Most Essential Skills For a Medical Assistant To Win the Job

The whole medical industry would not have worked perfectly without medical assistants. If you love setting order on the table and organizing the chunks of information, becoming a Medical assistant might be a good career choice. 

To enter the industry, you must acquire Medical assistant skills. This article will tell you which skills you need to become a medical assistant and where and how to develop them. You will also learn how to craft a winning resume to mention your professional accomplishments.

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What is Medical Assistant?

Medical assistants will have many job opportunities in the medical field in the near future of work. They can work in any healthcare setting, both governmental and non-governmental.

But what do medical assistants do? Their duties include administrative and basic medical demands when it comes to professional responsibilities: 

• Keeping the medical records and patient’s personal information in order;
• Greeting patients and scheduling appointments; 
• Providing assistance to the doctor during clinical exams;
• Answering phone calls;
• Managing clinical supplies;
• Cooperating with the clinical lab.

Medical Assistant Technical Skills

There are various medical assistant technical skills to learn before entering the industry. The hard skills of working as a medical assistant constitute the core of the profession. Among the basic technical skills are: 

• The knowledge of digital record systems and an email program because a medical assistant works with the patient’s data;
• Excellent computer knowledge, since a medical assistant must understand the software and applications used in clinical settings;
• Basic medical skills in order to assist doctors, for instance, take vital signs.

Medical Assistant Non-Technical Skills

Soft skills are often mentioned in medical assistant requirements. Though soft skills for a medical assistant are not as important as the hard ones, they are vital if one wants to succeed.

• Strong interpersonal skills. A medical assistant provides communication between patients and the clinic. Also, assisting your colleagues is a must;
• Attention to detail. Working in clinical settings is all about keeping a record of patient’s information, bills, and treatment;
• Empathy. Helping people is all about caring and relating to their problems.

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Core Skills to Suit the Position

Among both hard and soft skills, you will find top skills for medical assistant to persuade the recruiters in the industry to give you the job. You may naturally possess some of the skills, while others will require special certification and training.

• Strong organization skills and extreme tidiness;
• Communication skills;
• Attention to detail; 
• Office skills like collecting bills, contacting health insurance companies, and managing emails and telephone calls;
• Medical skills.

Organization and Cleanliness

The main requirement when it comes to the most basic skills for medical assistant. Being organized means keeping the patient’s data in order, prioritizing tasks, and performing both administrative and clinical duties on time. Typical clerical skills like typing and filing documents come in handy here. Meanwhile, following the sanitation protocol and keeping the medical equipment sterile is necessary to provide safety to the patient and improve their health.

Communication

Having flawless interpersonal communication skills is one of the top skills of a medical assistant. Listening to the patient’s problems and always being ready to help is important. Working as a medical assistant means that you are a direct link between a patient and a doctor. Yet having superb written and verbal communication skills to send an important message to the audience is a must. Combine this skill with strong technical knowledge, and you have already entered the rows of medical assistant professionals. 

Detail-Oriented

Medical records consist of a patient’s medical history and their personal information. Keeping track of procedures and medications will be a crucial part of your daily work as a medical assistant. The efficiency of a doctor’s decisions will directly depend on your attention to detail. Therefore, being extremely accurate with details is one of the most required skills for a medical assistant. If you lack this skill as a professional, the treatment process will include solutions detrimental to the patient’s health. 

Administration (Protocols)

Performing daily clerical tasks is one of the basic skills needed to be a medical assistant. Like a receptionist, a medical assistant is supposed to answer the phone calls, write emails, and cancel appointments. Filing paperwork and organizing the patients’ records also fall into the area of clerical responsibilities. 

Meanwhile, clinical organizations have protocols to follow. For instance, a medical assistant should keep the office settings in order and the medical equipment in a sterile condition. 

Medical Basic Skills

A candidate fits the job position if they have acquired efficient medical skills for a resume. You should know medical terminology and clinical procedures to effectively help both patients and doctors. Being able to perform basic medical tasks like taking vital signs is a must. In many healthcare settings, medical assistants administer vaccines, an especially important task during COVID-19. In other settings, these professionals assist physicians during medical procedures. Yet performing basic medical services is one of the most important skills of medical assistant.

How to Improve Medical Assistant Skills

Entering the desired field is the one and only way to polish one’s skills. If you wonder how to improve Medical assistant skills, write a resume first. Your resume is like a business card that opens the doors of the best healthcare companies. However, if you are a newbie or a career changer, writing a professional medical assistant resume might be tough. Yes, your passion for helping people is strong, but the ATS bots are invincible. 

Luckily, there is a quick solution. Our writers will gladly create an ATS-beating resume that will win a dream job for you!

Follow Influencers in the Field

If you want to learn more, follow the advice of people with medical assistant qualifications. These professionals have all the credentials to medically assist you on your career path (pun intended).

Blogs

• Well. The most popular Medical assistant blog associated with New Your Times.
• Harvard Health Blog. Check Harvard Medical School’s publications.
• Health Essentials. Check tips on safety and other important information. 
• To Your Health. The place of most shocking medical stories.
• 33 Charts. Learn how to use technology as a medical assistant.
  

Twitter Experts

• Berci Mesko. Learn about technology and sci-fi trends in healthcare; 
• Gavin Preston. Check the issues with a healthcare system experiences;
• Lisa Gualtieri. Learn digital health communication; 
• Matthew Herper. Check news on science and medicine;
• Sarah Cliff. Learn about the future of health policy.

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Sample for Medical Assistant Resume Skills Section

Let your medical assistant skill set shine in the resume Skills section. Remember that to beat the applicant tracking system, the Skills section must be flawless. Which means you should mention all medical assistant skills in the right order. Keep your grammar perfect, and you will easily beat the ATS bots.

Medical Assistant Skills In a Resume Skills Section [Example]

To persuade an employer to give you the job, show them you have got all the skills to be a medical assistant. Check an example of how to organize your skills in the resume Skills section below. 

Skills

Hard Skills

• Basic medical skills (taking vital signs); 
• Administering injection;
• Knowledge of healthcare protocols;
• Basic office skills;
• Excellent knowledge of data management and recording;
• Knowledge of EHR software.

Soft Skills

• Superb interpersonal skills;
• Empathy;
• Strong organization skills and punctuality;
• Extreme attention to detail;
• Excellent teamwork skills.

How To Put Medical Assistant Skills Into the Experience Section [Example]

To highlight the Experience section, focus on the top skills required for a medical assistant, like basic medical knowledge and data management responsibility. Check the example below on how to do it.

Experience

Certified Medical Assistant

San Francisco Hospital

October 2017 - November 2020

• Assisted in procedures performed by physicians and took vital signs;
• Prepared patients for the procedures and checked the medical equipment;
• Managed patients’ recordings, which led to the 21% reduction of technical errors;
• Got 98% positive feedback in the survey regarding medical assistance services.

To Sum Up

We hope our article taught you what Medical assistant skills are. From now on, you know which skills you need to become a medical assistant and which experiences to have in order to acquire them. For instance, you may engage in online courses or medical schools depending on your time and budget. 

To build a career in the healthcare industry, you must write an ATS-beating resume first and get more interviews. Our writers at medical resume writing service will gladly create a professional resume to get your dream job. Contact us and get your amazing resume in a few clicks!

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