Working with providers of all credentials can be intimidating, particularly if you are just starting out in the medical field. Just as any other profession, they will have many different types of personalities and a lot definitely have their quirks, just like a lot of us MA's. Communication is key and its important to remember that we are, quite literally, their assistant. The focus of the MA's job should be to make the providers job easier and more fluid. And yes, more often than not, that means taking on more stress so the provider can take on a little less.  Hopefully this episode can ..read more

In this episode I talk about my experience as a float MA throughout my career, particularly during this extraordinary time when staffing issues are unprecedented. Floating can be a little bit of a divided issue between MA's, some enjoy it, some don't mind it, and some really do not prefer to do it. I go over some of the things that can be pros or cons when you're a float MA in a clinic and how there is a lot you can learn from it as well as long as you are open-minded. As always, feedback at nextlevelmedicalassisting@outlook.com or on Twitter @NLMA_Official is appreciated and encouraged!  ..read more

This is a special episode to celebrate MAR Week 2021. MA's are so important, we work so hard to care for our patients and ensure our providers get what they need. Some form of medical assisting has been around for a very long time and its exciting to see where the profession has come to and even more exciting to see where it is going. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO! IT MATTERS TO YOUR PATIENTS AND IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! YOU ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED AND AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zachary5372/message ..read more

This is the last episode of Season 1. I can't thank everybody enough for taking the time out of your days to listen, especially in this day and age when we have so many other things we could be doing with our, its very much appreciated! Please, please, please send me feedback on what you heard this season and what you would like to hear next season. Feedback can be given either by email at nextlevelmedicalassisting@outlook.com or on Twitter @NLMA_Official.  Thank you so much to every healthcare worker out there, this world would be in a much worse place without every single one of you. Yo ..read more

This episode is twice as long the others! I apologize, it wasn't intended to be. But I will be honest and say that I do intend to make all episodes longer than 30 minutes eventually but I didn't mean this one to be that way, but it was necessary to include all the appropriate information.  Rooming patients is the essence of what most MA's do. Taking vitals, review medications and getting the chief complaint, it seems so simple but to be done proficiently and correctly it take some finesse. In this episode we discuss the overall process and how it can go. I fully acknowledge that the room ..read more

This is a continuation of the episode 7 with further advice and examples of how we can provider next level service to our patients. I cannot express how important this is and the positive impact it will have on your job life as well as your patients lives. I completely understand that every clinic or hospital is different and the patients they see will vary wildly, however I have worked in multiple different settings and with different demographics of patients and the approach discussed in this episode works with all of them. I realize its hard to see how could benefit you in the long run give ..read more

Customer service is in my opinion one of the most important aspect of what we do in healthcare, after safety of course. Its under utilized and underappreciated and has such an impact on the patient's experience that it really should be more of a focus at every clinic. It takes skills such as empathy, humility, compassion and forgiveness as well as understanding that at times it is necessary to sacrifice a small part of our convenience to facilitate the needs of the patient. These are things that are not easily learned and are not necessarily taught in school. At times it can require us to reac ..read more

For a lot of Medical Assistants its a common part of our job to administer vaccines to patients under the age of 18. Unfortunately, most of us do not get to experience or practice this in school due to the legal liability issues as well as the difficulty in finding parents willing to permit their children to get vaccines from students. This situation present a different obstacle than we are used to in that the patients are often times not in agreement with what's going to happen, as well as having the parents in the room observing what is happening. In this episode I discuss different approach ..read more

Most MA's will learn how to give injections while going through school, but its a different feeling when doing it for the first time with real world patients. Just keeping yourself calm can be a challenge, not to mention keeping the patients comfortable. As with a lot of things we do, the more you do it the easier it gets. Its always important to stay focused so as not to make mistakes but that's also why most companies will have a specific protocol to follow to lessen the chances of a mistake being made. Hopefully this episode will help you stay on track and maybe give you some ideas for how ..read more

At some point in a persons career it’s not uncommon to become so comfortable in our routine that we lose sight of the details or forget the importance of doing certain tasks. This episode is about remembering to “check ourselves” and stay detail oriented so as to not get into “auto-mode” at our jobs. As always, feed back is welcome on TWTR @NLMA_Official or by email to nextlevelmedicalassisting@outlook.com. Thank you for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zachary5372/message ..read more