How to Become a Medical Assistant in New York

The finishing of secondary education and the entering of the world of adults leads to thoughts about which career path is right for you.

People always want to find a career that will be growing in the future and will offer job opportunities in the coming years.

A stable and rewarding profession that will always be in demand is one of a medical assistant.

Job Description

Medical assistants work in doctors’ offices, hospitals, or medical clinics.

They are the first people we encounter upon arriving at the clinic and the last one that gives us advice about our future diet, medication, and tips for being healthy.

They not only prepare treatment rooms, greet patients and take them from waiting rooms to examination rooms and take their vital signs, temperature, weight, and blood pressure, but also they may be responsible for cleaning and sterilizing medical instruments, performing routine laboratory tests and assist other medical staff during the examination and surgery.

These were all clinical duties, but in some facilities, medical assistants may be asked to do the administrative part of the job, meaning billing, filing insurance forms and updating medical records.

Becoming a Medical Assistant in New York

Before entering the working world of medical assisting, students should think about finishing an accredited program and an externship, to get clinical experience and become eligible for a national certification exam.

What the future medical assistants will learn during the education programs are courses about medical office administrative and clerical tasks.

Laboratory techniques, taking vital signs and how to administer medication are only some of the lessons.

Administration and paperwork, dealing with insurance forms and billing are also integral parts of the course.

Some of the programs do not include an externship as part of the curriculum, so it is advisable to enter it to gain experience of working in a real healthcare facility.

The national certification can help you find a medical assisting job quicker and make your salary higher.

Requirements

There is not a state determined educational requirement for becoming a medical assistant, but the New York State Board of Medicine notes that all unlicensed medical assistants must be supervised at all times by the licensed doctors.

This limits and reduces the number of possible duties that can be individually performed and that is the reason why employers look for a certified person when hiring.

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

You get the broad and intensive understanding of healthcare, no matter whether you choose a diploma, certificate or two-year associate degree programs.

Choosing an accredited program can be tricky, so make sure that you have chosen those that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

The accredited associations who offer these kinds of programs are:

• CAAHEP-accredited programs in:
  • New York
  • Buffalo
  • Binghamton
  • Poughkeepsie
  • Forest Hills
  • Sanborn
  • Levittown
  • Rochester
  • Williamsville
  • Elmira
  • Syracuse
  • Rochester
  • Buffalo
  • Albany
  • Brooklyn
• ABHES-accredited programs in:
  • New York
  • Jamaica
  • Rego Park
  • Staten Island
  • Brooklyn
  • New Rochelle

By finishing the education programs in New York you might become:

• Associate of Occupational Science – Medical Assistant
• Associate of Applied Science – Medical Assisting
• Certificate – Medical Assistant
• Diploma-Medical Assistant

Another very beneficial part of education is the internship.

Even though it is unpaid it offers a hands-on experience, and many people were hired by that employer after finishing the education.

New York has many locations where you can enroll in an internship:

• Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital – Binghamton
• St Francis Hospital – Merrick
• Long Island Plastic Surgical Group P.C. – New York
• NYU Langone Medical Center – New York
• Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County P.C. – Poughkeepsie
• South Shore Neurologic Associates, P.C. – Southampton
• AdvantageCare Physicians – Valley Stream
• North Shore LIJ Health System – New Hyde Park
• Guthrie Healthcare System –Corning
• White Plains Hospital- White Plains

Getting a Job

As in all the other states, the number of old and ill people is increasing thus leading to the constant opening of new clinics that are seeking educated professionals to meet their job requirements.

The New York State Department of Labor listed medical assistant jobs as one of the most developing and some areas have a problem with the lack of educated individuals to start working in this field.

It is also projected that medical assistant employment levels in New York state will increase in the future so now is the ideal moment for those who are interested in this profession to enter it.

The possibility of working in various facilities makes the job opportunities available throughout the state.

Once licensed, you can become a member of the New York State Society of Medical Assistants which is fighting for the hiring of certified medical assistants throughout the state and it might help you find a satisfying job.

Salary

Medical assistant salaries are influenced by many factors such as location, development of the area where the medical premises are and the number of facilities there.

Other factors may be personal qualifications like education, certificate possession, the quality of work, the amount of work and the seriousness of the duties.

New York belongs to the states where medical assistants earn higher salaries, but at the same time, the difference between the major cities is significant.

The lowest ones are in Jamestown, where the annual salary of a medical assistant is only $ 32 531, while the highest are in New York reaching up to $ 41 781.

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

Regional Salary in New York

Summary

Besides all the above mentioned positive things related to job stability and satisfaction, decent salary and constant employment opportunities, medical assistants might also expect to receive bonuses and benefits such as social security benefits, retirement plans, healthcare insurance, disability benefits, pension, and paid time off.

All in all, medical assisting is certainly a career with so much potential.

Medical Assisting by City

Medical Assisting by State