Working as a medical office assistant has its benefits and drawbacks. You should definitely learn more about the nature of the work, the work hours, the work setting and what the pros and cons for this job are. This will help you decide whether this occupation matches your individual career and future plans and your interests.
What’s Involved As A Medical Office Assistant?
A medical office assistant has primarily administrative duties. On the job, you will be responsible for scheduling appointments and greeting patients. You may have to arrange the patients’ admission into a hospital. Arranging testing may be another one of your responsibilities. You will be responsible for keeping the medical records of patients and updating them. Answering the phone and handling written correspondence will be some of your major duties as well. Many assistants have to bill patients, fill out insurance claim forms and perform some basic bookkeeping tasks. You may order supplies, send prescriptions to pharmacies and keep the office are clean.
As a medical office assistant, you will not be expected to perform clinical duties such as preparing patients for examination and drawing blood. However, you may be expected to intervene in case the need arises and help with different kinds of tasks such as setting out equipment, sanitizing instruments and taking the medical history of patients. In general, the duties may vary greatly from one job to another, so it is wise to read the job ad carefully and talk to the employer before you consider applying.
The work hours of a medical office assistant are standard. You will work for 40 hours per week. You may have to work in the evenings and during weekends. However, flexibility is considerable, when it comes to medical office assisting. Many assistants work part time with some taking only day shifts.
Advantages Of Being A Medical Office Assistant
The main advantage of working as a medical office assistant is that the job is not particularly demanding. Most of the time, you will be sitting behind a desk working on your computer. You will work in a clean, well-lit and safe environment and this is also an advantage. Another benefit of choosing this occupation is that you will have different opportunities for advancing in administrative support in the health care industry. You may become an office manager or even the administrative manager of a private practice. The number of jobs for medical assistant is expected to grow by 34% by 2018 so you are highly unlikely to stay unemployed, if you choose this occupation.
Drawbacks Of Being A Medical Office Assistant
Perhaps the major drawback of working as a medical office assistant is that the salary is not particularly high with the average one being around $30,000 per year. However, there are ways in which you can boost your opportunities for higher remuneration. Getting formal training is not legally required, but most employers prefer applicants that have it. Earning certification is highly recommended for getting a higher salary. In general, you have the opportunity to earn over $40,000 a year so you should not miss it.
Now you can evaluate all the pros and cons of the occupation and decide whether you will be happy as a medical office assistant.