Elevating the Role of Medical Assistants
I would like to focus today’s post for the purpose of reflecting on some of the things that I have learned about what makes a great medical assistant. Here's my advice on what defines success in the practice of medical assisting;
Know who matters
Know who you serve; your doctors, your management staff, your nurses, your fellow MA’s, your admin staff, or your patient, yourself.-Whomever is you’re are serving at an given moment, understand, prioritize, and devote your attention accordingly. Learn when you have to devote your attention entirely to one thing and how to delegate in that situation. & perhaps more importantly, as any medical assistant can attest to, how to juggle and multitask when the situation calls for it-and how to do it efficiently.
Know what matters to them
See the above, each of those categories; as an MA that is exactly what you do is. You provide a service to them. Go beyond that. Get to know them, get to know their expectations and then adapt your behavior to tailor to them.
Do you know your doctors? Know them well enough to know what they want before they know they want it. An average MA knows basic job expectations and duties. A great MA knows how they like their coffee, what materials they need in any daily situation that crosses them, how to prep their exam rooms, how to room their patients, how to care for their patients, and how to help them optimize their own medical care.
Do you know your patients? Can you empathize with their situation, do you understand their feelings? An average MA can probably mark off the box “empathy” in their list of skills-but a great MA goes further than that. A great MA makes a conscious effort to connect with every patient. Know your regulars, and remember things about them, so that you can make the feel like family when they enter the office. Know when you see patients often within a small period of time – and why. And to every other patient, introduce yourself every time even if you’ve seen the patient before – introduce yourself until you don’t have to anymore; until you’ve really connected and created a solid foundation and relationship between yourself and the patient. At every stage in this relationship, keep in mind that you are your patients advocate. You are there to help them, comfort them, and support them in their health. A great MA will always go above and beyond to do so-they will clear up confusion, go into detailed explanation, ensure patient understanding, follow up with patients, assist in scheduling complicated tests, and answer every question (even the silly ones) with patience and care. Can you answer your patient’s questions? A great MA can, by learning your specialty, self-educating, and working closely with your doctors and nurses, an MA knows what questions are in their scope of practice. This allows MA’s to gain the knowledge necessary to answer most of the general questions patients may present them with – and to learn over time and through experience more complex, unusual even questions that may be thrown their way. Confidence and competence of medical staff has a huge impact in fostering a quality relationship between the physician and the patient.
Do you know your co-workers? Do you know their strengths and their weaknesses, and furthermore do they know yours? A medical office can optimize patient flow by working together seamlessly and fostering teamwork. Know when it’s appropriate to foster and embrace team work, pull your own weight and when needed help others to pull theirs. Learn about your co-workers. Learn what they expect from you and what is expected from them and how to work together to create the best outcome. Learn how to communicate with them effectively. Contrastingly, know when it is appropriate to work independently. Independence means more than knowing how to work well and accomplish tasks under little supervision; It means, knowing when it’s appropriate to stand out, make a stand, say something, fight for yourself, fight for your doctor, fight for your beliefs, and fight for your patient. As a medical assistant we have unique insight and our voice can make a difference.
Eagerly inviting input on your experience, advice, or definition of what defines a great medical assistant, and sets them apart.
