Medical Assistants Recognition Week
Every October, Altus Infusion supports Medical Assistants Recognition Week. This week provides us with the opportunity to honor the invaluable contributions these professionals make in the lives of healthcare teams, patients, and the community at large.
Medical assistants play a vital and varied role, from carrying out administrative tasks and authorized clinical procedures, to ensuring every patient receives the absolute best health care experience.
What is the Role of a Medical Assistant?
The medical assistant is one of the fastest-growing professions in the United States. They provide clinical and administrative support to private practice physicians and other medical professionals.
Given their versatile capabilities, it should come as no surprise that these professionals are in high demand.
While a medical assistant’s permitted scope of responsibilities varies from state to state, below are some of the valuable contributions these professionals provide.
- Scheduling patient appointments, tests, and procedures
- Recording a patient’s medical history and updating them as necessary
- Managing patient records and accounts within a practice
- Assisting physicians while they perform medical exams and procedures
- Collecting specimens such as urine, stool, and blood samples from patients for laboratory tests
- Administering certain medications under the direct supervision of the treating physician
- Preparing the exam room and instruments as required
- Maintaining all medical and office equipment
- Tracking inventory and ensuring all medical and office supplies are available at all times
- Serving as the contact person between patients, doctors, insurance companies, and providers
- Providing comfort to patients and their families
- Ensuring physician appointments and treatments are as pleasant as possible
The Unsung Heroes of the Healthcare System
Medical assistants have been around for decades, but in recent years they have become a vital resource of the healthcare system thanks to their unique blend of both administrative and clinical capabilities.
However, because they are unable to diagnose and treat patients, they are often overlooked and under-appreciated.
In reality, the work conducted by medical assistants help ease the workload for doctors and nurses to allow them to spend more time focusing on patient care and less time worrying about necessary administrative tasks.
At Altus Infusion, we understand how crucial patient-doctor relationships are in chronic disease management, and how they can improve patient quality of care, the overall patient experience, as well as physicians’ job satisfaction.
This year, we wanted to bring these unsung heroes into the spotlight. We sat down with a few of our amazing medical assistants to ask them a few questions about themselves and their profession.
We first spoke to Jennifer Terral, our employee of the month.
Q/ How long have you been a medical assistant?
A/ I became a medical assistant on March 10, 2005.
Q/ What made you decide to become a medical assistant?
A/ I love to take care of others.
Q/ What is your favorite aspect of being a medical professional?
A/ The circle of life. I have worked on the baby floor all the way through hospice. It is prepping the patients to see family and friends whether it is at the beginning of life or the end of life.
Q/ What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of being a medical assistant?
A/ Spending quality time with my family, husband, daughter, and grandchildren. Live music and dancing.
Q/ What is your proudest moment as a medical assistant?
A/ Choosing just one is hard. Through Altus I would have to say being selected as employee of the month. In cardiac-clinic-hospital, having family members show their gratitude for taking care of their loved ones.
Our next interview features Joe Ann Savoie, one our esteemed Traveling MA’s.
Q/ How long have you been a medical assistant?
A/ I’ve been a medical assistant for the past 18 years.
Q/ What made you decide to become a medical assistant?
A/ I’ve always thought the medical field is fascinating, and I enjoy learning new things, and I especially love helping people.
Q/ What is your favorite aspect of being a medical professional?
A/ I would have to say first, my patients. However, I also enjoy teaching and learning about the specialties our company covers.
Q/ What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of being a medical assistant?
A/ I love to hang out with my family, bake/cook, ride my Harley, travel and meet new people. I also do quite a bit of volunteer work for our Vets/Troops.
Q/ What is your proudest moment as a medical assistant?
A/ I love my role as a Travel MA/trainer/teacher for our sites. Seeing our sites happy and functioning well. That means our patients are well taken care of.
Our final interview for this article was with Tia Smith, NRCMA. Here is what she had to say.
Q/ How long have you been a medical assistant?
A/ I’ve been a medical assistant for 6 ½ years.
Q/ What made you decide to become a medical assistant?
A/ My mom was a nurse for over 20 years, and she loved every aspect of her job. I loved being around her patients.
Q/ What is your favorite aspect of being a medical professional?
A/ I love meeting new people and learning different things.
Q/ What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of being a medical assistant?
A/ Being a full-time student takes up most of my time. In my spare time, I spend time with family and write poetry as a way to express myself.
Q/ What is your proudest moment as a medical assistant?
A/ My proudest moment is seeing a patient recover from going through the hardest time in their life.
It is thanks to the valuable work of medical assistants within our organization that have allowed in-office biologic treatment suites to become more prevalent within the healthcare system.
Altus Infusion is committed to ensuring that patients with chronic illnesses who require infusion therapy have access to quality in-office biologic infusion services across the nation. The dedication and hard work of our medical assistants helps us keep that commitment.
Therefore, this week, as we prepare to celebrate Medical Assistants Recognition Week, we urge patients, physicians, nurses, and other administrative staff to take the time to show your appreciation for the valuable work these professionals do every day.
