Medical assistants have to take on a lot of responsibilities. From filling out forms to preparing the patients for their procedures, it is not easy to bag a medical assistant’s job. Even if you have the necessary qualifications, you need to sit for the interview before you get hired. But do not worry! Here are some questions that are generally asked during the interview to hire a medical assistant. You can look at them and prepare yourself better for your interview.
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What will be your primary duties as a medical assistant?
Medical assistants have a lot to do, so it can be tricky to pick one. You need to list out the primary duties and then pick up the ones to use your strengths. The responsibilities of any medical assistant can be divided into two categories:
- Administrative
- Clinical
Administrative duties include updating patients’ medical records, welcoming patients, attending phone calls at the doctor’s chamber, scheduling and keeping track of appointments, arranging for laboratory services and hospital admissions, coding and filling insurance forms out, handling bookkeeping and billing.
Clinical duties of a medical assistant include taking down medical histories of patients, explaining and preparing the patients for the procedure, assisting the doctors during the examination, collecting lab specimens, performing simple lab tests, carrying out small procedures such as taking electrocardiograms, changing dressing as well as removing sutures.
How will you protect the rights and confidentiality of the patients?
You need to know about the different healthcare guidelines that are issued to protect any patient’s rights. It will help your chances of getting hired as employers want someone who has useful knowledge of healthcare guidelines. They want to steer clear of lawsuits, and as their employee, it is your job not to violate any of the laws. Out of all the healthcare-related guidelines, the HIPAA ( Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is extremely important. It was devised in 1996. It states that national standards should protect the patients’ sensitive information from getting leaked without their consent. You have to make the interviewee believe in you by assuring them that you will follow all the guidelines and keep the patients’ records secure.
How good are you with front office administrative duties?
Front office administrative duties include answering the phone, welcoming the patients, and filling out important documents. Make sure that you point out that you have been trained to take on all these responsibilities. It would be best if you mentioned that you are comfortable with speaking, both on the telephone and face to face. This question will help you speak more about your coding, Electronic Health Records (HER), and medical billing training. Stress on the fact that is good when it comes to customer service and professionalism – two essential qualities that are required for the administrative role of a medical assistant.
Are you comfortable with phlebotomy?
Phlebotomy refers to the procedure of drawing blood from a vein for laboratory testing. A medical assistant needs to be comfortable with this procedure and not faint at the sight of blood. Make the interviewer aware that it has been taught to you during your training process and you have had practical experience during your internships. It will reassure them that you are capable of carrying out the clinical duties of a medical assistant.
Why do you want to work as a medical assistant?
It would be best if you showed the interviewer that you are passionate about working in this industry. This is the time to highlight your strengths. As a medical assistant, you want to work with people and help them. Apart from that, you need to research the organization that you are applying to. For example: if you are applying at a geriatric hospital, make sure that you mention that you want to work with the geriatric population. You are good at communicating with them. Avoid personal reasons such as good pay.
Have you performed EKG tests before?
Conducting EKG tests is one of the essential duties of a medical assistant. It would be best if you mentioned that it was a part of your training and you have the necessary certificate needed for the job. It would be best to mention that the training included recording the EKG waves and identifying an abnormal one from a normal one.
Are your AED, CPR, and Emergency training certificates are up to date?
All employers want to hire people to have valid certificates as a medical certificate. It ensures that they know their job as well as avoid legal complications in the future. Before you set for the interview, you need to make sure that your certificate is up to date. Otherwise, you won’t be hired. In case these certificates need to be renewed, you need to provide them with a date as soon as possible.
If a patient became unconscious, what should you do?
It is quite common for patients to faint in a doctor’s office or hospital. In case the doctor is not around, it is the job of a medical assistant to help the patient. If a patient faints, you need to position the patient on his/her back. Try to loosen tight clothing items such as belts, collar, etc., if possible. In case the patient is breathing, you need to lift his/her legs above their heart level or about 12 inches. It would be best if you mentioned that the patient should not be allowed to get up quickly as it might increase their chances of losing consciousness again. In case the patient is not breathing, you will be performing CPR on the patient. Make sure that you point out that you have had CPR training and have the necessary certifications.
How good are your computer skills?
As a medical assistant, you will be required to use computer software for coding the patients’ records. You need to talk about your medical billing as well as coding training. Medical Health Record training is also essential for a medical assistant’s job. Let your interviewer know that you have experience with the Medical Health Record software. You can name the different software that you have worked with. Apart from that, it would be best if you mentioned that you had been trained to process claims from insurance companies and work with Microsoft Office.
