How to succeed at a Medical Assistant interview

The healthcare industry is booming in terms of career opportunities for people who are qualified. Due to societal changes, the need for health care workers is constantly increasing as new diseases, sicknesses, and procedures are discovered with the passing of time. There will never not be a need for healthcare workers, so this is why the job outlook is sky rocketing right now. But it’s not easy just landing a job as a medical assistant. Just because it is in demand doesn’t mean that you’ll land the job. Not only are there basic certifications that you have to meet, like being a certified Medical Assistant with a few externships under your belt, but you also have to nail the interview portion of the job just like you would for any other.

What kind of questions will they ask me?

You may be wondering about the kind of questions that you’ll be asked during an interview for a job as a Medical Assistant. Now, there are going to be a lot of standard questions like, “what was a challenging situation and how did you overcome it,” or the usual, “would you be available to work extra hours.” While these questions are easy to nail, here are the few that aren’t.

  1. Tell me about your previous work experience as a medical assistant, and what your responsibilities were?

This is a tricky question to nail, especially if you haven’t worked an actual medical assisting job. For people who have passed certification programs or graduated from a technical school this is a good time for you to talk about your externship programs since they are required for graduation.

  1. How did you add value to the patient’s experience?

Again, this is another hard question to nail. It involves really being verbal about how you changed a patient’s experience. You have to really sell it to the employer and make them feel moved otherwise you’re going to seem like every other candidate.

How to become a Medical Assistant

Medical assisting is currently one of the most thriving careers in the healthcare industry and for good reason. Right now, medical assisting is one of the few careers with a job outlook that is continuously booming. The need for healthcare professionals is something that will always be in demand, especially as new health related issues arise in society. So if a career focused entirely on helping people with their health related issues sounds good to you, here’s how to become a medical assistant.

How do you become a medical assistant?

Medical assistants usually require a high school diploma or the equivalent to that which would be a GED. While the BLS says you can jump into the job and get on-the-job training while only being a high school graduate – it is a very unlikely case. Most medical assistants go to Technical Schools or certificate programs in order the get specialized training that sets them apart from the rest of the competition. Remember this is a profession not just a part-time job, and while there is always a need for medical assistants, employers want people they can depend on and who know what they are doing.

While most states do not require certification, like I said, most employers will be looking for it because they do not have the time to train you on the job. The standard certification is the CMA which stands for Certified Medical Assistant from the American Association of Medical Assistants. Most technical colleges and certification programs will help you study/register for the test, and if you excelled well in your respective program you should pass with flying colors.

What do they do?

If you are wondering what a medical assistant does because you are interested in the job, just know that they are a cross between a nurse and an administrative assistant. An MA does very basic nursing functions like taking blood pressure and temperature, but for the most part they keep track of records and schedule appointments.