Along with the hard skills, such as drawing blood and taking vitals, medical assistants develop many “soft” skills on the job.
Soft skills are the personal attributes that help you navigate work.
They determine how you interact with patients and coworkers.
Soft skills often seem like innate personality traits, but they aren’t unchangeable. All of the ones you use as a medical assistant can be improved with practice:
- Communication
- Listening
- Patience
- Empathy
CMAs are at the intersection of healthcare and people.
As a certified clinical medical assistant (CMA), you will regularly interact with patients, doctors, and other medical staff. If you approach your job with a desire to learn, you’ll absorb a variety of interpersonal skills.
The soft skills you learn as a medical assistant will make you an invaluable part of your healthcare team. More than that, though, they will set you up for a long-term, successful career.
Work as a CMA to become an expert communicator.
Medical assistants are often the first person a patient interacts with: They perform check-ins, collect medical history, and measure vital signs. Because the work is so patient-focused, you must learn to be skilled at relaying information in a clear way to people who are sick or stressed.
CMAs also must communicate with other healthcare workers, such as doctors and nursing staff. It’s important for that dialogue to be clear and effective so that patients are treated correctly and no details are overlooked.
Sharpen your listening skills.
For a medical assistant, the goal isn’t just to communicate your side of things. Medical assistants spend much of their time hearing patients’ concerns, questions, and symptoms.
You’ll learn to listen closely to catch important details that affect care. Beyond hearing the words patients and other caregivers are saying, you’ll also learn to focus on the person in front of you so that they feel understood.
Practice patience.
In healthcare, things rarely go exactly as planned. Patients become upset, schedules shift, and unexpected challenges pop up. Medical assistants need to develop patience by staying calm through difficult moments.
The ability to maintain patience under pressure will be helpful as you handle stressful situations, regardless of the path your career takes.
Grow your empathy.
Empathy means being able to understand and share the feelings of other people. As mentioned, you’ll be working with patients in difficult situations. To help them feel at ease, you need to be able to relate to their needs and concerns, whether that’s fear about a procedure or confusion about a diagnosis.
As a certified clinical medical assistant, it’s not enough to respond with kindness; you’ll need to learn to recognize how other people feel.
Start learning soft skills at NTX Training Institute.
Our sixteen-week training course is accredited and affordable, offering payment plans, scholarships, and loans through Afterpay, as well as preparation for in-class NHA certification testing at its conclusion. You’ll be ready to hit the ground running and start your new career with confidence. Click here to enroll today.
