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Health Care Training with an Eye Toward the Future

If your particular interests involve pursuing a health care position that allows you to have a variety of administrative and clinical tasks while playing a role in helping a medical office to run efficiently, you may want to consider Clinical Medical Assisting (CMA).

What type of individual may be suited to a CMA career? Other than having a keen interest in the medical field and in others’ well-being, some of the key personal attributes for success in a CMA position include solid communication skills, an ability to work with patients and build good rapport, attention to detail, decision-making ability, integrity, good teamwork skills, multi-tasking ability, a positive attitude, and a willingness to learn. These qualities may help you on the path toward becoming a skilled CMA.

If your plans include eventually pursuing a higher-level degree and potential career advancement opportunities, you may want to consider an associate’s degree program as a first step. What type of training can you expect when you enroll in an associate’s degree program in Clinical Medical Assisting? (Typically, there are no prerequisites other than a high school diploma or GED to enroll, but you must meet an institution’s admissions requirements.) Once you enroll, your two-year training period will focus on training in both clinical and administrative skills in preparation for an entry-level position in medical services and support. You can generally expect classes in the following subject areas:

• Anatomy and physiology, covering the structures and functions of the human body and its cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
• Medical terminology, including the identification of diseases and various medical specialties.
• Clinical procedures such as taking patient histories and vital signs, recording medical data, preparing patients for exams and treatment, assisting physicians during medical exams and/or minor surgical procedures, administering drugs, performing EKGs, preparing for emergencies, and understanding OSHA health guidelines.
• Medical office procedures like patient scheduling, records management, billing/coding, and working with computer programs specific to the medical field.
• Medical transcription, or using the proper equipment to transcribe medical dictations accurately and quickly.
• Pharmacology, including the study of drugs and an introduction to IV fluids, vaccines, blood products, and anesthetics.
• Medical law and ethics, focusing on the legal and ethical considerations in the health care profession.
• Lab skills like microbiology, urinalysis, hematology, microscopy, and techniques used to collect urine and blood specimens, with an emphasis on developing skills in venipuncture, finger pricks, gram-staining, CBC, blood typing, and urinalysis.
• An externship opportunity to train under the guidance of the physician, facility supervisor, and instructional staff, giving you an opportunity to apply your classroom knowledge to real-life situations.

To round out this training as part of your associate’s degree in clinical medical assisting, general education coursework is usually offered in areas such as psychology, speech, English, and algebra.

With this in-depth training and your CMA associate’s degree in hand, you should be well-positioned to begin your search for a new career.