User:Paytonrosicky/Clinical Assistant

A clinical assistant is a person who is responsible for assisting clinical professionals with day-to-day clinical tasks. They are also in charge of completing administrative activities as well as more complex clinical duties.

A clinical assistant's main focus is "to support patient care, from assisting physicians when performing medical examinations to collecting specimens for the lab."

Clinical Assistant
Becoming a clinical assistant is much easier than becoming a doctor or nurse. "Clinical assistant is a career where you may start with just a high school diploma and a short medical training program." As a clinical assistant you make appointments, update medical records, process bills, greet and prepare patients for physical exams. You can work in a hospital but also in a private clinical office, clinic's oncology department, general practice or chiropractor's office. Clinical assistants hours vary but are more likely to be like any other regular job, in comparison to the longer hours nurses and doctors might work.

Becoming a clinical assistant is also easy in relation to schooling because there are many different places and classes you can take to get a degree. "Although there are general medical assistant programs at the diploma, certificate, or associate degree levels, a number of vocational schools, community colleges, and traditional colleges and universities offer clinical medical assisting programs that focus solely on the clinical nature of the profession." All clinical assistants have to have a "high school diploma or GED; at least 1 year of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified. Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis."

Daily Activities:

A regular day for a clinical assistant in a hospital or private clinical office might look like this:


 * Taking medical histories


 * Explaining treatment procedures to patients
 * Preparing patients for examinations
 * Assisting the physician during examinations
 * Collecting and preparing laboratory specimens
 * Performing basic laboratory tests
 * Instructing patients about medication and special diets
 * Preparing and administering medications, including by intramuscular, intradermal, and subcutaneous injections—including vaccinations/immunizations, as directed by a physician or other licensed provider (e.g., a nurse practitioner or physician assistant)
 * Transmitting prescription refills as directed
 * Phlebotomy
 * Taking electrocardiograms
 * Wound care and changing dressings

All medical assistants are also cross-trained to do all duties a clinical or administrative assistant would do.

Working Conditions:

Some working conditions and physical effort might be:


 * Work involves considerable exposure to unusual elements, such as extreme temperatures, dirt, dust, fumes, smoke, unpleasant odors, and/or loud noises.
 * Light physical effort. Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 10 pounds or some standing or walking. Effort applies to no more than two (2) hours per day.
 * Work environment involves some exposure to hazards or physical risks, which require following basic safety precautions.

These are some working conditions that all clinical assistants encounter at some point in their careers, some may be more intense than others but all are common and something anyone working this field could see at any given time.

A clinical assistant is very similar to a nurse, they both work in a clinical office most of the time, but not always. They have a lot of the same duties and help out with clinical responsibilities like taking patients blood pressure, weight, height and things like that. The thing that makes them different is that a clinical assistant will have different education and responsibilities. The nurse on the other hand has similar things but they have much less responsibilities in their working field. Some differences might be:

Salary:
 * Duties and responsibilities
 * Scope of practice
 * Education
 * Training requirements
 * Employment outlook

The average salary for a clinical assistant is about $40,000. This all depends though on what and where they work. Some clinical assistants can have a salary as high as $50,000-$60,000 and some may have a salary as low as $19,000. There are many different types of clinical assistants who all make different wages. Everything just depends on what kind of work they're doing, how high up they are, what hours they are working and much more.

School and Training Requirements:

You will need a high school diploma or GED certificate and a certificate or diploma in medical assisting from a community college or vocational school. Some training will include medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, medical computer programs and more. Some other skills that are useful and sometimes required would be: lab safety and lab equipment proficiency as well as drawing blood from patients (phlebotomy). Most of the schooling and training you'll do will be similar to nursing although there are some slight differences and some things you will do differently.