Medical Assistant Training: The Skills You Learn

Key Insights:

• Medical assistant occupations are projected to grow 12% between 2024 and 2034, a rate the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls "much faster than average," which could equate to roughly 112,300 job openings each year.
• Medical assistant training can provide skills for both clinical (patient care) and administrative functions, which are typical duties of this healthcare role.
• UMA's Clinical Medical Assistant program includes hands-on coursework, a 180-hour externship, and preparation to sit for certification exams.

Medical assistant occupations are projected to grow 12% between 2024 and 2034, which is a rate that is "much faster than average," according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.¹ This would equate to roughly 112,300 openings for this healthcare role each year, on average, during that time.

Medical assistant training can provide the skills needed to perform typical work duties, which often include both clinical and administrative tasks. What can you learn in a medical assistant program?

What Is a Medical Assistant?

Medical assistant duties can range from collecting vital signs and assisting with minor procedures to office duties such as updating patients' health records and scheduling future appointments.

Learn more: About the Medical Assistant Role

Medical Assistant Skills

The goal of a medical assistant training program is to prepare you for job duties that are typical for this role. These can include:

• Preparing patients for examinations
• Measuring their vital signs
• Collecting and preparing samples for testing
• Assisting physicians with examinations and minor in-office procedures
• Updating patient records
• Scheduling patient appointments
• Processing insurance claims

A training program can help you build these medical assistant skills and more. They're also some of the skills you may want to consider highlighting on your medical assistant resume once you are ready to begin your job search.

What You Can Learn in Medical Assistant Training?

Ultimate Medical Academy's Health Sciences – Clinical Medical Assistant Associate of Science / Associate of Applied Science Degree program includes several courses designed to provide the skills needed to work in ambulatory, urgent care, and acute care settings. Some courses within this program are intended to help build your technical medical assistant skills, while others can help you develop the soft skills that may be beneficial for this role.

This program covers:

This program also includes a 180-hour onsite externship. This hands-on training helps you develop your medical assistant skills in an actual healthcare setting, with supervision.

Learners at UMA also receive preparation to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant exam, Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) exam, and Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam.² Some states/employers require that medical assistants be certified. Even if yours doesn't, obtaining a professional certification can enhance your credibility while also giving you a competitive advantage over job seekers who lack these credentials.³

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Medical Assistant Program

A degree program can help you gain the knowledge and skills needed to perform medical assistant job duties. Here are a few questions to ask when selecting a program:

• Does the program include courses that can help me build both my clinical (patient care) and administrative (office) skills?
• Does it help me prepare for certification exams?
• Is any of the coursework online, enabling me to complete some of my studies without having to commute to campus?
• Does the school offer student services if I am struggling in my program, have questions about a course or assignment, or face other school challenges when working toward my degree?
• Can anyone at the school help me navigate the financial aid process?
• What type of career services does the school provide, if any, for when I'm ready to begin my job search?

At UMA, we believe that it's important to find the right school for you. Asking questions such as these can help you learn more about your medical assistant training program options, in addition to considering some of the "extras" that schools sometimes provide, such as those related to academic and career services.

If you'd like to learn more about UMA, our programs, or services before making your decision, contact us and let's have a chat. We're here to assist you in your healthcare career educational journey.

FAQs

• What do you need to be a medical assistant? Medical assistants generally need postsecondary education, and some states require that you be certified or licensed.⁴ A medical assistant training program can help you meet the educational requirements set by states or employers. Some programs also prepare you to sit for certification exams, which can help you feel more confident when taking these tests.
• How do you become a medical assistant? Medical assistant training can be a good first step. This type of program can help you learn both the clinical and administrative skills needed for this role. Some employers hire job candidates without training and help them build their medical assistant skills on the job. However, if your state and/or employer require you to be certified, the completion of a training program may be a prerequisite before taking the certification exam.
• Is a medical assistant the same as an administrative medical assistant? No, these are two different healthcare roles. They do have some overlapping job functions, but an administrative medical assistant doesn't generally perform clinical tasks such as measuring vital signs and drawing blood. We offer an article that compares medical assistant vs. medical administrative assistant roles if you'd like to learn more.