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Medical Assistants

Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
    • Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
    • Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
    • Set up medical laboratory equipment.
    • Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
    • Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
    • Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies.
    • Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
    • Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.
    • Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
    • Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
    • Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.
    • Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician.
    • Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment.
    • Schedule appointments for patients.
    • Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
    • Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
    • Change dressings on wounds.
    • Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
    • Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
    • Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
    • Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
    • Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients.
    • Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
    • Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.

    Skills

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    Knowledge

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 38280/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 18.4/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 24,220
    • Yearly Projected Openings 3160

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Concern for Others
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Alcohol analyzers
    • Audiometers
    • Bedside pulmonary function screeners
    • Benchtop centrifuges
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Blood collection needles
    • Body plethysmographs
    • Canes
    • Capillary or hematocrit tubes
    • Cast cutters or saws
    • Chemistry analyzers
    • Crutches
    • Dictation machines
    • Dropping pipettes
    • Electrocardiography EKG units
    • Electronic blood pressure units
    • Electrosurgical or electrocautery equipment
    • Endotracheal tubes
    • Enema kits
    • Eye charts or vision cards
    • Eye occluders
    • Gait belts for rehabilitation or therapy
    • Hearing aid
    • Hypodermic needle
    • Keratometers
    • Lancets
    • Lap mayo trays or mayo stands for surgical use
    • Laser printers
    • Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
    • Medical acoustic stethoscopes
    • Medical gas cylinders or related devices
    • Medical imaging wet darkroom or daylight processors
    • Medical or surgical suction or vacuum appliances
    • Medical or surgical suction tubings
    • Medical oxygen masks or parts
    • Medical radiation films or badges
    • Medical syringes with needle
    • Medical syringes without needle
    • Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
    • Mercury blood pressure units
    • Microscope slides
    • Nebulizers
    • Non vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Notebook computers
    • Ophthalmic lensometers
    • Ophthalmic retinoscopes
    • Ophthalmic tonometers
    • Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets
    • Opticians tools
    • Orthopedic splint systems
    • Oxygen therapy delivery system products
    • Personal computers
    • Phlebotomy trays or accessories
    • Scanners
    • Sigmoidoscopes
    • Skin staple removers or kits
    • Specimen collection container
    • Spirometers
    • Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
    • Suture removers
    • Tablet computers
    • Tourniquets
    • Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units
    • Tuberculin syringes
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Walkers or rollators
    • Wheelchairs
    • Winged infusion needle set

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Categorization or classification software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Network conferencing software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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