Working in the health care field offers a wide range of opportunities.

Medical assisting is an excellent career choice for those who truly enjoy helping people with unique medical and health concerns. The work is gratifying as well as rewarding that goes beyond words: that’s thousands of young and old people from all walks of life that you will be making a difference to, directly and indirectly, including your own. Before getting started as a certified medical assistant, there are some things that need to be considered such as your education, financial responsibilities and most importantly, your ability to work with people of all ages.

Many of these careers do not require years of formal education and training. One of today’s fastest growing careers in medical is certified medical assisting. To become a certified medical assistant candidates for training require a high school diploma to undergo formal medical assistant training. Upon graduation they can opt to voluntarily sit for one of the different available certification exams to earn credentials that are recognized in the medical assisting discipline, this also includes Registered Medical Assistants (RMA), who are also certified.

A skilled phlebotomist, the person who collects blood samples from patients, deserves high praise. Phlebotomists draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research and explain the procedure to patients who ask. Many of them work in blood banks and hematology departments of medical centers and hospitals.

They must know the circulatory system anatomy and composition of blood along with the medical terminology that goes with it, be able to access a vein, or artery, or capillary blood bed of all kinds of people from young, to old, to obese, to emaciated, to those with veins that roll, to those who easily faint, or are deadly afraid of needles.

They need to understand different venipuncture techniques and the equipment to be used to draw and preserve the blood sample. Additionally, they must know how to read laboratory requisition slips, follow doctor’s orders, work safely with patients, handle blood and other potentially hazardous body fluids and know how to clean up blood spills safely and dispose them in accordance with OSHA regulations. If any of this is not approached with great care and handled properly, it can result in severe injury, if not death.

Medical assistants are among the top positions in demand in the healthcare industry, of which many are certified medical assistants. The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner’s specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually do many different kinds of tasks, handling both administrative and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area, under the supervision of department administrators. Medical assistants should not be confused with physician assistants, who examine, diagnose, and treat patients under the direct supervision of a physician.

Surveys show that over the 2008-18 period, total employment of medical assistants is projected to increase by 34 percent, physical therapist assistants by 33 percent, and physician assistants by 39 percent.

The average annual pay for medical assistants is estimated to be $27,500 to $41,780 depending on the type of position, responsibilities and their location. Those employed in one of the many medical and diagnostic laboratories earn on average $44,560 to $63,420 per year, and medical coding and billing professonals can earn even more, but you don’t have to take our word for it! You can always check with the US Department of Labor or Medical Assistant NET, the most visited website dedicated to the medical assistant profession.