What does a clinical assistant do?
A clinical assistant is responsible for assisting medical professionals with medical procedures and ensure a high level of patient care. Clinical assistants perform minor clinic procedures such as taking patients' temperature, sterilizing medical equipment, proper dumping of disposable items, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, processing payments, arranging appointment schedules, and maintaining an organized record of patients' information, such as their medical history and health insurance records. A clinical assistant must strictly adhere to sanitary and hygienic procedures at all times to promote a safe and clean environment for the patients.
Clinical assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real clinical assistant resumes:
- Participate in multiple studies managing CTM activities for various therapeutic areas simultaneously including oncology, urology, transplant, and immunology.
- Interview patients and interpret EKG recordings transmit via telephone.
- Maintain CPR certification on yearly basis and perform errands as per the instructions of supervisor.
- Act as a paramedic including CPR, heart defibrillator, first aid, emergency care.
- Schedule necessary test such as nerve conductions studies, bone scans, and MRI's.
- Conduct mini-meetings with small groups of doctors to encourage them to take ownership of their EMR forms.
- Assist with new hire training for office, with the Dr and with other support staff members.
- Maintain order and upkeep of medical files, as well as scan documents into EMR, award G.E.M.
- Book radiology procedures such as MRA, MRI, ultra sound, bone scan, whole body scan.
- Prepare injections and laser for the Dr., consent patients for surgeries and answer any question they may have.
- Prepare for proper procedures-urine dip, EKG, PFT, maintain accurate electronic medical records and document patient history in details.
- Exhibit ability to develop systems to maintain desire goals and interact with clients & families in crisis with compassion & integrity.
- Assist in ordering products and immunizations, maintaining CLIA waive lab, MMSE logs, control logs, and procedure manuals.
- Document patient information obtain from interviews and ensure HIPAA compliance.
- Provide telephone triage, crisis intervention and emergency authorizations as needed.
Clinical assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Clinical Assistants are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and PET. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Technical skills.
We break down the percentage of Clinical Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 28%
Interviewed patients to assist with medical and social history and counseled patients on contraceptive education and post-test counseling.
- Customer Service, 10%
Consulted patients with warm-up activities -Managed front desk while offering commendable customer service and inputting patient appointments and co-pays -General office duties
- PET, 8%
Responded to customer questions and helped them identify appropriate products for pet health and grooming needs.
- Vital Signs, 6%
Performed general receptionist functions, ensured patients participated in scheduled programs, and assisted with monitoring of patient vital signs.
- CPR, 3%
Assisted in Level I trauma center performed CPR, medical/therapeutic procedures, patient interview assessment.
- Phlebotomy, 3%
Ensured proficiency in patient and surgical care including phlebotomy, emergency services, physical examination, ophthalmic and optometry.
Most clinical assistants use their skills in "patients," "customer service," and "pet" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential clinical assistant responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a clinical assistant to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical assistants must be able to understand and follow medical charts and diagnoses." Clinical assistants often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "verified scientific data for complete accuracy on new drug applications submitted to the fda. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling clinical assistant duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical assistants need to be precise when taking vital signs or recording patient information." According to a clinical assistant resume, here's how clinical assistants can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "direct patient and physician contact*detailed appointment scheduling*telecommunications*working within a team in a fast-paced electronic environment*completed medical terminology course"
Technical skills. This is an important skill for clinical assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how clinical assistant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical assistants should be able to use basic clinical instruments so they can take a patient’s vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a clinical assistant: "support duties for diagnostic and technical treatment procedures, such as setting up and operating special medical equipment and apparatus. ".
Interpersonal skills. clinical assistant responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "medical assistants need to be able to discuss patient information with other medical personnel, such as physicians." This resume example shows what clinical assistants do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "possessed good interpersonal communication and written communication skills; detail-oriented and customer service-oriented; excellent planning and organizational skills. "
The three companies that hire the most clinical assistants are:
- PetIQ119 clinical assistants jobs
- Children's Hospital Colorado64 clinical assistants jobs
- Essentia Health51 clinical assistants jobs
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Compare different clinical assistants
Clinical assistant vs. Student medical assistant-externship
Student Medical Assistant Externship is a broad term for catering students for short, reliable, and practical work experience. Once you graduate, you can get a chance to meet contacts that may be useful for your career. You can have a better chance to work in a clinic, hospital, and any medical platform after going through this kind of externship.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a clinical assistant are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "pet," "surgical procedures," and "phone calls." On the other hand, a job as a student medical assistant-externship requires skills like "surgery," "urinalysis," "venipuncture," and "emr." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, student medical assistant-externships reach similar levels of education than clinical assistants. Student medical assistant-externships are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Clinical assistant vs. Medical assistant/phlebotomist
Medical assistants/phlebotomists are medical personnel who execute administrative and clinical tasks in healthcare facilities or units. They are responsible for providing healthcare to patients such as immunization administration, orthopedic supplies, and wound care. It is part of their job to take the blood of patients for blood testing. They also take charge of handling other medical tests for the upkeep of patients' health. These professionals should exhibit compatibility, initiative, and cohesiveness within the team.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real clinical assistant resumes. While clinical assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "pet," "phlebotomy," "data entry," and "ekg," medical assistant/phlebotomists use skills like "office procedures," "venipuncture," "strong customer service," and "phlebotomy procedures."
Medical assistant/phlebotomists earn a higher average salary than clinical assistants. But medical assistant/phlebotomists earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $35,745. Additionally, clinical assistants earn the highest salaries in the pharmaceutical with average pay of $44,546 annually.medical assistant/phlebotomists earn similar levels of education than clinical assistants in general. They're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Clinical assistant vs. Medical assistant externship
Medical assistant externs are medical school students who took the opportunity to get on-the-job training at a medical facility, usually a hospital. They spend a set amount of time in the facility. Medical assistant externs do job shadowing. They join their mentors, who are usually doctors or other health professionals, in their daily activities. Unlike usual on-the-job trainees, medical assistant externs do not really work on administrative activities. Instead, they are given the opportunity to truly be exposed to the actual work in a medical facility. They experience talking to patients and their families, performing basic medical tasks under the supervision of a doctor, and interpreting laboratory results with their mentors.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from clinical assistant resumes include skills like "customer service," "pet," "data entry," and "surgical procedures," whereas a medical assistant externship is more likely to list skills in "office procedures," "venipuncture," "patient vitals," and "drawing blood. "
When it comes to education, medical assistant externships tend to earn similar degree levels compared to clinical assistants. In fact, they're 3.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Clinical assistant vs. Medical laboratory assistant
A medical laboratory assistant is in charge of performing support tasks while under the supervision and directives of a more experienced medical technician or scientist. Their responsibilities typically revolve around collecting samples such as blood and tissues, preparing slides, running tests using machines and equipment, and maintaining records of all procedures and results. Furthermore, a medical laboratory assistant must also keep the cleanliness of the laboratory, organize and monitor inventories, procure supplies, and implement the laboratory's policies and regulations.
Types of clinical assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
