Medical assistant work hours can be long and exhausting. Medical assistants are people who help doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. They do tasks that help them in their work.
Their jobs typically involve doing both medical and office work. This includes things like making appointments, answering phone calls, and setting up the examination room for patients, among other duties.
Medical assistants are important in the healthcare industry because they help keep clinics running smoothly. They usually work a full-time schedule of about 40 hours per week, but the exact hours may vary depending on the specific job.
Read: Benefits of Being A Medical Assistant
Medical Assistant: How Their Normal Day’s Like
Most medical assistants work all the time, but some also work only some of the time. Medical assistants usually work for about 40 hours per week.
For example, medical assistants who work in places like private doctor’s offices may have a typical work schedule from 8 am to 5 pm.
However, medical assistants in emergency departments may need to work on weekends, holidays, and during the night.
Medical assistants usually have two common schedule options: either working five 8-hour shifts or three 12-hour shifts per week. Medical assistants sometimes have to work extra hours because there might be times when patients require immediate attention.
Medical assistants sometimes need to come to work before patients arrive to set up and handle all the tasks.
They might also decide to stay at work longer than planned to finish jobs like refilling supplies, handling paperwork, and so on.
Medical Assistant: Work Schedule
A doctor’s office is usually very busy with appointments, so medical assistants have to help many patients in one day. They must be good at organizing things and doing their job well in order to give patients the best possible care.
As we said before, the usual responsibilities of a medical assistant involve both medical and office work. This also relies on the kind of work setting that medical assistants choose.
- Arrive at the hospital at 8 am before any patients.
- From 8 to 9 in the morning, we will go through the schedule for the day and get the examination rooms ready for patients who will be visiting.
- From 9 to 10:30 in the morning, we answer phone calls, make appointments, write down important information about patients’ health, and help patients with whatever they need.
- From 10:30 in the morning to 12:30 in the afternoon, help patients with their payments and respond to more phone calls.
- From 12:30 to 1 pm: Time for lunch break.
- From 1 to 3 pm, we will do the following things: – Check the patient’s basic health information, like pulse and temperature – Review and make any necessary changes to the patient’s medical history – Help the patients schedule their appointments – Assist the patients with any other needs they may have.
- From 3 to 4:45 pm, I will be answering phone calls, assisting patients with their bills, and checking and updating their medical records.
- From 4:45 pm to 5 pm, we will have a meeting with our colleagues to discuss and summarize what happened during the day. After that, we will make sure that we have enough materials and equipment for the next day. We will also clean and tidy up the examination rooms to prepare them for use again.
- 5 pm: End of work
Medical Assistants Typical Duties
The job of a medical assistant involves both medical duties and office work. Administrative tasks involve more front office work like answering calls and scheduling appointments, while clinical tasks involve helping supervisors take care of patients. Some include:
Administrative Duties
Medical assistants have to do both office work and patient care to make sure everything runs smoothly in the healthcare system.
Some important jobs of a medical assistant may include:
- Talking on the phone
- Saying hello to patients and showing them where they need to go.
- Keeping track of patients’ health information and ensuring it stays up to date.
- Helping patients with paying bills, filling out forms, and dealing with insurance.
- Making plans to meet with someone at a specific time.
In addition to your responsibilities, it’s important to learn and be knowledgeable in the important skills that may be required by employers for a medical assistant position.
Clinical Duties
A certified clinical medical assistant works closely with doctors and other healthcare professionals. Their main aim is to offer the best possible care to patients. The primary tasks of a medical assistant include:
- Looking at the medical records of patients’ past health.
- Preparing and gathering samples for laboratory examination.
- Refilling items for the rooms where exams take place.
- Measuring and keeping track of patient health information like blood pressure, heartbeat, and how much they weigh.
- Helping doctors or nurses with medical procedures carried out at the patient’s bedside.
- Helping patients understand and follow their doctor’s care instructions.
Medical Assistant Work Hours: Where Is It Carried Out?
If you are interested in this job, you may want to learn about the different places where medical assistants can work.
Medical assistants work in many different places like hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices.
Some medical assistants work in specific healthcare settings, like chiropractic clinics, pediatric clinics as a pediatric medical assistant, OB-GYN offices, and optometry offices.
The work hours of medical assistants vary depending on the kind of healthcare place they work in. For instance, medical assistants who work at private clinics usually have a consistent schedule compared to those in different places.
They usually work from 8 in the morning to 5 in the evening from Monday to Friday. They are also known to have more flexible working hours compared to medical assistants in hospitals, and they also have to take care of fewer patients.
