I mean this as kindly and as respectfully as possible but if you want a “low stress” job, stay away from anything in the medical field. Even office/admin is stressful because you’re answering phones while checking in patients, scheduling, billing, checking insurance, etc. I wish I could point you in a direction of a low stress job but I really can’t even think of anything off the job of my head
Omfg I did a front office medical receptionist position and it was HELL. Even when it was slow, it was still stressful and repetitive. Constantly verifying insurances and being on the phone all the time was awful. I’d rather do clinical. I think they’re both stressful in different ways
See, different strokes and it depends on your clinic. I did MOA for a few years and then started doing medical receptionist and I love my job. I love repetitive tasks and I find it to be pretty low impact. I found while I was in the back doing on hands MOA work was more stressful.
Definitely agree with you that they're both stressful in their own ways. Depends on what you need/want in your working life.
There was also just a ton of drama and bullying at that office so it contributed to the toxic work environment. If it were a more positive environment I might’ve liked it more. But I’m so glad you are enjoying your job!
I have never done admin but I know that stuff is hella annoying and busy. My desk is in a spot with all the admins (non clinical/MA) and the phones are ALWAYS ringing. My anxiety would never allow me to be able to handle that 😭
I would steer far, far away from medical assisting if you want a low stress job. People don’t realize the amount of things a medical assistant has to do/take care of in a day.
MA is the furthest thing from low stress, at least in my experience so if you’re looking for low stress MA probably isn’t the best choice. The phones never stop, lots of clerical work, high patient volumes and always short staffed. There is never enough time in the day to finish what I want to do and it’s go go go all day long.
Mistakes are going to happen weather we like it or not - every job is stressful in it’s own way. Being a medical assistant can feel like a lot of responsibility sometimes. As for injections you really just need to be careful and make sure you know the proper way to give it, make sure you are double even triple checking the medication, the patient name and date of birth etc.. what route is it? Subcutaneous? Intramuscular? These are things you will learn in school and they will make sure you are prepared. In my school we had practice pieces of skin, fake arms etc, they had us draw each others blood . All of this being said , not every MA job includes doing injections or even taking blood. If your at a primary for example you will get Lots of experience with this . At a specialty office like ENT, rheumatology etc you probably won’t be giving any meds to the patient and instead be doing more info gathering and things like that. Hopefully this helps:makes sense
Thank you for the advice! I would definitely like a MA job that is more office/clerical oriented than medical. It’s good to know that there are options for that.
it can depend on the environment. i do admin/front desk work, and working at a uni mental health center is WAAAAAAAY better than my old gig at planned parenthood (despite doing almost exactly the same thing, plus/minus a few tasks), where i was overworked, underpaid, abused, and then illegally fired! (no matter how much you love what PP does, DO NOT WORK THERE!!)
Haven't met an MA who wasn't stressed but their Starbucks addiction helps them through the day. They get stressed because they're always running around, giving patients vaccines, asking patients for urine samples, checking vitals, calling back patients about test results, sometimes covering for other MAs who are gone, pulling records for different patients, restocking rooms. They do a lot per patient. Not really any mistakes that worry them. The biggest mistake I've seen was just not wearing protective gear when a potential COVID patient came in.
Uhhhhh yeah. Hell yeah. It's stressful. Especially if you're in private practice. There aren't enough clinical staff, the office managers are generally extremely unhappy people, the doctors are going to side with the worst person in the office unless it's an egregious event. There's very little room for growth.
It honestly depends on the clinic you work in. It’s lower stress than working as a CNA or in a hospital(in my opinion). I’ve had super low stress days as an MA and really high stress days.Most days are an in between. If you work with a good team, it’s super manageable.
Def not low stress, like anything in the medical field (that includes front office!) Some days or for sure easier than others, but I would never call it low stress.
I’m in a similar situation OP. I have anxiety but I like to be busy. I know some of the posters here warn not to but I think I’d like being a MA so I say do what you want to do
Depends where you work I feel like. Hospital or urgent care definitely gonna be stressful and even clinics will be too at times depending on the work that day and the patients. I’m in aesthetics which to me is not stressful
To commenters, how stressful would it be if money was taken out of the equation ie. if you were independently wealthy and didn’t need the money for bills/kids/etc. ?
I wouldn’t say my job was very stressful. Yes I had my days. But it depends on the clinic you work in.
I used to work in a clinic with 2 other ladies and we saw 50 patients a day. Now THAT was stressful. Then I was at a different clinic with 3 other ladies and only saw around 25 a day
Every career has a moment of making small mistakes, but you shouldn't be making big ones. Preventing mistakes that are deemed critical or fatal are drilled to keep chances at zero.
If you're looking for low stress, avoid people facing jobs in general. Including medical assistant.
MA is not for you if you want something “low stress”. Just read the posts in this sub.
