If you want to launch a career as a medical assistant and are thinking of our program in Louisville, Kentucky, consider the possibility that it could offer the chance to work almost exclusively with children.
Being a great medical assistant means finding your niche; it’s not always about working in a practice that sees the general public. You can complete our basic training and go on to focus on a particular class of patients, by working in a pediatrician’s office, for example.
There’s no specialist training or degree needed to work with children beyond getting medical assistant certification in our Lexington, Kentucky facility. Our training helps get you ready for on the job training for people who like children.
So, what’s one secret to managing children in a pediatric setting? Managing the parent(s). Some parents have strong expectations about how things should be done which may or may not be aligned with your best practices. That’s where diplomacy can be handy, especially if the child and parent are at odds. (As in, junior, you have to have that shot or take that medicine!)
Being centered in yourself, breathing deeply, smiling, and acknowledging fears can all have a calming affect. So can humor – including what you wear. It’s rare you can go to work every day in a uniform plastered with cartoon characters. But surgical smocks, coats, ties, almost anything you might wear in the doctor’s office can be bought adorned with these.
For the older set, try keeping up with their concerns and habits. Do they have a smart phone? What apps do they like? Asking them can put them at ease and put you in the learner seat, an unthreatening position.
That’s one of the great joys of being trained as a medical assistant at our Louisville, Kentucky location. You have a career where you never know who you’ll meet next, what tricks of the trade you’ll develop or use to connect with your patients.