Ready to become a medical assistant and complete the required education? Becoming a medical assistant is rewarding. Once you finish school, you will have the skills and knowledge necessary to be an indispensable member of a healthcare tea.

Your journey begins when you choose the right diploma program. At CyberTex, you will develop your skills and gain critical knowledge to help your patients. Learning more about what school entails is essential to ensure that you are prepared for your role as a medical assistant.

Once you finish school, there are some certifications that you can pursue. These make you more marketable and give you more career opportunities. This is especially true if you rather specialize in a specific medical assistant task, such as phlebotomy.

What Does a Medical Assistant Do?

Medical assistants are responsible for a combination of both administrative and clinical tasks to support healthcare facilities. What you do will ultimately depend on the type and size of the medical facility you work for.

Administrative Duties

Medical assistants are tasked with updating and maintaining patient records. This is imperative since it helps to ensure confidentiality and accuracy. They may handle patient scheduling. This is important because it can minimize wait times and ensure efficient patient flow.

The medical assistant may perform billing and coding. They will code insurance forms, process claims, and handle the billing processes to ensure that the facility gets proper reimbursement.

Medical assistants also handle various office management tasks. For example, they may ensure that all equipment is operational and properly sterilized, manage and order medical supplies, and support the office staff.

Communication is another critical skill for medical assistants. They act as a liaison between healthcare providers and patients.

Clinical Duties

Medical assistants will get involved directly in patient care, such as measuring vital signs, taking medical histories, and explaining procedures. This involves working directly with nurses and doctors to help patients.

Medical assistants will collect and prepare various samples from their patients, such as urine, tissue, and blood. Some wound care procedures are the responsibility of the medical assistant. They may change dressings or help to clean a wound to prepare it for sutures or a dressing.

Medical assistants help with various procedures. They could help the doctor throughout the procedure by ensuring patient comfort and retrieving the necessary instruments and supplies.

Some facilities will have them help administer some medicines. For example, they might administer an injection, such as a vaccine, or help patients understand the potential side effects of a new medication.

How to Become a Medical Assistant

The first step in becoming a medical assistant is to complete a diploma program. This gives you the opportunity to start working in an entry-level position without the need for years of work experience. Throughout your diploma program, you will be able to network and get guidance from instructors so that you are armed with the knowledge you need to pursue your career in the way that works best for you and your goals.

The Medical Assistant diploma program at CyberTex can be completed in as little as 45 weeks and includes hands-on experience as well as classroom lectures. Throughout this program, you will gain a variety of administrative and clinical skills.

You will learn the following administrative skills:

  • Maintaining medical records
  • Office management
  • Patient communication
  • Inventory management
  • Insurance and billing
  • Financial management
  • Using medical software
  • Ensuring compliance and regulation.

You will learn the following clinical skills:

  • Patient care
  • Caring for medical instruments and equipment
  • Clinical procedures, medication administration
  • Medical documentation

Once you complete the diploma program at CyberTex, you will have access to career services. We will help you choose the proper certification and help you land your first job.

Which Medical Assistant Certification Should I Choose?

Once you complete the Medical Assistant program, you can take the National Healthcare Association certification exam to get a more specialized certification as a medical assistant.

There are four medical assistant certifications that you can consider, and these include:

Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)

The CMA certification is from the American Association of Medical Assistants. The exam covers a variety of administrative, general, and clinical topics.

Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

The RMA certification is offered by the American Medical Technologists.. The exam content includes administrative duties, medical law and ethics, general medical knowledge, and clinical procedures.

Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)

The CCMA certification comes from the National Healthcareer Association. You will need to renew it every two years. The exam content includes clinical patient care, medical ethics, and law, phlebotomy, and electrocardiogram.

National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA)

This certification comes from the National Center for Competency Testing. The exam content includes questions regarding patient interaction, medical law, clinical procedures, and administrative tasks. And the good news is that CyberTex is Nationally Accredited with the NCCT.

Certified Phlebotomy Technician

Once you complete your medical assistant training, you will need to get some clinical experience to take the certification exam for phlebotomy. To become certified you must have a certain number of successful blood draws. During the exam, you will answer questions that cover capillary collection, venipuncture, patient communication, and safety standards. How often you need to renew your certification depends on the certifying organization, but the general range is every one to three years.

Certified EKG Technician

Once you complete your medical assistant program, you will be qualified to apply to become a certified EKG technician. During the examination, you can expect multiple-choice questions that cover electrophysiology, EKG tracing interpretations, cardiovascular anatomy, and EKG procedures. Some certifying organizations also require practical demonstrations during the testing process. Renewal is usually every one to three years, depending on the requirements of the certifying organization.

Certified Billing and Coding Specialist

To qualify for the exam, you must complete your Medical Assistant program and an externship. Some certifying organizations require at least one year of work experience before taking the test. You will answer questions about anatomy, healthcare regulations, medical terminology, claim processing, and coding procedures during the exam. Expect to renew your certification about every one to two years.

Final Thoughts

As you become a medical assistant, you will quickly see that it is a rewarding career. It is also diverse as you tackle both administrative and clinical responsibilities. With the diploma from CyberTex, you not only gain all of the necessary skills to succeed in this field, but you will also get an externship to gain some hands-on experience before you start working in the field.

Don’t forget to explore the different certifications that are available for medical assistants. They help boost your resume so that you have more job opportunities. Certifications also give you more confidence since you must increase your medical assistant skills and knowledge to achieve them.

Want to Learn More?

The Medical Assistant Training Program at CyberTex Institute of Technology takes excellent care of you by providing hands-on training, practical experience, and the support it takes to get started in a medical assisting career without spending years in school. You will learn clinical and administrative skills and prepare to work in physician’s offices, hospitals, and other medical facilities.

Contact us today to learn more about our Austin and Killeen campuses.