about their job and themselves.... But never forget, first and foremost the old saying: "Know thyself first!".

1. What is a successful person?
2. What does my career mean to me?
3. How do I do my best every day?
4. How can I improve?
5. How do I build rapport with my employer
6. What is "give value first"?
7. What is the best way to add value?
8. How do I find a mentor?
9. What causes my fear of failure?
10. What should I do with my spare time?
11. How can I invest my time, not spend it?
12. What is the best way to impress my boss?
13. How am I helping to build the business?
14. What do I have to do to get ahead?
15. How do I show my value and create awareness of it?
16. What value do I bring beyond my job description?
17. How do I show that I am loyal?
18. How approachable and cooperative am I?
19. What am I "known" for?
20. What am I recognized as being the best for?
21. What do others in the industry say about me?
22. What is the best time and way to ask for a raise?
23. What is the best way to approach my boss?
24. How can I make my request stand out?
25. What is the best way to follow up?

(Drum-roll) And here the final "AHA"!

26. How much do I love what I do here?
27. What does it take to keep me here?
28. Do I need to look for a job elsewhere?

Opportunities abound in the medical assisting field. The key to success is knowing yourself first, knowing your job, knowing your boss, and knowing the job market. If your boss realizes your value to the success of the practice and patients... chances are s/he will reason with you, and reward you to keep you.

If not, too bad! Know what you want, and what you have to offer, let your boss know what you have to offer, and what you want, and just in case the relationship doesn't work out... always have your resume up-to-date and ready to go.

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.