It’s a Huge life change! You are no longer just a medical student…you’re now a medical professional.
After you graduate and successfully complete your externship, you only have one big step before you become a Medical Assistant: Your first job. You’ve chosen a career that’s booming, which increases your opportunity’s and chances of being hired, but finding that first job can still be a challenge, so you need to make sure you start it well.
We have a lot of experience in this as many of your instructors and administrators have actual on the job experience. They know the ins and outs, and exactly how your feeling. They know exactly what you need to know and how to present it. We have had many graduates successfully enter the field, so please consider these tips.
Understand the Practice and How It Operates
Your main responsibility is patient flow. It’s your job to ensure things operate smoothly and efficiently—so you need to understand how things operate from your first day. Learn the organization by learning how the office structured. Pay close attention to filing systems, to the process for admitting patients, especially your role in it. By the time you’ve finished school, you know you need to be organized as a Medical Assistant, so by the time you begin your first Medical Assisting job, you should immediately learn the organizational structure of your new workplace
Always Put the Patient First
You have many duties as a medical assistant, but it’s important that you put the patient first. You are the face of the practice and often you will need to put patients at ease and make them comfortable. Putting them first will ensure the success of you and the entire practice. They are patients, but they are also customers that should be satisfied with their level of care. This is often stressful times for them and that is something you should factor into your care.
Always Be Willing to Learn
We all do it. We get comfortable in our day-to-day routine and rarely push ourselves after becoming comfortable. It is however very important that we keep learning all aspects of our jobs and the jobs of our coworkers. This is important because all offices are different. You may not do certain things at one office and find you must learn something completely new at a new office. The experience on your resume should reflect your knowledge.
Ask physicians and coworkers for their advice for performing your duties well. Willingness to learn is an advantage you will need for a successful career, even if you stay at your first practice until you retire. The healthcare field is constantly changing, so you always need to be able to learn.
Network, Network, Network!
Always use the opportunity to network with other medical assistants and other offices. Not only do you expand your information resources, but you also obtain potential employment of reference opportunities. Medical assistants that have many years on the job can often offer great advice and how the field has changed.
Follow these basic steps and you will certainly become the most knowledgeable and proficient Medical assistant you can be!
