Medical assisting is a fast-growing healthcare career with job opportunities in different types of medical facilities. One of the places where medical assistants are sorely needed is in urgent care centers. It’s true that urgent care is a fast-paced, interesting environment, but medical assistants with the right skills can thrive in this setting, providing support for physicians and registered nurses.
What is an Urgent Care Medical Assistant?
Medical assistants are healthcare professionals that work under the supervision of a licensed physician, providing clinical and administrative support. In an urgent care center, medical assistants are most likely to concentrate on clinical duties that help get patients the care they need more quickly. They can be a crucial part of the medical team in an urgent care facility, making patient intake much more efficient and organized. Medical assistants are not authorized to practice medicine (give diagnosis, create treatment plans, interpret test results, write a prescription). They can do numerous clinical tasks that help the physicians give the highest quality medical care to their patients.
Responsibilities and Duties for Urgent Care Medical Assistants
Some of the responsibilities for urgent care medical assistants will vary from state to state due to regulations. New York restricts medical assistants from giving vaccines or administering medication by injection. Some states allow medical assistants to give vaccines or injections only if they have completed specific training and under certain conditions, while many states allow medical assistants to give injections without restriction.
· Here are some tasks you might end up doing during a typical day in urgent care.
· Room patients and take vital signs
· Take records and update medical records
· Talk to patients who are sick – record primary medical complaints
· Give patients Tylenol or other pre-measured medications
· Wound care
· Replacing sutures and removing staples or sutures
· Patient triage
· Administer shots for acute pain from injury (in many states)
· Assist physicians with biopsies
· Draw blood (*with CPT I license in states where it is required)
· Show patients how to use crutches
· Scheduling follow-up appointments
The main role of a medical assistant in urgent care is to facilitate patient care so physicians and nurses can give high quality care to incoming patients.
Pros and Cons of Working in Urgent Care
As with every job, there are positives and negatives to working in urgent care as a medical assistant.
Pros
· The day goes by quickly. It’s almost always busy in urgent care, so the workday goes by really quick.
· Perform a variety of tasks. Urgent care gives you the opportunity to do many different types of tasks in a typical week.
· You’ll learn a lot from the job. Many medical assistants say they learn vast amounts while working in urgent care. You can handle all different types of work situations after this.
· Develop your skills. The skills you learn in vocational school, you will hone and upscale using your real-world experience. There’s no substitute for working in these situations and learning how to work efficiently.
Cons
· Fast-paced environment. The urgent care is a busy environment and sometimes the pace can be stressful.
· Emotional toll. People in urgent care are often in pain or in tough conditions. Seeing people arrive like this each day is different than routine appointments at medical offices.
· Limited repeat interactions with patients. Emergency and urgent care patients are usually there for one-time care, meaning you will not get familiar with any of the patients.
Work Environment
Medical assistants working in urgent care typically work in outpatient clinics, hospitals, and walk-in health centers.
Salary and Job Outlook
As of May 2023, there were approximately 783,900 medical assistant jobs in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics [1] . Job growth is projected to be 15% between 2023 and 2033, which is much faster than normal, according to BLS data.
In the entire US, the mean average salary for medical assistants was $44,200 in May 2024 and the mean hourly wage was $21.25. In California, as of May 2024, medical assistants earned an average mean salary of $52,770 and a mean hourly wage of $25.37.
Education to Become a Medical Assistant
In California, there is no requirement for medical assistants to be certified, but most malpractice insurance for physicians requires their employees to be certified for coverage to be valid. For this reason, becoming certified is highly recommended, because most employers will look for certified medical assistants.
To become a certified medical assistant in California, students must go through an approved training program and pass a certification exam. The prerequisite for enrolling is a high school diploma or equivalent. Most programs in California include a hands-on externship working with real physicians in a medical office as there is an work-hours requirement for taking the medical assistant certification exam.
Start Your Medical Assistant Career in About 36 Weeks
At Campus Sacramento, you can become a certified medical assistant in about 9 months with our Medical Assisting training program. You’ll learn everything you need to know to start your medical assisting career in an entry-level position. The curriculum includes medical terminology, clinical assisting, medical office practices, intro to billing and coding, and a hands-on externship. For more details on start dates, financial aid, and job placement assistance, contact our Admissions team today!