Good at Multitasking? Soft Skills Needed to Be a Great Medical Assistant

In today’s medical field, medical assistants are becoming more and more valuable. However, there’s more to medical assisting than just being knowledgeable and well-versed in the medical field. Successful medical assistants must possess the right mindset and personality. To perform your duties well, you must also have the right set of soft skills to complement your training. Located in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and serving the greater Chicago area, Northwestern College teaches students the knowledge they need to be successful as medical assistants while providing an atmosphere that encourages them to develop these soft skills. Here, we discuss the soft skills every medical assistant needs to perform their job well.

The duties performed by a medical assistant directly impact the quality of care for patients. Because medical assistants are often in direct contact with patients, they are required to have more than just a vast knowledge of the medical industry. They must also have a certain set of skills. To provide patients with the care they need, it’s important for medical assistants to possess the following traits:

Communication is critical in the medical field, and it can often be difficult for patients to describe how and what they are feeling. Medical assistants must be able to communicate well with their patients to get a better understanding of their symptoms. They may also be required to communicate with family members.

It’s important for medical assistants to also know how to efficiently communicate with other members of the medical team. In many cases, medical care is a collaborative effort. The quality of care a patient receives increases when members of the medical team know how to communicate well with each other.

A medical assistant may be asked to fill a variety of roles on a medical team. That means they must be able to adapt quickly while keeping their composure. This is especially true since every day working in healthcare is unique. You might not always follow the same routine or work with the same colleagues from day to day. Being flexible and working well under pressure are indispensable skills in the healthcare environment.

In your role as a medical assistant, several tasks may be thrown at you at once. It’s important to manage your time effectively while juggling these tasks. Being able to multitask effectively will allow you to provide patients with better care and help you be more successful in your career.

It’s important for medical assistants and other healthcare professionals to be able to understand the feelings of their patients. This is where empathy comes into the picture. Having the ability to walk in someone else’s shoes and understand how they’re feeling is one of the most essential soft skills for anyone looking to start a career in the medical field. Having empathy also helps medical assistants to build trust with their patients, which results in better communication and raises the quality of care.

While having the necessary soft skills is important, becoming a medical assistant still requires proper training. Northwestern College provides the necessary education for you to break into the healthcare field as a medical assistant. Our medical assistant certificate program equips students with the knowledge and skills to be able to effectively perform the necessary duties of the job while meaningfully connecting with patients and their families. Complete program information is available in the college catalog.

At Northwestern College, we are dedicated to helping students in the greater Chicago area succeed and find rewarding careers in whatever field they are passionate about. Request information today to learn more about our programs.