Medical assistant facts for kids
A medical assistant (sometimes called an MA) is a medical professional who works in medical settings along with doctors and nurses. They do things to help doctors and nurses with their jobs, and may perform many different tasks.
Some medical assistants are similar in some ways to a nurse. They take care of patients in hospitals and other medical facilities, and they perform other tasks to help run the office. They are different from a nurse mainly in that medical assistants cannot plan out what a patient's care will be like. They can only do what a nurse or a doctor instruct them to do.
Other types of medical assistants work in the reception area of a doctor's office, similar to a secretary. These medical assistants may file paperwork, update medical records, and greet patients.
Education
Medical assistants usually go to school for between one and two years. They may hold an associate's degree, or in some cases a certificate if they already have an associate's degree in something else.
Pay range
Medical assistants tend to earn between $20,000 and $40,000 a year in salary. Factors that influence a medical assistant's salary can be their location, the amount of training they have, the amount of time they've been working as a medical assistant, and the skills they've learned while working.
