Medical Assistant Externship

The medical assistant externship is all about you! It is an important part of your vocational training and signifies the point of transition from being a student to becoming a skilled medical assistant. Although most MA students have some apprehension about their externship once the externsip begins they usually find it to be a highly rewarding experience.

Medical Assistant Externship Is All About You!!!

When the externship begins it signifies the point where expectations and responsibilities shift from the instructor to you and your own medical assistant skills. You, as a medical assistant program senior, are now expected to perform duties that were previously taught and practiced in class in a REAL medical office setting. You are not only given a chance to put your knowlege to work but also refine and solidify these skills by interacting with real patients and join real doctor's in their daily routine.Show what you know! It is your time to show your dependability and professionalism - and time to shine.

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  Tips for a successful medical assistant externship so that the externship experience will turn out to be rewarding and successful and time to shine.
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It Is Your Time To Shine
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It is your chance, as a student, to put everything that was taught in the classroom to practical use in a real medical office environment. In other words: your chance to show what you know and step up to the task with confidence and pride!!!

Externship Anxiety

Anxiety is a basic human emotion consisting of fear and uncertainty that typically appears when an individual perceives an event as being a threat to the ego or self-esteem (Sarason, 1988). It creates the feelings of fear, apprehension, or worry. However, anxiety is normal: It is a common emotion medical assistant students share and has nothing to do with how they will perform at their externship site.

Setting Up the Externship Site

A good school usually has already established a contact list of possible externship sites within the community and the teaching staff makes the necessary arrangements to set them up. Their goal is to carefully match medical assistants students with a suitable externship site. Shortly before the externship the medical assistant student may be asked to interview with the physician or office manager at the suggested facility. The student is expected to treat this interview exactly as if it was an actual job interview. Again, this may cause bit of anxiety but it is an important step in preparation for the highly competitive job market of the "real world".

Performance Evaluation

Performance and attendance are carefully tracked and reported back to the medical assistant student's school. Attendance and punctuality are indicators of reliability and professionalism. Midway of the externship the student will be evaluated by the medical office supervisor and will be given a final evaluation on the last day of completion of hours.