Geriatrics is an important branch of medicine that helps aging and elderly patients. Due to advances in nutrition, healthcare, and medicine, more people are living longer. With the increases in an aging population, the need for specialized healthcare providers also increases. Older patients face many challenges and risks that younger patients do not, such as heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, and mobility issues.
Medical assistants (MA’s) help healthcare teams provide the best level of patient care possible. Let’s look closer at what the medical assistant’s role is in geriatric care.
What is Geriatrics?
Geriatrics is the branch of healthcare dedicated to the care and unique needs of aging patients. Essentially, geriatrics focuses on the needs and challenges of patients who are 55 and older.
A 2024 study by the World Health Organization projects that the number of people aged 60 and older will double between 2020 and 2050 [1], and the number of people over 80 will triple in that same time period. With an aging population growing in number, there will also be more demand for trained and qualified healthcare workers.
What Is the Role of Medical Assistants Healthcare for Aging Patients?
In most healthcare facilities, medical assistants work directly with patients and physicians, but their specific role in geriatric care may vary depending on the type of workplace.
What Responsibilities Do Medical Assistants Have in Geriatrics?
Depending on the type of workplace, the roles of medical assistants may vary in care for older patients. Some of these responsibilities overlap in many different types of healthcare facilities.
Taking Vital Signs
Medical assistants often take vital signs for patients, including blood pressure, heart rate, pulse, to add to patient records and monitor for any changes.
Collecting Samples and Basic Tests
Oftentimes, medical assistants will collect patient samples for diagnostic testing, including blood, urine, or other tissue. These can be sent to the lab for results which the physician can interpret.
Medical assistants may also administer basic tests like glucose testing for diabetes, or EKGs for measuring cardiovascular activity.
Monitoring Chronic Illnesses and Conditions
Aging patients are often more at risk for diseases and conditions such as COPD, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Medical assistants are part of the team that helps monitor high-risk patients for chronic conditions. MA’s can relay information to physicians if they notice any abnormalities in their vitals or any telltale signs of chronic conditions. Note: physicians and nurse practitioners are allowed to diagnose patients and make a treatment plan, medical assistants cannot do these things.
Medication Management
Medical assistants help older patients with medication in at least two ways. They can give patients pre-measured doses of medication that have been reviewed by a doctor. They can also call the pharmacy for refills that have already been written by a physician, or call to find out what medications a patient is currently taking.
Mobility Assistance
Limited mobility is an issue for many older adults. Medical assistants can help patients in hospitals and longer term care with mobility aids such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and canes. MA’s can help make sure elderly patients get in and out of wheelchairs safely, or moving from room to room, reducing the risk of falls. They may also convey information to patients on how to use certain mobility aids, helping them to stay independent at home.
Personalized Care with Compassion
There are certain challenges that come with growing older that can cause anxiety, loneliness, fear, and depression. Loved ones and friends pass away. Your body is not the same as it was in your youth. Mobility and health can be ongoing issues.
Medical assistants are in a unique position to offer compassion and empathy, and make sure senior patients are treated with respect and dignity. MA’s are often the liaisons between patients and physicians. You can be a friendly face that offers encouragement, making a big impact on their day.
Where Do Medical Assistants Work in Geriatric Healthcare?
To understand the different responsibilities a medical assistant may have in geriatric healthcare, we should go through the different settings where they work with older patients.
Physicians Offices
Many medical assistants work in physician’s offices, and take vital signs, update patient medical records, prepare examination rooms, collect samples, give basic exams like a glucose test, and help physicians during more complex exams.
Hospitals
A medical assistant in a hospital may work in a geriatric department, and they will take vital signs, collect patient samples, give basic tests like an EKG, convey information from the physician to the patient, or give vaccines or pre-measured doses of medication.
Long Term Care Facilities
The role of medical assistants in long-term care facilities may vary from state to state, and from facility to facility. In some care homes, medical assistants may do mostly administrative tasks. In these long-term care facilities, nurses may do most of the clinical duties. In other facilities, medical assistants may help with routine checkups, taking vitals, dispensing medication pre-screened by a physician or nurse practitioner, helping patients with mobility tasks and doing regular routines such as hygiene and using the restroom, collecting patient samples, or giving vaccine injections.
Government Agencies
Some local or state government agencies hire medical assistants to do community or internal tasks that don’t require a license to practice medicine (like a physician or nurse practitioner would have). These assignments usually are part of public health initiatives. For example, giving flu shots to aging patients in a clinic, or COVID vaccines in a pop-up clinic. This can also extend to social services, where you might help elderly applicants with filling out forms for home health assistance.
Skills Needed for Working in Geriatric Healthcare
- Compassion and Empathy. These are important skills to have, as older patients might be undergoing changes they cannot exert full control over. Loss of mobility, cognitive function, or having to change lifestyle due to chronic conditions is not easy. Having the ability to empathize with patients will be crucial as a geriatric medical assistant.
- Sensitivity. Working with older patients requires nuance. Not every patient is the same, and some may be unencumbered, while others deal with multiple issues related to growing older. Learn to discern which patients are which and tailor your care accordingly.
- Communication. Older individuals sometimes communicate differently than younger people in other generations. They are still always learning new things, but you should communicate ideas and information in a way that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.
- Observation and Critical Thinking. Oftentimes, aging patients have chronic conditions which must be observed carefully, such as cardiovascular conditions, or diabetic reactions. You need to know when to call for help in case of a patient emergency. Learn CPR and the signs of a cardiac arrest, diabetic reaction, stroke, or other emergency. Make sure you know what patients are taking which medication. Look for the signs of them accidentally skipping doses.
- Patience. The older patients become, the more likely it is they will have cognitive decline, or experience memory loss, or be diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Even without these afflictions, some everyday things will be more difficult for older people, so have patience with them.
- Respect for Dignity. Some patients in long-term care will have mobility and cognitive difficulties. They might need help getting dressed, or using the restroom, or practicing hygiene. Despite these issues, they have their pride and dignity, and don’t want to feel infantilized. Take the time to listen to them and treat them with proper respect.
Job Outlook for the Near Future
Medical assistants are in heavy demand, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics[2 projecting a 15% increase in medical assistant jobs between 2023 and 2033[3], which is much faster than average.
As of May 2024, medical assistants as a whole in the US earned a median average salary of $44,200 per year and a median hourly wage of $21.25 per hour.
In California as of May 2024, according to the BLS, medical assistants earned a mean average salary of $52,770 and a mean average hourly wage of $25.37.
Making a Difference
Working with older patients gives medical assistants a wonderful opportunity to make an impact in their lives. Older family members in long-term care facilities can be mistreated or neglected by family members or even other caregivers. As a professional healthcare worker, you can make a positive difference in their day with your empathy and compassion. Some people have a heart for the older generations, and you can make a difference through your professional work alongside aging patients.
Ready to Take the First Step to Becoming a Medical Assistant?
If you’re ready to start your career in healthcare, Campus Sacramento has a fantastic Medical Assisting training program that will help you get certified and prepare you for entry level jobs. Most of the coursework can be done online, with some mandatory in-classroom days at our Sacramento location. For more information on start dates, flexible class schedules, curriculum, and financial aid, contact our friendly Admissions team or call 888-675-2460.
[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health , Accessed August 23, 2025.
[2] Note: The data provided above are from a source unaffiliated with Campus, formerly known as MTI College, are for informational purposes only and represent the employment field as a whole. They are not solely specific to Campus graduates and, by providing the above information, Campus makes no representation, direct or implied, or opinion regarding employability.
[3] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-assistants.htm , Accessed August 22, 2025.