The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for medical assistants will increase by 19% by 2029. However, all of the data used to predict the demand for medical assistants was compiled long before the coronavirus pandemic. If anything, COVID-19 has driven the demand higher, maybe exponentially so.
Today, the American Association of Medical Assistants(AAMA) is scrambling to provide enough workers to meet the needs of the pandemic. They're even extending exam deadlines and credentialing recertifications for six months. Read on to learn more about online medical assistant certification.
Be Ready for the Job
Post-secondary education isn't required to become a medical assistant in most states, but it is recommended. Most healthcare providers do not have the time to train new employees from the ground up, especially with pandemic workloads. Therefore, a new medical assistant must be able to contribute immediately.
Getting certified can help you be more prepared for the job. Along with training, credentialing exams also demonstrate to employers that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to perform the job. While passing an exam isn't required for medical assistant careers, it does distinguish you from other candidates, making healthcare providers more comfortable about hiring you.
Better Understand the Nature of Job Updates
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, medical assistants performed a variety of mostly administrative and routine clinical tasks in hospitals, clinics, and private practices. Most people outside of the profession only vaguely recognized the work of a medical assistant, which included: managing patient records, answering the phone, and sometimes assisting phlebotomists when drawing blood and running laboratory tests.
Now, the efficiency of the entire healthcare system depends on medical assistants. As some hospitals reaching a critical capacity, their jobs require them to be flexible and able to learn new, not traditionally assigned, tasks quickly and with little supervision. Medical assistants often find themselves moving patients to and fro, performing CPR, and ensuring that medication is being accurately distributed.
And the task of preventing potential outbreaks at hospitals and clinics now falls largely to medical assistants, who pre-screen and record the temperature of people wishing to enter, allowing suspected Covid-19 patients to be herded safely into isolated waiting rooms before others can be infected.
And not surprisingly, the pandemic has led to an increased demand for telehealth services. Medical assistants are often required to interact directly with patients, helping them navigate telehealth platforms and sometimes even remotely monitoring a patient's vital signs. Your certification can help you better understand the changes to the industry and feel confident in your new role.
If you're ready to update your training or start a new career, contact companies that offer online medical assistant certifications.
Share11 February 2021
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