Do You Have the Personality Traits of a Successful Medical Assistant?

If you are thinking about a career in the health care industry, becoming a Medical Assistant (MA) may be the perfect fit. With all the rapid changes in health care, there has been an overwhelming demand for medical assistants. Pennco Tech offers a comprehensive program to help you master critical job readiness skills and competencies for an entry-level position as a MA.

As an essential part of almost every healthcare organization, medical assistants perform both clinical and administrative tasks. However, before considering a career as a medical assistant, ensure you possess the qualities to set yourself up for success on the job.  We’ve outlined the five personality traits all successful medical assistants share.

Professionalism

From handling patient medical histories to authorizing prescriptions and performing medical tests, the job duties of a MA leave little room for error. The various clerical and administrative tasks medical assistants perform require the utmost accuracy and attention to detail. Therefore, a high level of professionalism is necessary to succeed as a MA. Possessing professionalism in a healthcare setting requires exceptional communication skills, a good bedside manner when interacting with patients, and respect for colleagues, patients, and their family members.

Empathy

Healthcare workers spend a lot of their time near people often dealing with a high level of emotions. Therefore, medical assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals must show compassion when dealing with patients and their families. While a MA requires technical knowledge, it also requires knowing how to maintain composure in stressful situations and having the appropriate empathic responses.

Integrity

Medical Assistants should be honest and dependable while adhering to moral and ethical principles. Many people depend on the work of MAs. Therefore, they must take responsibility for their actions and show accountability for those actions.

Positivity

As the face of many healthcare organizations, MAs must keep a positive attitude to help boost anxious patients’ morale. Greeting patients with a smile, listening and answering questions, and offering reassuring explanations of what to expect during a test are all necessary for a positive patient experience. The joy of striking up conversations with people and the ability to find common, relatable subjects are helpful skills as a MA because you can make patients feel more comfortable when visiting a medical facility.

Initiative

As an integral part of a patient’s medical visit experience, medical assistants must have the ability and willingness to work independently while passing along accurate information to others. MAs must take initiative by being observant and proactive in identifying needs and successfully completing tasks. Having a positive work attitude and willingness to pitch in to ensure all work needs are met is part of showing initiative as a MA. They should also hold themselves to high standards by continually improving their skills and knowledge with involvement in professional organizations or furthering their education in the medical field.

Steps to Becoming a Medical Assistant

If you decide that your personality is the right fit for a career as a medical assistant, you can begin taking classes to prepare you for the position. The Medical Assistant program at Pennco Tech allows you to graduate in as little as 17 weeks, meaning you can be on your way to a rewarding healthcare career quickly. Throughout the program, students learn in realistic environments to be knowledgeable of clinical skills and office administration responsibilities to succeed on the job and complete interactive assessments. You will learn the basic medical knowledge and skills needed to successfully support healthcare workers as a medical assistant

Contact Pennco Tech to learn more about enrolling in our program and find out if it’s the right fit for your future career goals.