Exploring the Medical Administrative Assistant Career Path

The income prospects for medical administrative assistants will also be good now, and in the future. With the right training and certifications, a qualified individual can enjoy better than average income potential in a career that can be attained in a relatively short period of time. The following is a detailed listing of projected annual incomes for trained medical assistant professions:

General medical and surgical hospitals $29,720
Colleges, universities, and professional schools 28,820
Offices of physicians 28,710
Outpatient care centers 28,570
Offices of other health practitioners 25,240

*Data courtesy of The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics website: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos164.htm

The training required to enter the field can vary from state to state, but generally, a two year associates degree is expected for entry level health professions. In some cases, there are health care facilities that provide on the job training opportunities, but as the field becomes more technical and specialized, these informal type of programs are being replaced by more formal education situations.

Advancements in medical technology will fuel the demand for trained and certified medical administrative assistants. Essentially, these medical professionals provide clinical, as well as administrative support, so specialized education is critical for someone wanting to enter the field. The prospective medical administrative assistant will need training in both the medical and office administration skill sets to not only launch their career, but advance it as well.

Fortunately, there are ample training options available to someone wanting to enter the medical administration field. Most community colleges offer basic to advanced nursing degree programs, as well as a wide variety of office administration career paths. In fact, many of them offer specific programs of study that are tailored to the medical administrative assistant. Additionally, there are several private training colleges that make it fast and easy to enter the medical assisting field. Also, the internet provides several viable options for an aspiring medical administrative assistant to earn an accredited degree while studying at home.

Like many other careers, medical assistants have certification entities that monitor and help assure professionalism. The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and Association of Medical Technologists (AMT) are two of note that will certify an individual in medical administrative assisting. Although not necessarily mandatory to work in the field, many times the right certification can make a big difference between getting that first job in medicine, or possibly receiving a promotion. Being certified can be a career boost, in addition to giving direction toward expanding a career in medical administration.

Like a formal educational degree, professional certifications can be essential to someone wanting to advance their career beyond the medical assisting status. For instance, becoming a medical assisting trainer can be be a means for a medical administrative assistant to advance their career into a more professional capacity. A college degree and being certified by recognized entities can go a long way toward making this a reality.