Medical Assistant - Gap Year Students

Job Description

Job Description

Job Summary:

Gap year students who work as medical assistants at West Michigan Dermatology provide direct patient care alongside and under the supervision of dermatologists and PAs/NPs.  They gain hands-on experience which will prepare them for their advanced medical schooling.  They uphold our mission statement by serving our patients with compassionate service and exceptional care .  Gap year students are hired whenever our staffing allows and depending upon their plans for applying for medical school or PA/NP school.  We require a one-year commitment at minimum.

Job Duties and Functions

• Performs daily clinic preparation duties which include: stocking rooms, organizing clinical supplies, monitoring inventory levels, filling liquid nitrogen canisters, drawing up Lidocaine syringes, refrigerating medications when they are delivered, sterilizing instruments, and other duties as directed by clinical team leads.
• Rooms patients in an efficient and timely manner.
• Verify patient identity and demographics. Utilizes EMR to document or update the patient’s medical history, chief complaint and medication list.

• Functions as a scribe during the visit by accurately documenting the impression and plan and entering in new prescriptions, and providing patient education regarding wound care and medication instructions.
• Assists with excisions and biopsies.  Performs surgical tasks such as site preparation, numbing the surgical site, taking photos of the site, preparing specimens for pathology, and suture removals. 
• Performs suturing under the supervision of the provider after attending the required training. 
• Assists with cosmetic procedures including injectables.
• Practices safety and infection prevention protocols.
• Monitors “tasks” in the EMR and addresses them in a prompt and efficient manner.
• Performs instrument sterilization and prepare surgical packs as needed.

• Follows HIPAA guidelines at all times to ensure that patient privacy is always protected.
• Maintains knowledge of departmental processes and protocols, participates in learning opportunities, all-staff training sessions, special projects, etc. as directed by the clinical team leads or the site manager.

• Other tasks as directed by management and clinical team leads.

Education and certification requirements:

• Recent college graduate with a degree in a medical related field.
• CPR/BLS certification preferred.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:  

• Excellent command of English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Must be computer (iPad) literate with the ability to work with various computer systems such as EMR and word-processing programs.
• Ability to listen, read, understand, and follow oral, and written instruction.
• Meticulous documentation skills in addition to a high level of attention to detail.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills and a compassionate bedside manner.
• Ability to multi task and work under pressure.
• Ability to work collaboratively and establish and maintain positive relationships with employees, physicians, patients and managers.
• Demonstrates fiscal responsibility and recognizes the need for cost containment by following practices that minimize waste.
• Minimum one-year commitment preferred. Must disclose at the time of the interview if unable to commit for at least one year.

Environmental Working Conditions and Physical Requirements: 

Physical requirements are those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• This position involves prolonged standing and walking throughout the day.  Employees must be able to maneuver their way around an exam room with ease. Occasional bending, reaching, kneeling, stooping, crouching and lifting (up to 25 pounds) is also required.
• Employees must have excellent fine motor skills and manual dexterity as they are required to use their hands to handle surgical instruments, syringes, and other medical equipment.  
• Working in a clinical setting carries a risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Therefore, proper instrument handling and adherence to infection protection protocols is required.
• Use of chemicals for disinfection purposes is required.
• Manual dexterity for injections and assistance with surgical procedures is required.
• The employee must have close and distant visual acuity and proper depth perception.
• Use of PPE such as gloves, face shields and face masks is expected.
• This role involves the use of surgical instruments and the employee is expected to be able to handle and sterilize them safely and responsibly.

HIPAA/PHI Security Level: HIGH (Low, Medium, or High)

Indicate the security access level of Protected Health Information (PHI) as necessary to perform essential key responsibilities of the position (access, utilize, disclose, store, and/ or dispose of PHI).

1. Low –information access is of general nature representing summary type data rather than specific identifiable demographic or sensitive data.
2. Medium – information access is specific to an individual’s demographics and service information (type of service, services received, dates of service, and provider of service).
3. High – information access is detailed and sensitive to an individual’s demographics, service information, and personal medical history (past/present medical conditions, specifics of medical diagnosis or tests, treatment plans, and family history).

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive compensation
• Retirement eligibility
• PTO accrual and holiday benefits
• Employee discounts on products and services
• An environment that encourages professional growth and development.

Special note : Due to the unique operational needs of our clinics, we may request that our employees work in a different site from the one they were originally scheduled in.  Sometimes these requests are planned and sometimes they are spontaneous and could be made after the employee has reported to work for the day.  Reasons for these requests vary but they are mainly to ensure coverage in case of high patient volume, unscheduled absences from other staff, etc.  Therefore, we require all our employees to have a valid and unrestricted driver’s license.  Mileage reimbursement will be paid in accordance with our Mileage Reimbursement Policy.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.