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Medical Assistants
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
Also Known As:
Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)
Chiropractor Assistant
Clinical Medical Assistant
Doctor's Assistant
Health Assistant
Ophthalmic Assistant
Ophthalmological Assistant
Optometric Assistant
Outpatient Surgery Assistant
Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)
Wages
Annual wages for Medical Assistants in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
912,200
13% Change From 2024
Explore Medical Assistants video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
- Schedule appointments for patients.
- Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
- Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
- Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
- Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
- Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic.
- Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
- Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
- Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
- Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
- Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
- Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic.
- Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
- Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
- Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies.
- Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
- Set up medical laboratory equipment.
- Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients.
- Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
- Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
- Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician.
- Change dressings on wounds.
- Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment.
- Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.
- Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
- Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")