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A day in the Life of a Medical Assistant

Clinical MA (back office)

This page describes my duties as a back office clinical assistant in family practice setting. We have several physicians and each one of them has his own medical assistant. All of our medical assistants work full-time.

I come to work in the morning and swipe my time card. Then I take the morning’s patient list and check the reasons are they coming in. I check that all exam rooms are clean and have the necessary supplies, like gowns in the exam table drawers.

After a patient checks in at the front desk, I will get that patient’s chart. I quickly check the doctor's notes from the last visit and make sure that all new test results are in the chart. My doctor will go over them with the patient.

Then I will go to the waiting room and call the patient in. I take his weight and then lead him to the exam room. For most patients, I take their vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate) and record them in the chart. I interview the patient and ask him about his illness (what are his symptoms and how long he has had them). I write them in the chart. I use patient’s own words to record the chief complaint (reason for visit). At every visit, I also double check with patients if they are allergic to any medications and note it in the chart.

During the day, my doctor will see several women who come in for their yearly exams that include a Pap smear. These exams take longer, so these patients are getting a longer time block of the doctor’s time. For these patients, I must prep the exam room with necessary supplies before calling the patient in.

I make sure the exam table has a new sheet on, I put a piece of waterproof sheeting under the table sheet, and put a patient gown on the table. Then I prepare the exam tray for the doctor. First I lay down a waterproof piece of sheeting. On it I put a speculum in correct size, type of vaginal swabs my doctor likes, disposable gloves in my doctor’s hand size, and a Pap specimen bottle. On it I write the patient’s name, my doctor’s name, and the date. I also prepare the lab slip for this specimen. Older patients will also have a blood occult test (check for blood in stool) done.

Once the exam room is set up, I will go to the waiting room and call the patient in. Then I take her weight and vital signs. I ask these patients a few additional questions (e.g. last menstrual period, birth control, hormone replacement therapy, menopause).

When I’m done with the patient, I will put her chart in the wall pocket outside the exam room door. This way my doctor knows this patient is ready for him.

When my doctor is finished with the patient, I go into the exam room and clean it up. After an exam with a Pap, I wear gloves for infection control and clean the exam table and doctor’s exam tray. I put the Pap specimen bottle in a plastic envelope with the lab requisition slip. I make sure this form is filled in properly and all the necessary information is there (e.g. type of test requested, patients DOB, LMP, source, ICD-9-CM codes). I take ID number stickers from the lab slip and put them on the specimen bottle and in the patient’s chart. I also put a copy of the patient’s insurance info in the lab envelope.

I clean the used speculum and put it in a disinfecting solution. At the end of the day, I will autoclave (sterilize with steam) the used instruments.

During the day, I will do some tests as well. I might do an EKG with a patient who complains about chest pain, a urine dip test for a patient complaining about urinary problems, or a rapid strep test for a patient with a sore throat.

Many patients get injections. Maybe a flu shot for an adult, an immunization for a child (although we don’t see many kids, they usually go to their pediatricians), Depo Provera shot for birth control, pain medication injection for a patient with a migraine headache, or a Gardasil injection (vaccine against the HPV) for a teenage girl.

Some patients come in just for a blood pressure check or for a repeat EKG. For EKG’s I need the patient’s height and weight as well. I enter this data into the EKG machine before running the EKG. Some patients come in for pre-operative exams. These patients may also have paperwork the doctor needs to fill out. Another patient may come in for a bandage change.

We might get a shipment of refrigerated medications. I remove the medications from the cool pack and put them into to fridge. I enter the date, medication name, total number of boxes, label numbers and expiration dates in the medication log.

We get a lot of sample medications from the drug representatives that visit the office. They often bring little gifts like pens, writing pads, chocolate, and cookies with them. Sometimes they even provide lunch for all of us.

In the middle of the day, we close the office for lunch. Sometimes I eat a lunch I brought with me and sometimes I go out to eat.

After the lunch break I take the patient list for the afternoon appointments and do it all over again. I might get a little difficult patient every now and then, but most are nice.

We back office assistants do desk duty also. This is when we take calls from patients the front office receptionist refers to us, call patients about their test results (after Dr review), write up normal test results notifications and exam remainders, mail mammogram and lab slips for future tests, and call pharmacies for prescriptions. Everything I do must be documented in the patient charts.

My days are busy and go by very quickly. I never have time to be bored! No two days are exactly alike. I like the high energy level of the back office and enjoy my interactions with the patients.

Medical assistant’s duties vary according the practice setting and the individual office. Many MA's say that there is no "typical day" because every day is different, but this is what my typical day was like when I briefly worked in a family clinic. Family practice is an excellent setting for your first medical assisting job. You can use all the skills you learned in your medical assisting program, and you can figure out which tasks appeal to you and which ones don’t. This will help you decide if you’d like to stay in the family practice setting, move into a specialty area, or maybe the excitement and variety in the urgent care setting suits your personality the best.

Note: Due to lack of time, this page was archived in 2008. It is not updated anymore.