Climbing the Career Ladder After Your Medical Assistant Training

Completing your medical assistant training and starting your first job in that role is not the end of your healthcare journey, but just the beginning.

Career ladders exist for medical assistants.

For instance, working as a medical assistant at Stanford Health Care (SHC) is a great opportunity to learn,  grow, and further educate yourself as you develop your career in the long term.

Talking about their clinical assistant/medical assistant (CA/MA) career ladder, John Parshall, a Senior Recruiter for Stanford Health Care, says: “You’re accumulating responsibilities. As you move on up, for example, your scope of work increases when it comes to interacting with patients, Nurses, and Doctors.”

Rising up the Ranks as a Medical Assistant

No matter what career is pursued, it’s reassuring when an employer offers their employees opportunities to rise up the ranks in their chosen profession.

When this is the case, an employee feels valued, well-trained, and they’re more likely to remain working for their employer.

At SHC, for example, their CA/MA career ladder gives their employees four different levels to work towards:

• Level I Trainee/Entry Level
• Level II Intermediate/Developing
• Level III Career/Full Proficiency
• Level IV Advanced/Specialist/Lead

Rising from Level I to Level IV, a CA/MA continually gains more experience as they take on a greater job role.

For example, while patient interaction as a CA/MA I-Trainee/Entry Level will involve such things as rooming patients, taking vital signs, and patient phone calls, by the time the same clinical assistant/medical assistant reaches CA/MA  reaches Level IV-Advanced/Specialist/Lead, their patient interaction will include, among other duties, home visits and managing their own patient panel.

Stanford Health Care’s CA/MA career ladder has proven to be a great motivator for current staff looking to grow their careers.

Additionally, it’s been an advantage in attracting new healthcare talent; for instance, their Trainee/Entry Level position allows SHC to hire fresh talent with only medical assistant externship experience.

Career ladders liks this demonstrate how SHC, and other healthcare employers like them, are committed to developing the experience and responsibility of their staff.

It’s something to keep in mind when you graduate your medical assistant training.

Your Medical Assistant Training Can Be the Start of Something Big in Your Healthcare Career

Do you have to remain a medical assistant the rest of your healthcare career?

Not necessarily.

As much as your co-workers and patients will value your work as a medical assistant, there may come a time in your career when you might want to explore other healthcare jobs.

The good news is your medical assistant experience will be a valuable commodity when you’re applying for other positions.

“If you want to leverage your experiences to become a LVN, Clinic Nurse, or a Nurse Practitioner, being a medical assistant can be a great starting point,” says John Parshall.

If a job change may appeal to you down the line, it’s also good to know some organizations, like SHC, offer tuition reimbursement for a regular status CA/MA to continue their healthcare education.

It’s a win-win situation for both parties, as a CA/MA gets to to further their education, and SHC gets to benefit from their employee’s new skills and experience.

Truly, whether you climb the medical assistant career ladder or step on over to a new career ladder altogether, your medical assistant training can be the start of something big in your future healthcare career.

Would you like to know more about working for Stanford Health Care (SHC)?
If you do, you can learn more about what SHC has to offer their employees here.