Personal Attributes of Medical Assistant

Today I am going to write briefly about the personal attributes of a medical assistant..

Consider the following points which will certainly help you to provide patients with the best health care possible and learn what it means to be a professional medical assistant!

1) Empathy
To have empathy means to consider the patient's welfare and to be kind. It means stepping into the patient's place, discovering what the patient is experiencing, and then recognizing and identifying with those feelings. Medical assistants should treat patients as they would want to be treated. A visit to the doctor is often a time of fear and anxiety.
Apprehension can be allayed tremendously when patients realize that their health care provider understands their feelings and desires to make their lives more pleasant and comfortable.

2) Attitude
A friendly, warm disposition and a sense of humor will help patients feel more at ease. A sincere affection for people can be conveyed by actions that facilitate open and honest communication. An attitude should radiate genuine interest. On occasion, difficult patients can test the tolerance level of the most experienced medical assistant because they seem never to be content with the care or services received. But no matter what the circumstances, patients should never be treated with disinterest or in an unfriendly manner. The medical assistant should always be pleasant and courteous.

3) Dependability
Being dependable means that employer and co-workers rely on the medical assistant to be respectful of them, of patients, and of equipment and materials. Other members of the health care team will expect duties and responsibilities to be carried out responsibly. A dependable person interacts with coworkers in a supportive manner, is punctual, and limits absences from work.

4) Initiative
The willingness and ability to work independently shows initiative. A person with initiative is observant, notices work that needs to be done, and then takes action to complete those tasks without being told. Employer and coworkers must be able to count on one another to anticipate patients' needs and be attentive to work that needs to be accomplished. The successful medical assistant will be ready to pitch in and recognize when others need assistance.

5) Flexibility
The ability to be adaptable is a trait that serves all professionals well. When caring for ill people, unexpected situations arise daily and medical assistants must be able to respond to a variety of situations (many of them emergencies and unanticipated) without losing a sense of equilibrium. To improvise, or solve problems that arise either routinely or spontaneously, is a characteristic worth nurturing.

6) Desire to Learn
A willingness to continually learn and grow is the mark of a true professional. With the multitude of new technology in medicine, there is an ongoing necessity for constant learning. Medical assistants must be dedicated to high standards of performance, which can be accomplished by showing a desire to acquire information and by constantly updating their knowledge and skills. Keeping abreast of the latest diseases, treatments, procedures, and techniques can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as college courses, seminars, workshops, reading, and simply by being observant. The sharper the power of observation, the more the medical assistant will learn from physician, employer, and coworkers.