Where Do Medical Assistants Work?

As a medical assistant, you don’t always have to work in a clinical setting.

While clinical workplaces are certainly one of the most popular work scenes, it isn't your only option.

Whether you’re a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant or a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant, the work environment choices will vary as much as your daily duties.

If you’re looking for your first job or want a change within the industry, our lists may give you some new ideas of places a medical assistant can work.

Exciting Places Where Clinical Medical Assistants Work

In your role as a clinical medical assistant, you'll work as an important supporting staff member in the busy healthcare field. An ophthalmic medical assistant, for example, might teach patients how to insert or remove contact lenses. Whereas a chiropractic medical assistant may show patients basic rehab exercises.

Depending on your industry, you may have to learn new skill sets and maintain certifications. No matter the setting, you'll always use your core medical assisting skills.

You can work in:

• Chiropractic Offices
• Emergency Departments
• Ophthalmology Offices
• Cardiology Offices
• Dermatology Offices
• Retirement Homes
• Psychiatric & Behavioral Health
• Medical Research Centers

Settings Where Medical Administrative Assistants Work

As a medical administrative assistant, you won't interact as much with patients as a clinical medical assistant would. Within this role, you usually work on typical administrative tasks to keep healthcare settings running efficiently. Instead of taking patient vitals, you’ll take patient information for scheduling appointments, for example.

You can work in:

• Urgent Care
• Diagnostic Labs
• Pediatric Offices
• Weight Loss Centers
• Colleges and Universities
• Medical Billing and Coding Departments

Settings Vary As Much As Your Day

For both administrative and clinical medical assistants, you may find you can work in all of the above settings. It depends on your skills and experience. Some employers will require a certified clinical medical assistant also receive additional training specific to a practice or employer’s needs.

With each new setting comes new responsibilities and regulations. Being a dermatology medical assistant is quite different than being a cardiology medical assistant, for example. Having a willingness to learn and being flexible will offer you a variety of new work opportunities.

The scope of practice laws also vary state-to-state. You may be required to get extra training, like a CMAA or CCMA certification or an associate’s degree, so be sure to review your state’s laws.

If you enjoy a variety of experiences, you can easily go into the medical assisting field knowing you have the ability to make a smooth transition into settings other than a standard clinical environment like a hospital.

With so many job seekers applying for medical assistant positions, applicants with multiple national certifications tend to stand out. Today's Medical Assistants are expected to take on additional responsibilities – chief among them related to and around the practices of Phlebotomy and Electrocardiography (ECG/EKG). At MedCerts, we offer multiple programs where you can earn more than one certification. If you're hoping to move into a career as a Medical Assistant, we offer three online Medical Assistant programs depending on what certifications you are interested in.

What questions do you have about the places a medical assistant can work? Reach out to us on Facebook and ask! We love hearing from our readers.