In these current times of economic downturn, it is important to find a good career that offers you a wealth of advancement opportunities, a good salary, and a career that you can be proud of.
A career as a clinical medical assistant can offer you all of this and more. A clinical medical assistant will perform several different job functions in the clinical capacity. While the specific job functions may be different for different doctors, the main job functions of a certified medical assistant will be basically the same time and time again.
A certified clinical medical assistant works in the area of the clinic or hospital in which they are employed, which will most likely be referred to as the back office. This is the area in which preliminary testing and vital signs are often taken. A clinical medical assistant is one of the first medical professionals that the patient will see during their visit to the hospital or doctor’s office.
A certified clinical medical assistant will perform several tests and functions while the patient is in the exam room. The particular functions that the medical assistant perform will depend on the needs of the physician. The assistant will make sure that the exam room is ready and clean before any patient can be seen. The certified clinical medical assistant will ensure that all medical instruments are sterilized and clean. A clinical medical assistant may also administer medications and injections as instructed by the physician. If needed, a certified assistant may assist the physician during complete exams and in office procedures such as surgery. In the case of an underage child, the certified clinical medical assistant may also be used as a chaperone for the child.
A certified clinical medical assistant will call the patient in from the waiting room and take them to the exam room to wait for the physician. One job function of a clinical medical assistant is to get the patient history and update any information such as allergies, medications the patient is currently taking, and the problems they are experiencing. A clinical medical assistant will also take vital signs such as pulse rate, temperature, and blood pressure. They will record this information in the patient’s chart.
A clinical assistant is in charge of handing out patient gowns and helping patients onto the examination table if they need help. Before the doctor sees the patient, the certified clinical medical assistant will ensure that all information in the patient’s chart is complete and all labs, x-rays, and tests have been looked over for accuracy.
A certified clinical medical assistant will also take any samples or specimens that the doctor might order. These can include blood and urine and will require that the clinical medical assistant labels and sends them to either the on-site diagnostic lab, or to an outside lab to be assessed.
A clinical medical assistant may also perform simple tests in an on-site laboratory. Some of these tests will include, blood analysis, urinalysis, and vaginal smears. The results are immediately reported to a physician and a portion of the sample is forwarded to an off-site lab for additional in-depth analysis. Once everything has been checked on the patients chart and the patient is seated on the exam table and ready for the doctor, the clinical medical assistant will take the chart and place it in the chart holder next to the door to signal to the physician that the patient is ready to be treated.
Working as a clinical medical assistant can be very rewarding. There are many advancement opportunities and several different types of testing and procedures that you can perform as a certified clinical medical assistant.
At this point you may be wondering what the clinical medical assistant salary is like. Wonder no more. There are several factors that will affect your clinical medical assistant salary. One of the first things that may affect your clinical medical assistant salary is the years of experience that you have in the career. A certified clinical medical assistant can expect to make around $15,000 after graduating from a certified program. With 5 years of experience, a certified clinical medical assistant can make about $20,000 per year, then after 20 years of experience you can expect to make about $30,000 per year. As you can see, the more experience you have, the higher your clinical medical assistant salary will be.
Another factor that can affect your clinical medical assistant salary is the type of facility that you work for. The highest paid certified clinical medical assistant are the ones who work in a specialized practice such as a podiatrists office. They can start out at more that $35,000 per year while working in an emergency room or hospital will only start out at about $25,000 per year.
That said, just looking at the clinical medical assistant salary numbers is not a very accurate way to operate. A big part of the clinical medical assistant salary is all to do with the benefits that you receive as a member of the staff. While hospital starting pay is a bit lower, working at a large corporation such as a hospital will offer you more benefits than a small specialized clinic will. These benefits will depend on the place that you work, but they can include great discounts on life insurance, 401K, health insurance, spending accounts, and more.
The clinical medical assistant salary may also depend on what level of functions you perform in the office. The more functions that you perform the more that you can expect to get from your clinical medical assistant salary. The area in which you work can also affect the clinical medical assistant salary that you command. If you work in a low job area then you may not make as much as someone who gets a job in a highly saturated area such as New York or Los Angeles.
Your clinical medical assistant salary will depend on all these factors. Your work as a certified clinical medical assistant is a job that offers major growing and learning potential and it also gives you a great way to earn some money and feel great about what you do.