6.5 Reasons to Become a Medical Assistant
Date: November 21, 2022
There are many reasons to become a medical assistant (MA). Perhaps you’ve read it’s the “Best of Allied-health Careers to Pursue,” or the “20 Reasons to Enter the Vocation, or “Half a Dozen MA Benefits!” Yet, have you heard “6.5 Reasons to Become an MA?” If not, read on!
1 To Help Others
One of the biggest reasons to become a Medical Assistant (MA) is to help people. Working as an MA provides tangible venues to bring comfort. Whether it’s to support medical teams or assist in alleviating pain, MAs are on the front lines. Besides knowing the ins and outs of wellness places, an MA will bandage wounds and hearts while holding entire offices together. Moreover, an MA put smiles on patients’ faces and eliminate insurance problems.
Accordingly, MA responsibilities range from greeting patients to removing sutures. To enumerate, O*NET defines top MA tasks as the following:
- Obtaining medical information and measuring vital signs.
- Cleaning/sterilizing instruments and disposing of contaminated supplies.
- Recording medical histories, vital statistics, test results, and medical records.
- Explaining treatment procedures, medications, diets, or instructions.
- Preparing treatment rooms; keeping rooms neat and clean.
- Collecting blood, tissue, and laboratory specimens.
- Logging specimens and preparing them for testing.
- Showing patients to exam rooms, preparing them for physicians.
- Helping physicians treat patients.
- Handing physicians instruments or materials.
- Giving injections or removing sutures.
- Performing routine laboratory tests and analyses.
- Greeting and logging in patients.1
2 To Enter Healthcare
A second reason to become an MA is the vocation is accessible, accessible, accessible. Educational trajectories require little to no prerequisites and offer relatively short training periods while producing work-ready results. Whether one picks a certificate or associate program, an MA education makes them turn-key ready for entry-level medical work.2
As a rule, healthcare roles often require years of schooling. Yet, medical assisting can provide a respected medical vocation sooner rather than later. For reasons like this and more, US News and World Report ranked the vocation #9 in “Best Jobs Without A College Degree.”3
Likewise, Gurnick Academy offers an MA program taking just 8* months to complete. Further, our MA course provides evening classes for working students. Ultimately, Gurnick Academy’s curriculum immerses one in clinical operations, with students receiving a fundamental healthcare base and didactic essential medical terminology.
Finally, the MA program is a foundation that some use as a bridge to other programs.
3 Because It’s a Growing Field
A third reason to become an MA is it’s a burgeoning field. In short, there’s an outright need for professional MAs. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, MA jobs are in demand, with estimates only expected to rise and rise some more.
Notwithstanding, the pace of MA need is projected to be upward of 16 percent from 2021–2031, faster than the average job growth rate for all occupations.4 This is due in part to the Baby Boom generation. “The Baby Boomer Generation [largely in their 60s and 70s] will continue to put an increasing demand on the healthcare industry. With primary care physicians and nurses already strained for time, more MAs will be needed and hired to perform routine, administrative and clinical duties, allowing physicians and nurses to spend more time with patients.”5
4 Personal Fulfillment
Still, a fourth reason to become an MA is for personal fulfillment. Self-actualization, trying new things while having a broader skill set, is part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In short, Maslow designed the theory that humans had specific needs in common.
Further, he postulated that beyond survival, humans required self-actualizing and sought to do things or complete behavior to meet these needs. Self-actualization includes creativity, problem-solving, authenticity, felt significance, helping others, etc.
Correspondingly, the MA profession provides many benchmarks toward self-fulfillment, especially when you consider helping a child be less afraid. Or making an older adult feel more comfortable, leaving a legacy, or tangibly serving humanity. Self-actualization means knowing you might perform kindness beyond what is expected or do more than is just transactional.6 Simultaneously, the above traits are also required attributes of successful MAs.6
5 No Boredom
A fifth reason to become an MA is the vocation promises zero boredom. MA careers are constantly changed and then changed up again. Their professional culture includes the following:
- Varying work environments, different settings;
- Eclectic educational routes;
- Administrative, clinical treks;
- Opportunities in any state, remote, via chat, traveling MAs;
- Specialty routes to follow.
In short–and large, a day in the life of an MA is filled with variety. According to Nursing Process.Org, “Every patient may require different tasks and responsibilities on your daily list, depending on that patient’s needs. Having a variety-filled day is not always easy, but it makes life enjoyable. You may wear many hats throughout the day. But one thing is for sure, you will not be bored,”2 says Nursing Process.Org.
“If you are seeking employment where you will constantly be moving, there are few industries as fast-paced as health care. Because of this, if you enjoy staying active and meeting new people, becoming a medical assistant could be a good idea.2
6 Useful Skills/Stay relevant
A sixth reason for becoming an MA is relevancy. Depending on your role, you will likely have access to the latest front- and back-office tools. An administrative MA conducts billing and bookkeeping on modern software. Because they collect and maintain information electronically, they often use medical programs such as Epic Systems, database user interfaces, and query software. Electronic mail software—such as Microsoft Exchange, may come to guide you, while Healthcare standard coding systems (HCPCS) and Medical condition coding software will likely be valuable tools.
A clinical MA will use multiple electronic/magnetic forms and take vitals with touchless devices such as tricorders. (Tricorders are palm-sized devices that enable monitoring a wide array of vital signs accurately and quickly.)7 Additionally, 5G-enabled devices and 5G-connected sensors (recording, capturing, and transmitting data) may come to guide you. They will likely be valuable tools to help you improve patient outcomes and ease patent monitoring.7
6.5 Because You Can!
The 6.5 reason for becoming an MA is because you can!
While the benefits of becoming an MA vary from helping others to entering healthcare earlier, reasons for embarking on an MA education include a burgeoning field and assisting personal fulfillment. The vocation offers no boredom, with valuable skills to stay relevant. Yet ultimately, the 6.5 reasons you should become an MA is—because you can!
Medical Assisting has so much to offer, shouldn’t you check out Gurnick Academy’s MA program today?
*Indicates 30 approved instructional weeks
Citations:
1^a, b “31-9092.00—Medical Assistants.” O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development. (Accessed Nov. 9, 2022.)
2^a, b, c —. “25 Reasons Why Medical Assistant Is a Good Career Choice.” Www.nursingprocess.org. (Accessed Nov. 10, 2022.)
3 US News Best Jobs. “Medical Assistant Ranks among Best Jobs of 2019.” Usnews.com, US News and World Report LP, 2016. (Accessed Nov. 10, 2022.)
4 Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Medical Assistants. (Accessed Nov. 10, 2022.)
5 Holder, Jess. “Medical Assisting—An Entry-Level Healthcare Position in High Demand.” Dhge.org, Dignity Health. April 15, 2021. (Accessed Nov. 10, 2022.)
6^a, b Mcleod, Ph.D., Saul. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” Simply Psychology. April 22, 2007. (Accessed Nov. 10, 2022.)
7^a, b Fatima, Zaira. “Top 8 Recent Technological Advancement in the Medical Assistant Field—Daily Medicos.” Daily Medicos, Daily Medicos. March 3, 2021. (Accessed Nov. 14, 2022.)
