The healthcare field is huge. It is a little complicated when you have a huge team of medical personnel. Below is a rough example of a private practice organizational chart. I am obviously missing a lot of other departments, but I mainly wanted to focus on what is important, Medical Assistants! (I made the chart so I apologize if it’s too simple!) The organization chart would have more components in an urgent care clinic and hospital. I will research more details about what is in an urgent care and hospital organization chart if that is something anyone is interested in. But for now I will keep it simple. Definition in the state of CaliforniaMedical assistants fall under support staff. They work directly under a physician or nurse. According to the Medical Board of California, medical assistants are defined as individuals who perform non-invasive routine technical support services under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon, podiatrist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or nurse midwife in a medical office or clinic setting without the need of receiving a certification.” It seems straightforward, but I have heard some people confuse MA’s for other positions like Licensed Vocational Nurses/Licensed Practical Nurses (LVNs/LPNs), or Registered Nurses (RNs). Manda the CMA is a CMA (AMAA) from Minnesota. She recorded an awesome YouTube video that generally defines what an MA is and some responsibilities. MAs often work front office and back office in clinics, urgent care, and hospitals. They work directly under someone who is licensed. This means that an MA cannot perform any clinical tasks without licensed personnel on the premises. (California Law! I cannot assume this is the same in all state, but I am sure it is something similar.) MA ResponsibilitiesAs mentioned earlier, every state has laws regulating a medical assistant’s scope of practice. I could not find a list of authorized procedures, but I found a list of what MA’s cannot do from the Medical Board of California. Some procedures MA’s cannot perform are:
Why are you talking about Medical Assisting? I thought you were going to be an RN?!That is correct! I am a licensed phlebotomist and currently a Medical Assistant student. I become a phlebotomist years ago and love it! The biggest thing missing from the experience is patient care. I have found that I want more exposure and more responsibilities as a healthcare provider. Since I have almost a year before I can apply to an Accelerated Nursing Program, I decided to become a Certified Medical Assistant with a Phlebotomy License so that I can expose myself to as much clinical and patient care experience as possible. I am also hoping to build my network of healthcare professionals so that I can find a mentor like I had in the military. I hoped this helped to clarify what a Medical Assistant is and what they do. I will cover Medical Assistant Programs and Certification in my next post.
Thanks for reading!
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NicoleWorking my butt off to become an RN in the U.S. Navy. ArchivesCategories |