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The Growth of Medical Assistant Careers
Although many health and medical professionals will be in high demand in the near future, as the majority of the US population crosses over the 50 year old threshold, we might be heading towards a critical shortage when schools with medical assistant careers feel the stress to train more students to fill the void.
That’s because by the year 2012, 50 percent of Baby Boomers will be over 50 years old and in need of care according to the Government Accounting Office; for medical experts that figure might be worrisome once you take a closer look into those numbers.
Everyday, eleven thousand people in the country turn 50 and the pace will continue into the next decade. That means a growing need for more medical professionals, in public and private health organizations, and a high demand for students in medical assistant careers .
MAs help to keep health administrative centers running. Their duties vary from clinical to administrative tasks in offices of physicians, podiatrists, other health practitioners, and large health care organizations. One of the reasons medical assistant career centers are already feeling the pinch.
As the population grows and ages, the health care industry expands along with more technological advances in medicine, making medical assistant the average fastest growing occupation through 2014 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Health clinics and large organizations alike will demand a high proportion of support personnel for administrative and medical duties. This will make the career of medical assistant the best opportunity, especially for those with formal training, experience, and certification.
In fact, some specialized organizations in the health care profession are trying to work directly with health care providers and recruitment agencies to assist in the placement of medical assistants .
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from the U.S. Department of Labor, six out of ten MAs work in offices of physicians. Others are spread out through colleges, outpatient care centers, state and local government agencies, and general medical and surgical hospitals.
Although medical assistants work with or without certification, since 2004, training centers are sprouting through out the country within vocational schools; technical programs within high schools, community and junior colleges, and the number will keep on the rise.
Medical assistants with formal training will have the best job opportunities, in particular those with certification, making many recent medical assistant graduates stress their experience through externships as a way to get into the field.
And as the demand continues to grow, it would not be a surprise for individual state governments to start looking into regulation issues in their education and licensing as well.
Article Published: Friday 9th November 2007
