Medical Assisting listed 4th in ‘Best Jobs of 2012’
Medical assistants keep offices running efficiently by handling administrative, clinical and laboratory duties in doctors’ offices or large medical centers. Graduates of Ellsworth Community College's Medical Assisting program put their knowledge to work across the country in a wide variety of positions.
Bernadine Peacock graduated from the ECC Medical Assisting program in 2012. As a non-traditional student, Bernadine came to ECC with a bachelor’s degree in communication and marketing and years of experience as a physician recruiter in a big city.
“I needed to find a career more appropriate for rural Iowa so talked to the ECC counselor,” says Bernadine. “With my medical administration background, medical assisting was suggested. During the first two weeks of classes I knew Dee (Lynk) and Lori Ubben were the best instructors I’d ever had and ECC would be a great educational experience. They were reassuring and supportive, and I realized during my externships that the program prepared me very well.”
Although Bernadine’s plans to work in rural Iowa were changed by her former husband’s serious illness, her medical assisting training was meant to be. She moved to Wilmington, NC, where she now cares for his medical needs related to emphysema and COPD and monitors his medications and oxygen levels. Once he is stabilized, she plans to work as a medical assistant during the day.
October 15-19 is Medical Assistants Week. Medical assisting is an allied health profession whose practitioners function as members of the health care delivery team, performing administrative and clinical procedures. With their unique versatility, medical assistants are proving to be the allied health professional of choice for this era. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects medical assisting jobs will grow 31 percent from 2012 to 2025, making it one of the fastest growing occupations.
Students and graduates of the ECC Medical Assisting program are supporting evidence of the statistics given in U.S. News and World Report’s article, “The Best Jobs of 2012.” The criteria for best job included availability of jobs, good pay, projected growth of the field, job satisfaction, and professional fulfillment.
“Healthcare has become the core industry in this country, just like manufacturing in another era,” said John Challenger in the article.
Dee Lynk, CMA (AAMA) AC, ST, AGS, Professor of Medical Assisting, coordinates the Medical Assisting program. The one-year diploma program includes instruction in basic anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, medical law ethics, patient psychology and communications, medical office procedures, clinical diagnosis, examination testing, and treatment procedures.
Celebrate the medical assistants in your life this week!
To explore medical assisting as your next career, contact Dee Lynk at 641-648-8654, or e-mail Dee.Lynk@iavalley.edu.