Medical Assistant: Resume Examples and Tips
Medical assistants perform administrative tasks and clinical duties in hospitals and medical offices, often serving as the main point of contact with visitors and patients. Their duties often vary depending on the facility where they work or the size of the medical practice. This is an entry-level job that does not typically require professional qualifications.
Build a resume to get a medical assistant position with the help of these tips and examples.
Table of Contents
Featured Resume Example: Medical Assistant
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Conscientious Medical Assistant offering over four years of experience in fast-paced settings. Competent in organizing charts, preparing patient rooms and supporting doctors through collecting vitals and office administration. Positive and upbeat with excellent communication skills.
CONTACT
SKILLS
- EMR / EHR
- Monitoring patient progress
- Completing insurance forms
- Infection control and aseptic procedures
- Simple dressings
- Exam room setup
- Strong communication
- Medical billing and coding
WORK HISTORY
- Conducted 20 preliminary evaluations per day, including measuring weight, temperature and blood pressure, and documented results with accuracy.
- Communicated clearly and effectively with patients to verify information, determine purpose of visit and record medical history.
- Conducted monthly and quarterly inventory of supplies using facility cost reporting records.
- Created and updated physical records and digital files to maintain current, accurate and compliant documentation.
- Scheduled surgeries, managed pre-certifications and verified insurance coverage.
- Coordinated patient care changes and relayed updated plans to various staff members assigned to patients.
- Kept physical files and digitized records organized for easy updating and retrieval by authorized team members.
- Tracked inventory and ordered office supplies encouraging cost-effective solutions.
- Organized weekly staff meetings and logged minutes for corporate records.
EDUCATION
Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-class Medical Assistant Resume
- Summary Within a few sentences, aim to convey your strengths and skills that make you a worthy candidate for the job. Use phrases and details that display both your abilities, as well as top work achievements, e.g., “Reliable Medical Assistant capable of assisting with exam room set-up and supporting doctors through collecting vitals.”
- Skills Incorporate a blend of practical and intangible skills. A good rule of thumb is to consult the specific job posting for major requirements (e.g., “assisting patients with personal care” or “recording information in patient medical records”) and incorporating these abilities into your skills section where appropriate.
- Work history Only list jobs you’ve had within the past ten years, and focus on tasks and achievements that directly relate to a medical assistant role, such as “Prepared patients for X-rays, electrocardiograms, suture removal and dressing changes,” “Coordinated daily medicine schedules” or “Updated inventory, expiration and vaccine logs to maintain current tracking documentation.”
- Education Include your highest education credential, whether it’s a high school diploma or college degree, as well as any additional training or certifications you have in the medical field (e.g., “Medical Terminology,” “Basic Surgical Assisting” or “Patient Care”).
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Do’s and Don’ts for Creating Your Resume
- DO use customized resumes for different job applications No job is exactly the same — your resume should never be the same, either. Tailor your resume according to each specific job you apply for, using the specific requirements of each individual job. One medical assistant position might emphasize “preparing treatment rooms and patients for examination” while another might focus on “records management and maintenance.” In both cases, list skills and experiences in your resume that meet these requirements, and prove you either have the experience or the aptitude for the job.
- DO always proofread your resume and cross-check information Any type of error in your resume can have a negative impact on recruiters. Double-check for grammar or punctuation mistakes, and run a spell-check for extra assurance. Be sure to also confirm factual data, such as past employers and education credentials. Stay accurate and honest.
- DO add intangible skills to your resume Though medical assistants make use of many technical skills, don’t forget to mention equally important intangible skills such as “written and verbal communication,” “patient-focused approach,” “patience” or “excellent time management skills.” You can even break your skills section into two subcategories (Medical Skills, Soft Skills) to make sure you have even an amount of both.
- DON’T use first-person pronouns Not referring to yourself in the first person is an established convention in resumes; be sure to stick to it in your own resume. For instance, a phrase like “Energetic medical assistant with over 2 years of experience operating X-ray, electrocardiogram and other diagnostic testing equipment” is the norm, rather than “I am an energetic medical assistant and I have over 2 years of experience. I know how to operate X-ray, electrocardiogram and other diagnostic testing equipment.” Not only do you save valuable space in your resume that you can devote to more important information, but it results in punchier sentences, too.
