Many people dream of a career in medicine. The idea of helping others by providing vital care when they are ill is appealing. There are several different career paths to pursue for someone who wants to get into this field. A great choice for an individual who wants to provide patient care without years and years of related time spent in a classroom is to become a medical assistant.

Virtually every medical office whether it’s the office of a high profile plastic surgeon, or a clinic in a small town, employs medical assistants. These individuals are often viewed as the back bone of the practice and it is through their hard work and dedication that the office keeps running on a smooth course. The medical assistant aids in so many areas including helping behind the front desk, taking on tasks related directly to patient care and then following up with laboratories and image and diagnostic centers.

There are several different types of medical assistants including those who specialize in a particular field of medicine. In addition to working in a general practitioner’s office, some assistants feel a pull to working in other environments where their expertise could be utilized. This may be in the office of an ophthalmologist, a podiatrist, a gynecologist and even in a laboratory. Although the responsibilities allocated to the assistant will differ slightly depending on where they work, their main focus remains the same and that’s to be a source of help for the doctor and other medical personnel.

There are naturally many skills that a physician’s assistant must have in order to correctly perform their job. These typically include having an aptitude for working with a computer as the assistant can often be found behind a desk handling the demanding job of scheduling appointments, tending to the billing and calling other doctor’s offices for referrals. Although this may appear at first glance to be something of a mundane way to work in medicine, it’s not at all. Without the skilled expertise of the assistant, the office itself would grind to a standstill.

Many assistants prefer to work in an office where they are given the opportunity to aid directly in patient care. Although a medical assistant is not permitted to give a medical examination, they are often trained to take a person’s vital signs upon entering the examination room, and they may also be skilled in giving injections or drawing blood. It can be incredibly rewarding for the assistant to spend a few moments with each patient as they arrive at the office, asking about what their medical issue is as well as taking a brief medical history. For this reason it’s very important that the assistant have an empathetic nature and be friendly.