The medical assisting profession is separate from both physician's assistants and nurses and can often involve more emphasis on administrative work, like filling out insurance codes and handling incoming calls. In larger hospital systems, though, some medical assistants might even specialize in either administration or clinical work, and other medical assistants might specialize in a particular type of medicine depending on the practice they work in, like ophthalmology, obstetrics, and more.

This is a people-oriented career that greatly increases the efficiency of the dental office when it comes to delivering quality oral healthcare. Dental assistants can also work under the direction of a dentist to set up and process X-rays, take impressions of patient's teeth, prepare materials for dental impressions or crowns, and other lab tasks. Some of the duties you may perform as a dental assistant are specifically outlined by the American Dental Association (ADA).

In recent years, the right of electronic health records has directly impacted the medical coding field, making it possible to digitally record, collect, store, analyze, and retrieve vast amounts of patient information. It also has meant that medical coding specialists must be very aware of all the ways they can help secure this information and implement privacy practices.