Medical Assistant Roles & Responsibilities
Medical assistants are the only allied health professionals specifically trained to work in ambulatory care settings, such as physicians’ offices, clinics, and group practices. That training includes both clinical and administrative skills, covering a multitude of medical practice needs. The skills performed by an entry-level medical assistant depend on his or her place of employment, but all graduates of accredited credentials are taught a similar skill set.
Clinical skills include:
• Assisting during physical examinations
• Performing patient screening procedures
• Assisting with minor surgical procedures, including sterilization procedures
• Performing electrocardiograms (ECGs)
• Obtaining and recording vital signs and medical histories
• Performing phlebotomy
• Performing tests permitted by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (i.e., CLIA-waived tests)
• Collecting and managing laboratory specimens
• Following Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on infection control
• Administering vaccinations and medications as ordered by the provider
• Performing patient education and coaching initiatives within the scope of practice
• Documenting accurately in a paper record or an EHR
• Performing first aid procedures as needed
• Performing infection control procedures
• Applying therapeutic communication techniques
• Adapting to the special needs of a patient based on his or her developmental life stage, cultural diversity, and individual communication barriers
• Acting within legal and ethical boundaries
Administrative skills include:
• Answering telephones
• Managing patient scheduling
• Creating and maintaining patient health records
• Documenting accurately in a paper record and an EHR
• Performing routine maintenance of facility equipment
• Performing basic practice finance procedures
• Coordinating third-party reimbursement
• Performing procedural and diagnostic coding
• Communicating professionally with patients, family members, practitioners, peers, and the public
• Managing facility correspondence
• Performing patient education and coaching initiatives within the scope of practice
• Following legal and ethical principles
• Complying with facility safety practices
These lengthy lists of capabilities that make up the basic skill set are not all that is expected of entry-level medical assistants; they also play a significant role as the patient's advocate. Current research describes this role as being a patient navigator (Fig. 1.1). If you have ever had a loved one who was very ill and required medical attention from a number of different practitioners and allied health specialty groups, you understand what a complex and overwhelming task it can be to make decisions and coordinate a loved one's care. Care coordination originated from the patient navigator program. This program was established at the Harlem Hospital Center in 1990. The goal was to assist cancer patients in accessing quality healthcare. Many patient navigator positions were funded with the assistance of the Patient Navigator, Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005. Today, patient navigator positions are commonly called care coordinators. These positions can be found in ambulatory care settings and hospitals. In hospitals, the care coordinators help manage the acute care services and also help patients transition home or to other healthcare settings.
Professionalism
As a healthcare professional, medical assistants represent the healthcare facility. They are viewed as an extension of the provider and the facility. A healthcare professional:
• has high ethical standards.
• displays integrity.
• completes work accurately and in a timely fashion.
It is important for successful professionals to show professionalism; that is, having courteous, conscientious, and respectful behaviors. This approach is used during all interactions and situations in the workplace. Our patients and co-workers expect professional behavior. Patients base much of their trust and confidence in those who show professionalism. How health professionals act is a direct reflection on the facility and provider. If a medical assistant is rude to a patient, the patient may think that the provider is rude. The perceived quality of care will be negative. Medical assistants must always display professionalism. This includes their attitude, appearance, and behavior. Regardless of the situation, they must always act professionally.
Courtesy and Respect
Courtesy, respect, and dignity often come together when discussing professionalism. Courtesy is having good manners or being polite. Courteous behavior is polite, open, and welcoming. Respect means to show consideration or appreciation for another person. Dignity is the state or quality of being worthy of respect.
We show our patients dignity by treating all patients the way we would want to be treated. It does not matter if the patient has bad body odor or is dressed in tattered clothes. The patient is a person worthy of respect. Patients expect to be treated as individuals who matter. They want to be respected and not to be treated as an annoyance or a medical condition. How can the medical assistant treat others with courtesy and respect?
• Make patients feel welcome and respected. A pleasant greeting and eye contact should be the first things patients experience. Thanking patients at the end of the visit is also important.
• Display positive nonverbal behaviors. Use a calm tone of voice, eye contact when appropriate, and provide privacy for patients. Maintain patient confidentiality.
• Learn about other cultures in your area. When working with patients from those cultures, make sure to avoid gestures, words, and behaviors that could be perceived as disrespectful.
• Always use proper grammar, without slang words. Explain medical treatments and conditions in simple lay language. If you need to use a medical term, explain it to the patient.
Empathy and Compassion
It is important that professional medical assistants demonstrate empathy and compassion to their patients. Empathy, sympathy, and compassion can easily be confused. Empathy is the ability to understand another's perspective, experiences, or motivations. We can share another's emotional state. Empathy differs from sympathy. Sympathy is feeling sorrow, concern or pity for what the other person has gone through. Compassion means we have a deep awareness of the suffering of another and wish to ease it. These characteristics will help to build our positive relationship with our patients.
Tact and Diplomacy
Tact and diplomacy are extremely valuable traits in healthcare professionals. Being tactful means being acutely sensitive to what is proper and appropriate when interacting with others. A tactful person has the ability to speak or act without offending others. Being diplomatic means using tact and sensitivity when interacting with others. The medical assistant must be sensitive to the needs of others. How can a medical assistant use these traits when communicating with others?
• Consistently be polite and honest during your communication. Show sensitivity to others through your communication and behaviors.
• Recognize the needs and rights of others. Attempt to reach a mutually beneficial resolution to the problem.
• Assess your personal response to the situation. Your personal beliefs and biases should not prevent you from interacting diplomatically and tactfully with others.
Respect for Individual Diversity
Medical assistants work with diverse populations. Your patients will come from different backgrounds. Diversity describes the differences and similarities in identity, perspective, and points of view among people. When talking about diversity people usually think of things such as nationality or race, but diversity can also include things such as age and economic status.
It is important to be open and nonjudgmental when working with patients and workers who are different than ourselves. Be aware and accepting of other cultural differences. Be aware of your own cultural values. What preconceived ideas do you have of other diverse groups? How might your biases affect the care you provide to those in different groups?
It is important to educate yourself about other groups. Get to know their customs and practices. Culture can affect healthcare. It can influence how people describe their symptoms, when healthcare is sought, and how treatment plans are followed. For instance, people in some cultures eat traditional foods high in sodium. This could be an issue if a person has high blood pressure or kidney disease. Understanding and accepting the differences represented by your patients will help you provide the best care possible for them.
Honesty, Dependability, and Responsibility
Honest means to be sincere and upright. Dependable is the same as trustworthy. Responsible is defined as being trusted or depended upon. These are three traits that employers value in their employees. Professional medical assistants should be honest, dependable, and responsible. When given a task, they should complete it accurately, on time, and to the best of their ability. If they make an error, they should be upfront about it. Patient safety is the number one priority. Any mistake in patient care needs to be reported immediately to the provider and to the supervisor. Dependability and honesty are critical components in earning the trust and respect of others. How can medical assistants perform their duties using these three characteristics?
• Be honest and straightforward when interacting with others.
• Accept responsibility for your mistakes. Determine how to prevent them in the future.
• Follow through on your promises.
• Complete your work to the best of your abilities. Complete it on time.
• Be self-motivated. Don't wait to be asked to complete a task.
• Embrace change.
Professional Appearance
Most ambulatory healthcare facilities have dress codes for employees. Medical assistants are usually required to wear scrubs, along with the facility's nametag. Dress codes will vary by facility. Some communities are more conservative, and thus the dress codes reflect this.
Adapted from Kinn's The Clinical Medical Assistant (14th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
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