WHAT IS IT MEDICAL ASSISTANT TECHNOLOGY, AND WHAT WILL I LEARN?
Medical Assistant Technology (MAT) is the training for medical assistants that allows them to complete administrative and clinical tasks in medical settings such as hospitals, clinics, and physician offices. Medical assistants are often the first face patients see when completing basic patient history and personal information forms at a medical office. Medical assistants may also help measure a patient’s vital signs, such as blood pressure, and help physicians with patient examinations.
You can earn certificates as well as an associate degree to work as a medical assistant based on several different classes taken at ESCC. The classes include information on testing and treatment procedures, medical law and ethics, patient psychology, communications, and basic anatomy and physiology. Coursework in the MAT program will prepare you to provide medical office administrative services and perform clinical duties, including patient intake and care, routine diagnostic and recording procedures, pre-examination and examination assistance, and the administration of medications and first aid.
Minimum expectations are prepare medical assistants who are competent in cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.
STRENGTHS
ANALYTICAL SKILLS
You must be able to understand and follow medical charts and diagnoses in order to properly code medical records for billing purposes.
DETAIL-ORIENTED
You will need to be precise in taking vital signs, such as blood pressure, or recording patient information.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
You need to be able to discuss patient information with other medical personnel, such as physicians. You also need to be able to communicate with patients who may be in pain or distress.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
You should be able to use basic clinical instruments to take a patient’s vital signs, such as a patient’s heart rate and blood pressure.
What jobs
can I get?
Medical assistants can get jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers and chiropractic offices as the front face for administrative or clinical tasks. While not the decision of everyone, many students complete the medical assistant program before moving on to study to become a nurse or doctor.
What type of work
do the jobs consist of?
Some of the tasks you would have on a day-to-day basis include recording patient history and personal information; measuring vital signs, such as blood pressure; scheduling patient appointments; verifying insurance information; entering patient information into medical records; and preparing blood samples for laboratory tests.
What’s the career
growth potential?
On average, medical assistants made $15.61 per hour nationwide in 2017.1 Employment for medical assistants is expected to grow 29 percent by 2026, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.
Medical assistants who are familiar with electronic health records (EHRs) may have better job prospects, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For more information, please contact:
Melissa Whitman – Department Chair
Phone: 334-347-2623 x2217
Email: mwhitman@escc.edu
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1Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics