Medical assistants are a vital part of any medical office, and hiring a good one can help keep your patients happy and your office run efficiently.
Medical assistants help take care of administrative tasks around the office, perform basic medical functions like measuring vital signs, and keep things clean and organized.
If you’re looking to hire a medical assistant, it’s important to have a great job post including a detailed description of the job, requirements, and benefits of working in your facility. Your job posting is like an advertisement for your workplace, and you’ll want to attract the best candidates.
In this guide, we provide you with a medical assistant job description template, go over what should be included in each section, and more.
Medical Assistant Job Description & Job Post Template
Before we dive in, it's worth noting that Stepful can help your healthcare organization hire certified medical assistants and upskill existing employees through our Hiring as a Service and Learning & Development platforms.
Every job description will look slightly different, but a medical assistant job description should at include the following:
Job Summary
Give your potential candidates a quick summary of the job including location of the job, what type of facility you are, and whether you need part time or full time employees. Describe whether you are looking for a front office medical assistant, a clinical medical assistant, or someone who is comfortable with both.
Describe the type of environment your office has such as “fast-paced and exciting” or “working with a compassionate care team” to make sure that you attract someone who will be a good fit for your office culture.
Be honest with your description, describing an extremely busy office as laid-back may cause you to lose new employees when the job does not turn out the way they expect it to.
Sample Medical Assistant Job Summary
We are seeking a medical assistant to help physicians, nurses, and other staff with clinical and administrative tasks. Clinical tasks may include taking patient medical histories, preparing and cleaning examination rooms, recording patient vital signs, and sterilizing equipment. Administrative responsibilities may include scheduling appointments, answering phone calls, calling in prescription refills, and contacting insurance companies.
An ideal candidate would have at least one year of medical assisting or other healthcare experience, an understanding of medical terminology and medical coding/billing, and is proficient with a computer. A medical assistant certification is preferred but not required.
Responsibilities
Be clear about what you expect from your employees. Medical assisting responsibilities might include:
- Helps new patients schedule appointments and makes sure that follow up appointments are made in a timely manner.
- Greets everyone at the front door, helping each patient feel comfortable in the office.
- Collects detailed health history reports for each patient.
- Measures and records vital signs including heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature.
- Assists with bedside procedures such as simple skin biopsies and stitches.
- Cleans and sanitizes rooms between patient visits.
- Draws blood samples safely and sends them to the laboratory without contamination.
- Collects urine, stool, and sputum samples for testing.
- Helps patients feel safe and comfortable during invasive procedures such as pelvic and prostate examinations.
- Cleans and sterilizes medical equipment.
- Gives some medications including routine vaccinations.
- Basic bedside tasks such as removing stitches and applying bandages.
- Contacting insurance companies for payment.
- Ensuring procedures and visits are coded correctly for reimbursement.
- Handling patient billing and payment issues.
- Taking inventory of supplies and reordering when necessary.
- Keeping the office area tidy and organized.
- Helping patients with prescription refill requests.
- Prioritizing phone calls with questions for the physician.
- Helping the office stay on schedule.
Education & Other Requirements
Most states do not legally require specific education for medical assistants. However, you may want to find someone with specific education or experience for your office, including:
- High School Diploma or GED (required)
- Medical assisting certification(s)
- Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)
- Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA)
- Associate degree in medical assisting
- Phlebotomy certification
- CPR certification
- EKG certification
- Medical billing and coding experience
- 1+ years of experience as a medical assistant
- 1+ years of experience in the medical field
Skills
Describe the type of medical assistant skills you expect your new employee to have, this might include:
- Good computer skills
- Strong written and verbal communication
- Friendly with great customer service
- Ability to give compassionate care to all types of people
- Strength to help patients with mobility issues
- Stamina for long hours on their feet
- Manual dexterity for bedside procedures
- Detail-oriented
- Organized with good time management skills
- Critical thinking
- Knows basic first aid
>> Another Resource: Questions to Ask in a Medical Assistant Interview
Languages
Depending on your area, you may be looking for bilingual staff. Most common languages spoken in the United States include:
- English
- Spanish
- Chinese
- Filipino
- Vietnamese
- Your new employees should also understand basic medical terminology
Work Hours
Include what type of working hours you expect from your new job candidates, such as:
- Full time
- Part time
- PRN
- Day shift
- Night shift
- Weekdays
- Weekends
- Holiday expectations
- 7am to 4pm
Benefits
Let your potential job candidates know what types of benefits they might expect from working at your company. Some common benefits medical assistants receive include:
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Paid time off (PTO)
- Medical leave
- Maternity or paternity leave
- 401K
- Retirement plan benefits
- Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Tuition reimbursement
- Professional development opportunities
- Disability insurance
- Vision insurance
- Many companies also include sign on bonuses or retention bonuses to attract new medical assisting staff and reduce turnover.
>> Contact Stepful today to learn how we can help you hire qualified medical assistants