- DON’T forget to quantify your achievements and experiences What’s better than telling someone what you did? Telling them how well you did it. Quantify your work achievements wherever possible. “Assisted 10-member executive team with visitor reception and phone calls” paints a more impressive picture than simply stating, “Assisted a large executive team with visitor reception and phone calls.”
- DON’T make your resume too long Keep to the most important facts in your resume — the particular skills and work experiences that best relate to the job you’re pursuing. For example, listing all your tasks from a previous job in the entertainment industry won’t help convince employers you’re the right person for a medical assistant job; indeed, it might lead to hiring managers tossing your resume instead of reading through. Instead, just mention facets of your entertainment job that might apply to the new position (e.g., efficiently keeping electronic database records, or a facility for organizing equipment).
Medical Assistant Resume FAQs
- 1. What skills should I focus on when I create a medical assistant resume?
- 2. How should I format my resume?
- 3. How can keywords be used in a resume?
- 4. How should I fashion my resume if I am applying for a medical assistant job for the first time?
- 5. How should I build my resume if I wish to take the next step in my career?
1. What skills should I focus on when I create a medical assistant resume?
| The following practical skills can be incorporated in your resume: | Some soft skills you can share include: |
| Accurately recording and filing visitor and patient details | Multitasking |
| Assisting with in-office clinical and surgical tasks | Superior communication |
| Arranging hospital admissions and laboratory services | Efficient at following instructions |
| Performing routine laboratory tests | Collaborative approach |
| Managing test result data | |
| Answering queries in person and on-call | |
| Collecting patient history | |
| Preparing patients and necessary equipment |
| The following practical skills can be incorporated in your resume: |
| Accurately recording and filing visitor and patient details |
| Assisting with in-office clinical and surgical tasks |
| Arranging hospital admissions and laboratory services |
| Performing routine laboratory tests |
| Managing test result data |
| Answering queries in person and on-call |
| Collecting patient history |
| Preparing patients and necessary equipment |
| Some soft skills you can share include: |
| Multitasking |
| Superior communication |
| Efficient at following instructions |
| Collaborative approach |
2. How should I format my resume?
As this job typically doesn’t require extensive experience, use a functional layout for your resume. This layout will help focus on the skills and achievements required for the role of a medical assistant. Experienced applicants prefer to build a combinational resume with a mix of skills, qualifications and work history in reverse chronological order. The reverse chronology will help recruiters trace your growth and development in the healthcare support industry.
3. How can keywords be used in a resume?
Take note of the major responsibilities and requirements mentioned in the job description, such as “Knowledge of and ability to use and apply medical terminology.” In this case, “medical terminology” is a key phrase to keep in mind as you write your resume. Show in your skills or work experience section that you’re proficient in this area. Using keywords like these will improve the chances of your resume passing recruiter review, as well as application tracking systems (ATS) that many recruiters now use to filter out eligible candidates, based on content.
4. How should I fashion my resume if I am applying for a medical assistant job for the first time?
Concentrate on the skills you already have that show you’re capable of handling the job. Instead of a work history section, create an “Activities” section where you can mention any part-time or volunteer experience you have that relates to medical work, such as “Volunteered as assistant at Dr. Charles High Hospital.” Finally, indicate in your summary and skills section that you have the ability to pick up on new skills. For example, note your strong work ethic in your skills section, or tell employers you’re a fast learner in your summary statement.
5. How should I build my resume if I wish to take the next step in my career?
After the role of a medical assistant, there are many managerial positions open in the medical field. Some of these can be:
- Clinical team leader
- Lead medical assistant
- Medical office manager
- Clinical office manager
- Medical assistant instructor
- Medical records manager
- Healthcare administration
To fashion a resume to help move you on up, emphasize managerial abilities such as organizing weekly staff meetings, continue gaining knowledge of medical equipment and terminology, and look to improve your administrative skills through administrative certification classes.
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