To care for the health care of the patients requires not just doctors and other specialists, but also the type of expert who is a jack of all trade in medical care. This role is fulfilled by the health care assistants, who work under the indirect supervision of nurses and doctors. In this article I will cover the steps from getting a course in health care assistant, and getting a job as one.
Healthcare Assistant Job Description
Healthcare assistants work under the supervision of nurses and doctors. They are multi-skilled personnel who are trained in administrative as well as clinical procedures. Overall, medical assistants, as they are also known, work collaboratively with the medical team of a clinic or a hospital to take care of the patients. If required, they will also supervise more junior staff.
Their medical skills consist of the ability to take routine procedures and measurements such as blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, health and weight, calculating BMI, ECG and other such tests. They are also responsible for helping the patient with giving samples for urinalysis, and taking the samples to the concerned department for analysis.
How to become a Healthcare Assistant
In the United States, healthcare assistants are certified by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). Though you can serve in many states without being certified by the AAMA, it is preferable to get yourself certified because most employers will only hire certified Health Care Assistants, who are called CMAs or RNAs.
Before taking the certifying exam, you should have completed the course of a medical assisting program from a college that has been accredited either by CAAHEP or AABHES. These colleges provide different types of courses in Medical Assisting – including Associate degrees, certificate programs and diplomas.
Searching for Medical Assisting Jobs
Many medical care jobs have specific requirements. For example, a hospital may require a medical assistant who has had experience working in a pediatric setting. Another job may ask for a healthcare assistant with experience in dermatology. A medical assistant has to directly talk with the patients, and inform them about medical procedures and give instructions, which makes many hospitals prefer a bilingual medical assistant.
Online job search portals like monster.com are the best options if you want to search for health care assistant jobs. If you are in the UK, NHS is the employer of choice of a large number of health care assistants.