Physician assistants perform administrative and clinical duties in medical offices. Since they can work on both the administrative and clinical sides, their responsibilities change depending on the office they are working in. You will see them booking, rebooking appointments by making phone calls to remind patients of their appointments and also with correspondence. These medical office assistants also perform account management and bookkeeping responsibilities; they also make patient files and maintain the patient’s medical history. A medical office assistant helps you fill out the insurance form and also with billing. They interact more with people, doctors, nurses and patients too.

You’ll also see them work on the clinical side, they help doctors monitor patients by describing them about the patient’s medical history. These assistant also prepares the patients for the checkup and also explains the treatment procedures to the patients. They also prepare laboratory samples and do some simple tests as well. Physician assistants also draw blood and prepare patients for X-ray rooms. They also sterilize medical equipment and dispose of contaminated equipment. The medical office assistant also checks the patient’s blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature.

To become a Physician Assistant, you can do a one year course to get the diploma or you can join Physician Assistant degree for 2 years. They learn most tasks in service. A high school diploma or equivalent is required for entry. Students are encouraged to do internships or volunteer work while studying. The medical assistant degree includes coursework such as medical law, accounting, ethics, record keeping, insurance processing, typing, and some office skills. On the clinical side, students will cover pharmaceutical principle, first aid, anatomy and physiology, clinical and diagnostic procedures. When taking admission in the Physician Assistant degree, the student must verify the accreditation of the institute.

Once you have an associate’s degree, you can start working in a hospital or doctor’s office, there are no certification requirements to start work, but since there is competition, it’s easy to find a job with a recognized organization with high pay scale if you have a certification. Most employers also prefer the person with the certification. If you have a certification, it will show that you have expertise in certain areas. If you want to become a CMA, you can sit for an exam administered by the American Association of Physician Assistants (AAMA). Once you pass the exam, you will be working as a CMA. You will work in hospitals or doctors’ offices. About 62 percent of physician assistants work in offices, 13 percent in private hospitals, and 11 percent work in medical resource center offices.

There are great job opportunities for Physician Assistant and if you are CMA then you will earn more than Physician Assistant. On average, their salary starts between $23,700 and $39,570 a year and this is a good salary package against one.