How to Become a Medical Assistant in Texas

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How to Become a Medical Assistant in Texas

If you want to become a medical assistant, have a desire to help ill and wounded people and cooperate in their health improvement, but do not know anything about laboratory techniques, taking vital signs and how to administer medication and have never dealt with administration and paperwork,  insurance forms and billings, then you should first take into consideration the continuing of your education in the related college or vocational schools, so as to get your professional qualifications.

A medical assistant job is such a responsible vocation that it should be taken seriously.

Job Description

Medical assistants can be unlicensed individuals working under the supervision of a licensed physician.

They usually do technical support services, assist in managing the care of clients, are responsible for performing duties related to office management and collecting and processing laboratory specimens.

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They can work with a licensed physician and surgeon, podiatrist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or nurse-midwife in a medical office or clinic setting.

Medical assistants are vital members of the healthcare team and they need to possesses exceptional patient-care skills and a strong command of medical procedures and terminology.

They need to be detail-oriented in recording patients’ personal information and medical history and highly-motivated to work efficiently in a team, as well as individually.

Becoming a Medical Assistant in Texas

Even though the medical assistant profession in Texas is not regulated by legislation and does not require special education to perform this job, the future medical assistants decide to enter the programs that prepare students to work as entry-level health care providers.

People with competitive qualifications get numerous benefits from this education, like higher employment opportunities, chances of higher salary and advancement in the future career in comparison to those without them.

Medical assistant employers in Texas can assign only some of the duties to unlicensed medical assistants and must supervise them and maintain responsibility for all tasks performed.

That is why individual employers establish their preferred qualifications for hire.

There are three places in Texas which you can choose and enter to achieve more advanced education and a diploma in 8 months:

Requirements

The law does not determine the educational requirements, but people who possess a certification are certainly able to perform the job more successfully and have greater self-confidence when working as medical assistants which are appreciated by the state and the employers.

Medical assistant qualifications that are compulsory at most facilities are:

  • Experience
  • The finished medical assistant training program
  • Graduation from a medical assistant school
  • And credentials: Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) and Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA)

The accredited associations who offer these kinds of programs are:

  • Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES)
  • Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)

The curriculum includes the classes related to:

  • Psychology
  • Medical Law and Ethics
  • Insurance
  • Medical Office Procedures
  • Medical Terminology
  • Human Body
  • Pharmacology

The duration of the courses may differ.

The successful completion of the courses results in eligibility to take the national certification exam for medical assisting and the possibility to earn more advanced degrees in medical science fields.

Also, you will be able to find your place in a medical assistant position in Texas without too many difficulties.

Getting a Job

There are plenty of opportunities to find a certified medical assistant job position and you should always highlight your patient care education and experience and administrative skills.

The great thing is that the national certification can help you find a medical assisting job quicker and make your salary higher.

Medical assistant jobs continue to grow due to the continuous demand for new healthcare facilities which will provide help to old and ill people.

In Texas, the information provided by the Texas Society of Medical Assistants (TSMA) can help you find a myriad of job opportunities.

Medical assistants may look for job opportunities in:

  • Pediatric Health Center in Fort Wort
  • Mainland Primary Care in Texas City
  • North Austin Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • The Community Action Corporation of South Texas
  • The North Central Baptist Hospital in San Antonio

Salary

The average medical assistant salary in Texas is approximately $ 30 880.

As employers prefer medical assistants who are certified, they pay them higher starting salaries.

There are job openings from employers like United States Army, Baylor Health Care System, and DaVita and the employer determines the salary of his/her medical assistants.

Personal qualifications, education, and experience can also make an impact on the salary.

The lowest-paid medical assistants earned $29 696 in Mcallen, while the highest-paid earned $35 264 in Pasadena or $ 35 393 in Houston.

