Medical assistants play an essential but often overlooked role in healthcare. They handle both clinical tasks, like taking vital signs, and administrative duties, such as scheduling appointments and ensuring that medical offices, clinics, and hospitals run smoothly. Despite their crucial contributions, they don’t always get the recognition they deserve. A study by The American Journal of Managed Care showed that medical assistants greatly improve patient care and efficiency, especially in chronic disease.
There are many career paths within medical assisting, and one exciting option is becoming a travel medical assistant. This role lets you combine your passion for healthcare with the excitement of traveling to new places.
What are Travel Medical Assistants?
Travel medical assistants are healthcare workers who take short-term jobs in different places to help clinics and hospitals that need extra staff. They stand out because they can quickly adapt to new work settings. These assistants often move from one location to another, gaining a wide range of experience.
What They Do
Travel medical assistants have the same job duties as regular medical assistants, including:
- Clinical Tasks: Taking vital signs, helping with patient exams, giving medications, and collecting lab samples.
- Administrative Tasks: Scheduling appointments, managing patient records, handling billing and insurance, and answering phones.
Career Path and Advantages
The career of a travel medical assistant is exciting and full of learning opportunities. Here are some benefits:
- Varied Experience: You get to work in different healthcare environments, from busy city hospitals to quiet rural clinics.
- Resume Enhancement: Each job adds valuable experience to your resume, making you a stronger candidate for future positions.
- Higher Earnings: Travel medical assistants usually earn more than regular medical assistants, including extra money for living expenses.
- Flexibility: You can choose when and where you want to work, giving you more control over your schedule.
Travel medical assistants get to help people while exploring new places, making it a unique and rewarding career choice.
Requirements and Skills for Travel Medical Assistants
Being a travel medical assistant is much like being a traditional medical assistant, but it has some unique aspects. Here’s what you need:
Requirements
- Certification: You need to be a certified medical assistant (CMA) by passing an accredited exam.
- Experience: Some travel jobs might require you to have some work experience to show you can adapt quickly.
- Flexibility: A flexible schedule is important because you will be moving and working in different places.
- Licensing: You may need specific licenses depending on the state you work in.
Skills
- Adaptability: You should be able to get used to new workplaces and team dynamics quickly.
- Communication: Good communication skills are important for talking with healthcare staff and patients.
- Organization: You need to be organized to handle multiple tasks efficiently.
- Technical Skills: You should be good at using medical software and equipment.
- Problem-Solving: The ability to solve problems on your own is highly valued.
- Positive Attitude: Having a positive and friendly personality helps you fit in quickly in new settings.
Travel medical assistants have all the core skills of traditional medical assistants but are also good at handling the extra challenges and rewards that come with traveling and working in different healthcare environments.
Steps to Become a Travel Medical Assistant
Step 1: Complete a Medical Assistant Program
Enroll in an accredited medical assistant program at a community college, vocational school, or university. This usually takes about one year, but some programs might take up to two years.
Step 2: Get Certified
After finishing your program, take a certification exam to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). Exams are offered by groups like the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).
Step 3: Gain Experience
Work as a medical assistant to get hands-on experience. Many travel medical assistant jobs require at least one year of experience to make sure you can handle different work settings.
Step 4: Get Necessary Licenses
Check the state requirements where you want to work. Some states need specific licenses, so make sure you meet all local rules and regulations.
Step 5: Apply for Travel Medical Assistant Jobs
With your education, certification, experience, and licenses in hand, start applying for travel medical assistant positions. Look for job listings through travel healthcare staffing agencies or online job boards.
Step 6: Prepare for Travel
Get ready to move to new places for your assignments. This might include finding temporary housing, arranging transportation, and managing other travel details.
Step 7: Stay Flexible and Adaptable
In this role, you’ll need to quickly adjust to new work environments and team setups. Keep a flexible schedule and be ready to take on the unique challenges of each new assignment.
Salary Compensation for Travel Medical Assistants
Travel medical assistants often make more than traditional medical assistants because of the temporary nature of their jobs and the flexibility required. They can expect to earn between $30,000 and $50,000 per year, depending on factors like location and experience. Many travel positions also offer extra benefits such as housing stipends, travel reimbursements, and health insurance, which make the overall pay package even better.
Exploring a Travel Medical Assistant Career
Becoming a travel medical assistant is a great mix of doing familiar medical assistant tasks and getting to travel to new places. We’ve talked about how this job is similar to that of a regular medical assistant but also has some unique aspects. We went over the steps you need to take to become one and the salary you can expect. If you love traveling and helping people, this could be the perfect career for you.
With the right training, certification, and experience, you can start a rewarding journey as a travel medical assistant. It’s a fantastic way to grow both professionally and personally while making a difference in people’s lives.