Healthcare support
Medical assistant
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
Median pay
$45,690
Growth to 2035
+13%
faster than average
Openings a year
109,700
Time to qualify*
10 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Medical assistant
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
- Required
- CMA or RMA certification (optional, most employers prefer)
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Medical assistant: 17% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
- Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
- Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
- Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
- Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
- Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
- Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
Also called: Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) · Chiropractor Assistant · Clinical Medical Assistant · Doctor's Assistant · Health Assistant · Ophthalmic Assistant · Ophthalmological Assistant · Optometric Assistant
Outlook and AI
Medical assistants held 833,900 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 941,500 by 2035 (+13%, faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Medical assistant vs. Licensed practical nurse (LPN)
- Medical assistant vs. Dental assistant
- Medical assistant vs. Administrative assistant
- Medical assistant vs. Surgical assistant
- Medical assistant vs. Ophthalmic medical technician
- Medical assistant vs. Registered nurse
- Medical assistant vs. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians
- Medical assistant vs. Physical therapist aide
- Medical assistant vs. Nursing assistant
- Medical assistant vs. Medical records specialist
- Medical assistant vs. Health technologists and technicians, all other