How long does it take to become a Medical Assisting Extern?

It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a medical assisting extern. That is the time it takes to learn specific medical assisting extern skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

How To Become A Medical Assisting Extern: What It Is and Career Path

What is a medical assisting extern and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Janice Noteboom, MHA/Ed., CMA (AAMA)

So you've decided that you want to pursue medical assisting as a profession. There's an easy way to find out if that's the career for you. The simple answer is to become a medical assisting extern.

Whether you're trying to decide if that's truly what you want to become or if you're just working toward an education for that career, you should highly consider becoming a medical assisting extern. It's a great way to gain experience, which looks great on a resume. Plus, it won't take up a lot of your time.

As a medical assisting extern, you'll gain experience providing patient care, performing treatments and educating patients on procedures. Typically, an extern is much shorter than an internship so if you end up not enjoying yourself, then you can move on without wasting six months.

What general advice would you give to a medical assisting extern?

Janice Noteboom, MHA/Ed., CMA (AAMA)

Faculty Coordinator of Allied Health/Medical Assistant Program Director, Midstate College

-LIKE- People who enjoy working as a Medical Assistant do it because they get a
great satisfaction from help other people. They are often the first contact with the
patient in the medical facility, which sets the tone for the rest of the visit.
They feel good making sure that their patients have the right information that they
need, the appropriate medical care they need, and helping patients feel better.
Good problem-solving skills, compassion, understanding, patience and keeping
up with a fast-paced office is very rewarding.
-DISLIKE- Some Medical Assistants have determined that there are
area/tasks/etc. that they dislike, listed below are some of these things:
 You’re always around people who are sick
 Long work hours can include 10 or 12-hour days
 Lower starting salary, which is usually based on education and
experience level
 Having to deal with stressful situations and difficult patients
 Dealing with patients who are angry, cranky, anxious or not feeling well
 Working under pressure from extremely tight deadlines

ScoreMedical Assisting ExternUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,737

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82%

Asian 9.57%

Black or African American 10.82%

Hispanic or Latino 24.12%

Unknown 4.71%

White 49.95%

Gender

female 75.66%

male 24.34%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a medical assisting extern

Explore medical assisting extern education requirements

Most common medical assisting extern degrees

Bachelor's

33.9 %

Associate

23.0 %

Diploma

15.8 %

Start to develop specific medical assisting extern skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	23.97%
Vital Signs	12.21%
EKG	7.39%
Office Procedures	7.33%
Exam Rooms	5.04%

Complete relevant medical assisting extern training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical assisting externs learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a medical assisting extern based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical assisting extern resumes.

Gain additional medical assisting extern certifications

Medical assisting extern certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific medical assisting extern certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for medical assisting externs include Medical Assistant and Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).

More About Certifications

Research medical assisting extern duties and responsibilities

Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Front office duties - appointments reminders, filing, EMR, patient check- in/check-outs, scans forms, and phone triage.
Perform and record triage information, explain treatment procedures prepare patients for exams and assist physicians during exams.
Experience also include patient encounter chart, patient education, vital sign assessment, phlebotomy, medication administration and injections.

Prepare your medical assisting extern resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical assisting extern resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a medical assisting extern resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable medical assisting extern resume templates

Build a professional medical assisting extern resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your medical assisting extern resume.