The medical assistant job description is quite varying in its list of duties. You would be amazed at what all a medical assistant position entails.

The duties of a medical assistant vary depending on the size and location of the office. For instance, if it is a small rural office, probably the job description includes things like secretarial duties, nursing duties, phlebotomy duties and lab work. Anything a large staff would do, the medical administrative assistant will be doing in a small rural office.

In a large office, however, duties will include things like greeting patients, updating patient charts, filing patient medical records and answering telephones. Scheduling appointments and arranging for admissions to the hospital also fall under the responsibilities of a medical assistant.

The medical assistant job description includes working a full 40-hour week which could include evenings and weekends depending on the doctor’s hours. They also work with people every hour of each work day, so if you don’t like working with people, this is not the position for you.

Because the position requires so many diverse skills, training is quite extensive. In order to get in, you have to have a high school diploma or a GED. This will be required of most schools. Employers will prefer that you graduate from a medical assistant training program with at least a certificate if not with an associate degree.

Further, in some states will require the passing of the state certified medical assistant exam. This is because some states require the certification of medical assistants (CMA).

Clinical duties can vary depending on the state laws. In some states, taking vital signs and charting can be done only by the doctor or nurses in the office. In others, a CMA can perform these duties and quite often do. The same goes for explaining procedures to patients and performing simple patient tasks.

State laws also stand over lab tasks. Some states allow performing lab tests to be performed by medical assistants, while others do not. If they are allowed, the CMA will not only draw the blood, but perform the tests.

One thing goes across the board, however. That would be that regardless of the medical assistant job description or state laws, medical assistants should never be confused with physician assistants who not only diagnose but treat patients. Louis Zhang, Certifiedmedicalassistanttraining dot com dot com