medical assistant

naila_856 · Jun 18th, 2009, 12:31 AM

my family is advising me to do a medical assistant course ...i want to know what does a medical assistant do and how long is the course..what do they basiclly teach in the course and what is the pay range

Ask99 · Jun 18th, 2009, 12:33 AM

This thread should be moved to Careers and Academics

PSquared · Jun 18th, 2009, 12:42 AM

I'll do that now...

jalebi121 · Jun 18th, 2009, 05:18 AM

Medical assistants do stuff like taking the patient's history, checking their weight and BP, and drawing blood. This saves time for the doctor. I looked into medical assisting and I wouldn't do it because it takes about a year and $10,000 tuition to become a MA, and you only get paid about $11/hr.

Why not become a sonographer? The training time is about the same, but salaries start pretty high, around 50k. Just make sure the program is accredited.

naila_856 · Jun 19th, 2009, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSquared

I'll do that now...

tell me in details plez

naila_856 · Jun 19th, 2009, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalebi121

Medical assistants do stuff like taking the patient's history, checking their weight and BP, and drawing blood. This saves time for the doctor. I looked into medical assisting and I wouldn't do it because it takes about a year and $10,000 tuition to become a MA, and you only get paid about $11/hr.

Why not become a sonographer? The training time is about the same, but salaries start pretty high, around 50k. Just make sure the program is accredited.

what is a sonographer...what are the job duties.....

can you also introduce some other jobs which requre only a year for tuittion

diwana · Jun 19th, 2009, 03:40 AM

Its not true medical assistants make low income. 11/hour is still good money for simple work.

Nurses are not required for simple jobs and MA are very helpful for small medical group. They do have ability to go upward by showing their great skills and learn something extra like being able to use c=some office equipments and this way they can secure their jobs. Eventually they can earn more than they are hired at the beginning.

Billing and credentialing is another good paying job in office.

naila_856 · Jun 19th, 2009, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diwana

Its not true medical assistants make low income. 11/hour is still good money for simple work.

Nurses are not required for simple jobs and MA are very helpful for small medical group. They do have ability to go upward by showing their great skills and learn something extra like being able to use c=some office equipments and this way they can secure their jobs. Eventually they can earn more than they are hired at the beginning.

Billing and credentialing is another good paying job in office.

what does we have to do in billing and credentialing ....and what is they starting pay

aahmed · Jun 19th, 2009, 05:13 PM

Naila, my recommendation is to do something that you are passionate about instead of just looking for easy jobs that pay well because those don't last long if they aren't fulfilling.

jalebi121 · Jun 19th, 2009, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diwana

Its not true medical assistants make low income. 11/hour is still good money for simple work.

Yeah it seems like simple work, but if you invest $12,000 for tuition, and then make $11/hour, that works out to $9/hr after taxes. So it will take about 8 months working ft just to break even! And considering a person can just get a job out of high school which pays this amount, it's not worth it. If the tuition is really low, the job itself is pretty good and rewarding and then it could be worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aahmed

Naila, my recommendation is to do something that you are passionate about instead of just looking for easy jobs that pay well because those don't last long if they aren't fulfilling.

yup i agree.

Also Naila, a lot of your queries can be solved easily through google. since we don't know where you live, what your requirements are, etc, u will probably know best what works for you. the lengths of programs often differ too, depending on where you live.

diwana · Jun 19th, 2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naila_856

what does we have to do in billing and credentialing ....and what is they starting pay

In current day situation (US), Billing and Credentialing is must for each practice.

There are courses for these kind of work.

Some charge lump sum (common), some hourly. The paper work is tedious and good work is really appreciated by the practice.

Yearly income from multiple practices could reach hundreds of thousands.

diwana · Jun 19th, 2009, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalebi121

Yeah it seems like simple work, but if you invest $12,000 for tuition, and then make $11/hour, that works out to $9/hr after taxes. So it will take about 8 months working ft just to break even! And considering a person can just get a job out of high school which pays this amount, it's not worth it. If the tuition is really low, the job itself is pretty good and rewarding and then it could be worth it.

..........

It all depends what type of practice is hiring. With time and good work, salary does go upward.

Your calculation is not realistic since there are many other areas such as professional career jobs (Engineering,medical, nursing) it would take lot more years to 'brake even' with lot more responsibilities and risks.

desigirl786 · Jun 21st, 2009, 06:55 PM

Do a google search. There are a TON of healthcare jobs such as the one you are looking into.

naila_856 · Jun 22nd, 2009, 10:20 PM

can anyone tell me what is a paient care technian and what are their job duties

marwati · Jun 23rd, 2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalebi121

Medical assistants do stuff like taking the patient's history, checking their weight and BP, and drawing blood. This saves time for the doctor. I looked into medical assisting and I wouldn't do it because it takes about a year and .

The jobs of medical assistant u mentioned can easily b learnt within month in any teaching hospital of pakistan. i wonder why 12000$? a much amount 4 tuition

marwati · Jun 23rd, 2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalebi121

Medical assistants do stuff like taking the patient's history, checking their weight and BP, and drawing blood. This saves time for the doctor. I looked into medical assisting and I wouldn't do it because it takes about a year and .

The jobs of medical assistant u mentioned can easily b learnt within month by social work in any teaching hospital of pakistan. i wonder why 12000$? a much amount 4 tuition

daenigma · Jun 23rd, 2009, 03:32 PM

where u plannin to do it

Pareezay · Jun 23rd, 2009, 04:33 PM

naila, have you thought about physician's assistant? i know a few people who did it and love it, besides, the pay range is 60k-80k. honestly, that's much much better than becoming a medical assistant.