Medical Assisting

Applications for the part-time, evening program will be due on Thurs, Nov 15th.

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Welcome to the North Harris College Medical Assisting Program. This new program is designed for students interested in working directly with patients in a physician office or other non-hospital setting.

Medical Assistants perform routine administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices and clinics of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and optometrists running smoothly.

The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office depending on office location, size, and specialty. In small practices, medical assistants may be "generalists," handling both administrative and clinical duties. Medical assistants report directly an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner. Those in larger practices may specialize is a particular area under the supervision of a department administrator.

Medical assistants collect and prepare laboratory specimens and perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They instruct patients about medication and special diets, prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician, authorize drug refills as directed, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, draw blood, prepare patients for x-rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, change wound dressings, and perform a variety of other procedures as instructed.

Medical Assistants may also perform many administrative duties for the office. They answer telephones, greet patients, update and file patient medical records, fill out insurance forms, handle correspondence, schedule appointments, arrange for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handle billing and bookkeeping.

Listen to a two-minute description of Medical Assisting.

The average salary and hourly pay vary between certified medical assistants (CMAs) and non-certified assistants, according to their years of experience.

• Average annual salary for a full-time CMA in 2004 was $27,951. By comparison, according to the 1998 survey, full-time CMAs earned $21,373.
• Full-time CMAs earn an average of $1,176 more (roughly 4%) than non-CMAs who earn an average of $26, 775 annually.

For more information abou the current job market for CMAs, click here for the U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics website.