Medical assistants support doctors with several activities, such as assisting patients, doing minor operations, and performing different administrative chores.
Medical assistants work primarily in doctors’ offices, outpatient treatment centers (also known as ambulatory care centers), and hospitals.
While medical assistants and other medical support employees overlap, medical assistants have a distinct position and skill set.
When hiring new employees, different firms may emphasize particular talents, so read all job descriptions thoroughly. Be prepared to give examples of how you demonstrate each skill since your interviewer will almost certainly ask for explanations.
Here are some of the essential medical assistant skills:
1. Administrative Skills
As a medical assistant, you may be responsible for answering phones, making appointments, and welcoming patients daily. Employers seek medical assistants capable of handling these routine administrative tasks and have prior experience with them.
Your experience section is probably the best place to describe your administrative abilities. You can list your particular job responsibilities within that role if you have a job where you’ve done this task before, even if it’s unrelated.
2. Communication
Medical assistants must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. You should feel comfortable conversing with patients, clearly explaining crucial concepts, and providing detailed written notes.
Answering phones, responding to emails, and interacting with both patients and coworkers are daily responsibilities that demand communication skills as a medical assistant.
3. Organization and Cleanliness
In the healthcare industry, sterile equipment is non-negotiable. All medical assistants should understand how to keep equipment sterile and practice doing so regularly. Every employer recognizes the need for clean equipment for patient safety.
If you’ve worked as a medical assistant before, you may already be familiar with the tasks required in keeping medical equipment sterile. Employers will see that you take this task seriously and know how to handle it if you put this talent on your resume.
4. Time Management
A good medical assistant can comfortably manage their own time and the time of their employer. If you work in a doctor’s private practice, you may be expected to plan appointments for the doctor.
Medical assistants must also complete a variety of clerical work daily, making time management particularly crucial. Employers want to see that you can finish duties promptly and keep things going well in the office.
5. Protocol Abiding
The majority of healthcare facilities adhere to tight rules aimed at keeping patients safe and the workplace tidy. Other standards that medical assistants will need to be aware of include dealing with infectious diseases, filling out paperwork correctly, and billing customers correctly.
Employers will demonstrate their protocols to new medical assistants, but having prior familiarity with them can help you gain an advantage while looking for a new position in this profession. It demonstrates that you understand the necessity of following these rules and learn how to do things correctly.
6. Attention to Detail
Being a medical assistant entails a lot of record-keeping, which is essential for keeping patients healthy. Doctors and nurses require an accurate record of any operations or medications that a patient has undergone to provide them with adequate medical care in the future. The medical assistant is frequently responsible for keeping notes of these procedures and medications for future reference.
A qualified medical assistant will pay close attention to detail to retain correct records. List this as a skill on your CV even if you have no prior experience keeping records, especially if it is not in the healthcare industry.
7. Basic Medical Procedures Knowledge
Some fundamental medical procedures may be required of you as a medical assistant. You may be required to draw blood, change dressings, or deliver immunizations, for example. This is another skill that fits well within your experience area if this is one of yours. Make sure to highlight the basic medical procedures you’re familiar with while describing your previous employment experience.
8. Interpersonal Skills
Good interpersonal skills are crucial to succeeding as a medical assistant. You will frequently interact with patients who are ill or in suffering, which necessitates compassion and empathy. An excellent medical assistant is someone who enjoys assisting others and enjoys working with them. You might include examples of how you aided people to demonstrate your interpersonal abilities on your resume. Volunteer work, for example, could be beneficial in this situation.
Final Word
Medical assistants benefit from a diversified set of abilities, so don’t be put off if you don’t have them all. No one has it all together; we’re all works in progress. Vocational school training will help you maximize your current abilities while developing new ones; experience and enthusiasm will take care of the rest.
With a medical assistant diploma in hand, you’re ready to start a new career. Medical assistant training and courses are available at Northwest Suburban College to help you earn essential skills and training. Get in touch with us to discover more about how you may get your medical assistant degree right away.
