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People often think of medical assistants as working in doctor’s offices or clinics. This is because a medical assistant is someone who performs basic medical care and administrative medical tasks. A medical assistant can perform duties like taking vital signs, taking patient histories, scheduling appointments, billing insurance, organizing medical files and records, and so much more. However, there are places that medical assistants can work other than a doctor’s office.
If you are curious about medical assistants, you can read on to learn more about the different places that medical assistants can and do work. Also, it should be noted that the employment of medical assistants is expected to grow 29% from 2016 to 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means that there may be even more places for medical assistants to work in the future, and this could be a promising career to get into. Learn more below.
Places Where Medical Assistants Work
Check out some different places where medical assistants can work below. Some of these places might be pretty common, but others might not be something you think of right away.
- Doctor’s Office – As discussed above, a doctor’s office is a common place for medical assistants to work. These medical assistants report to the doctor or nurse and perform duties assigned to them.
- Outpatient Clinic – An outpatient clinic is another place where medical assistants can work. This can be a place that is run by a specialist doctor, so the job duties may vary.
- Clinical Lab – Another place where medical assistants can work is in a laboratory facility of some kind. At this location, a medical assistant will be involved in collecting, preparing, and processing different samples. They will also conduct different lab tests.
- Colleges and Universities – As a medical assistant, you might also work at a college or university if it is large enough to have its own clinic or hospital. This would be similar to working in a doctor’s office setting, but you will be working to provide care predominately to college students or university staff.
- Nursing Homes or Assisted Living Facilities – Another place where medical assistants might work is a nursing home or assisted living facility. Senior living facilities have a growing need for workers because the baby boomer population is aging, and they are often in need of basic medical care or assistance.
- Chiropractic Offices – Working in a chiropractor office can be another opportunity for a medical assistant. This would be similar to the work in a doctors office, but it could be a little different. Chiropractors will probably look for medical assistants who have basic knowledge of massage techniques and body manipulation. In a chiropractor office, medical assistants can also perform administrative duties as well.
- Oncology Centers – Medical assistants can also work in oncology or cancer centers. These centers have specific needs for medical assistants. For example, working as a medical assistant in an oncology center could mean helping patients who are undergoing radiation or other treatment. This will be a job where you have to work well under pressure and be very good with patient care.
- Military Medical Assistants – There are also need for medical assistants and medical professionals in the military. Whether a person joins the navy, army, air force, or coast guard, there may be medical assistant options. However, these positions in the military can have a lot of competition to get the job.
People assume that medical assistants only work in a doctor’s office, but as shown above, there are a lot of places medical assistants can work. This could be a good career opportunity for many people.
How to Become a Medical Assistant
Above, we discussed a little bit about what medical assistant do as well as where medical assistants can work. If all of this information caught your interest, a medical assistant career might be something to consider. According to BLS.gov, most people who work as a medical assistant need a postsecondary certificate of some sort to continue through this profession. Attending a medical assistant school can get you the training you need without having to attend a very long program.
FVI School of Nursing and Technology or FVI has a medical assistant program. This program will teach you about many different things including, medical office management, insurance billing, performing medical tests, phlebotomy, EKG tests, and more. At FVI, you can also choose from on-campus day classes or on-campus evening classes so that the schooling can work best with your schedule. The program is one that you can complete quickly so that you can go on to working in the field in any of the places listed above. Click here to learn more.
For more information about graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website:
https://fvi.edu/consumer-information/.