The table below shows average salaries for medical assistants in major cities of Texas, presenting the difference from one place to another:

Annual Salary Range:
$29K
$33K
$35K
10%
50%
90%
Annual Salary by Location:
Location Avg. Annual Salary
Abilene,TX $31,491
Amarillo,TX $31,664
Arlington,TX $33,591
Austin,TX $34,012
Beaumont,TX $33,283
Brownsville,TX $30,421
Carrollton,TX $34,207
Corpus Christi,TX $31,954
Dallas,TX $34,299
Denton,TX $33,686
El Paso,TX $30,202
Fort Worth,TX $33,646
Frisco,TX $33,836
Galveston,TX $33,894
Garland,TX $34,225
Grand Prairie,TX $34,225
Harlingen,TX $30,265
Houston,TX $35,393
Irving,TX $34,299
Killeen,TX $31,056
Laredo,TX $30,549
Longview,TX $31,163
Lubbock,TX $30,065
Mcallen,TX $29,696
Mckinney,TX $34,023
Mesquite,TX $34,262
Midland,TX $29,789
Odessa,TX $29,789
Pasadena,TX $35,264
Plano,TX $34,152
Port Arthur,TX $32,641
Richardson,TX $34,225
Round Rock,TX $33,883
San Antonio,TX $33,632
Temple,TX $31,091
Waco,TX $31,025
Wichita Falls,TX $31,529

Regional Salary in Texas

Region Employed Avg. Annual Salary Avg. Hourly Pay Top 10% Annual Salary Bottom 10% Annual Salary
Abilene, TX450$34,330$16.51$40,220$28,590
Amarillo, TX550$33,390$16.06$42,510$26,830
Austin-Round Rock, TX5,650$40,170$19.31$47,460$31,680
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX830$35,160$16.9$45,250$27,780
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX1,190$29,370$14.12$36,250$23,200
College Station-Bryan, TX750$34,610$16.64$44,070$28,300
Corpus Christi, TX940$33,900$16.3$41,180$28,010
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX17,820$38,930$18.71$46,480$30,710
El Paso, TX2,060$30,910$14.86$37,880$22,630
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX16,050$38,770$18.64$46,430$28,820
Killeen-Temple, TX730$35,490$17.06$42,330$28,610
Laredo, TX500$29,610$14.24$35,550$19,760
Longview, TX440$33,750$16.23$40,760$27,870
Lubbock, TX830$33,270$15.99$38,990$27,150
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX2,510$29,040$13.96$35,410$22,010
Midland, TX450$37,860$18.2$45,520$31,260
Odessa, TX270$36,300$17.45$45,370$29,100
San Angelo, TX230$33,090$15.91$36,980$27,690
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX7,570$35,920$17.27$42,800$29,600
Sherman-Denison, TX260$35,850$17.24$42,070$29,470
Texarkana, TX-AR210$32,490$15.62$37,600$24,570
Tyler, TX720$34,360$16.52$41,830$28,350
Victoria, TX140$33,690$16.2$40,210$26,520
Waco, TX530$34,590$16.63$42,140$27,730
Wichita Falls, TX350$32,920$15.83$39,790$27,500
* Salary information based on the May 2022 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey for Medical Assistants, OCC Code 31-9092, BLS.
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.

Duties

The daily duties of medical assistants, no matter whether they work in smaller or larger clinics are:

  • Taking patient histories and vital signs
  • Performing first aid and CPR
  • Preparing patients for examination and surgery
  • Assisting physicians with treatments
  • Scheduling appointments
  • Maintaining medical records
  • Doing secretarial duties, such as handling telephone inquiries and written correspondence

However, the division of these tasks among two or more medical assistants depends on the facility’s amount of work and number of employees.

The level of education, skillfulness and training limits and reduces the number of possible duties that can be individually performed by the medical assistant and that is the reason why employers look for a certified person when hiring who will be able to manage all of them.

Summary

Believe it or not, education is of the utmost importance for medical assistants and the lack of legal educational requirements regulation does not mean that medical assistants are unqualified or unskilled.

Medical assisting schools and national certification enable you to do different tasks since programs have lessons in the classroom, as well as laboratory work.

Those who possess a strong knowledge of medical terminology and can perform well in this role, as they often have to help doctors with medical procedures are the priceless staff of any healthcare facility.

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