If you have been trying to figure out what type of career you would like to have, you may have thought about becoming a medical assistant. If you want to work as a medical assistant, you will need to obtain a medical assistant certification. You do not need to go to a traditional college to obtain this certification, but you will need to go to a trade school that offers this program so that you can learn more about the different responsibilities you will have when you get hired to work for a medical professional.

You Will Get to Work Behind the Desk and With Patients

Most medical assistants get to work behind the desk in an office environment as well as with the patients, encountering them regularly. For example, you may be hired to sit at the front desk where you will speak with the patients when they get to the office, have them write their names, and even verify their medical insurance information before they see a medical professional at the office. In some cases, you may need to take the patients to the waiting rooms behind the front desk, have them step on the scale to record their weight, and check their vital signs to see if anything is out of the ordinary.

You Should Be Prepared to Handle Several Tasks at Once

Working as a medical assistant means handling a lot of medical-related tasks simultaneously. You may need to complete different types of administrative tasks while greeting patients when they come through the front door and answering calls to schedule appointments or adjust the calendar based on patients who have had to cancel their appointments and reschedule them. If you are good at multi-tasking and enjoying being in an environment with plenty of other people each day, a medical assistant position could work best for you.

Once you get that medical assistant certification, you can apply for jobs at several types of offices. You may want to work for a primary care physician, a pediatrician, or even medical professionals that currently provide their services in a hospital environment. If you want to have access to these kinds of jobs, start searching for a trade school that offers the medical assistant program, find out how much you would need to pay for it, and then ask about the duration of the program to see how long it is going to take before you can get a certification and start working somewhere.