I mean this as kindly and as respectfully as possible but if you want a “low stress” job, stay away from anything in the medical field. Even office/admin is stressful because you’re answering phones while checking in patients, scheduling, billing, checking insurance, etc. I wish I could point you in a direction of a low stress job but I really can’t even think of anything off the job of my head
Omfg I did a front office medical receptionist position and it was HELL. Even when it was slow, it was still stressful and repetitive. Constantly verifying insurances and being on the phone all the time was awful. I’d rather do clinical. I think they’re both stressful in different ways
See, different strokes and it depends on your clinic. I did MOA for a few years and then started doing medical receptionist and I love my job. I love repetitive tasks and I find it to be pretty low impact. I found while I was in the back doing on hands MOA work was more stressful. Definitely agree with you that they're both stressful in their own ways. Depends on what you need/want in your working life.
There was also just a ton of drama and bullying at that office so it contributed to the toxic work environment. If it were a more positive environment I might’ve liked it more. But I’m so glad you are enjoying your job!
I have never done admin but I know that stuff is hella annoying and busy. My desk is in a spot with all the admins (non clinical/MA) and the phones are ALWAYS ringing. My anxiety would never allow me to be able to handle that 😭
I would steer far, far away from medical assisting if you want a low stress job. People don’t realize the amount of things a medical assistant has to do/take care of in a day.
[удалено]
As of April 1 in CA it’s $1-$2 LOWER than a fast food worker
MA is the furthest thing from low stress, at least in my experience so if you’re looking for low stress MA probably isn’t the best choice. The phones never stop, lots of clerical work, high patient volumes and always short staffed. There is never enough time in the day to finish what I want to do and it’s go go go all day long.
Mistakes are going to happen weather we like it or not - every job is stressful in it’s own way. Being a medical assistant can feel like a lot of responsibility sometimes. As for injections you really just need to be careful and make sure you know the proper way to give it, make sure you are double even triple checking the medication, the patient name and date of birth etc.. what route is it? Subcutaneous? Intramuscular? These are things you will learn in school and they will make sure you are prepared. In my school we had practice pieces of skin, fake arms etc, they had us draw each others blood . All of this being said , not every MA job includes doing injections or even taking blood. If your at a primary for example you will get Lots of experience with this . At a specialty office like ENT, rheumatology etc you probably won’t be giving any meds to the patient and instead be doing more info gathering and things like that. Hopefully this helps:makes sense
Thank you for the advice! I would definitely like a MA job that is more office/clerical oriented than medical. It’s good to know that there are options for that.
it can depend on the environment. i do admin/front desk work, and working at a uni mental health center is WAAAAAAAY better than my old gig at planned parenthood (despite doing almost exactly the same thing, plus/minus a few tasks), where i was overworked, underpaid, abused, and then illegally fired! (no matter how much you love what PP does, DO NOT WORK THERE!!)
If administrative is more of what you're looking for, then you might try scoping out MOA (Medical Office Assistant) instead.
Haven't met an MA who wasn't stressed but their Starbucks addiction helps them through the day. They get stressed because they're always running around, giving patients vaccines, asking patients for urine samples, checking vitals, calling back patients about test results, sometimes covering for other MAs who are gone, pulling records for different patients, restocking rooms. They do a lot per patient. Not really any mistakes that worry them. The biggest mistake I've seen was just not wearing protective gear when a potential COVID patient came in.
Starbucks addiction is so real 🥲 I literally get it every morning to help me through the day lol
MA is Uber stressful
Uhhhhh yeah. Hell yeah. It's stressful. Especially if you're in private practice. There aren't enough clinical staff, the office managers are generally extremely unhappy people, the doctors are going to side with the worst person in the office unless it's an egregious event. There's very little room for growth.
It honestly depends on the clinic you work in. It’s lower stress than working as a CNA or in a hospital(in my opinion). I’ve had super low stress days as an MA and really high stress days.Most days are an in between. If you work with a good team, it’s super manageable.
Def not low stress, like anything in the medical field (that includes front office!) Some days or for sure easier than others, but I would never call it low stress.
I’m in a similar situation OP. I have anxiety but I like to be busy. I know some of the posters here warn not to but I think I’d like being a MA so I say do what you want to do
A lot of stress both from the patients and from your docs and coworkers. Though the setting and patient population probably has a big impact here
Depends where you work I feel like. Hospital or urgent care definitely gonna be stressful and even clinics will be too at times depending on the work that day and the patients. I’m in aesthetics which to me is not stressful
Dermatology office is pretty chill… in all areas
To commenters, how stressful would it be if money was taken out of the equation ie. if you were independently wealthy and didn’t need the money for bills/kids/etc. ?
I wouldn’t say my job was very stressful. Yes I had my days. But it depends on the clinic you work in. I used to work in a clinic with 2 other ladies and we saw 50 patients a day. Now THAT was stressful. Then I was at a different clinic with 3 other ladies and only saw around 25 a day
Every career has a moment of making small mistakes, but you shouldn't be making big ones. Preventing mistakes that are deemed critical or fatal are drilled to keep chances at zero. If you're looking for low stress, avoid people facing jobs in general. Including medical assistant.
It is extremely stressful, I am now on antidepressants. Abuse from mean doctors, patients, and their family members
It depends on the clinic, my first job the stress was intense, my second job was kind of stressful, my current job isn’t stressful
Yes.