Medical Assistant - Certified

About the role

Participates with the Health Care Team in delivering quality and customer-focused health care to patients in a manner that reflects Kaiser Permanente’s mission, vision, and values. Provides clinical and administrative support to clinicians and other health care team members to offer a variety of health care services to patients. Clinical duties involve both direct (in person) and indirect (via phone or online) patient care activities requiring simple to complex clinical knowledge and skills. Works under the clinical supervision of the clinician for patient care activities and under the general direction of the designated manager/supervisor.

Responsibilities

Clinical Tasks

• Prepares and organizes patient office visits by ensuring all appropriate tests, clinical information, and order entries are ready for clinician review prior to appointment time.
• Collects pertinent subjective and objective data related to the patient’s reason for visit (e.g., chief complaint, presenting symptoms, or procedure).
• Utilizes standardized tools (e.g., PST, health maintenance alerts) to identify and address health maintenance/care gaps with the patient and alerts the clinician on those requiring attention.
• Recognizes signs and symptoms of common medical illnesses, distinguishes abnormal versus new/existing conditions, and reports to the clinician.
• Alerts the clinician on signs and symptoms requiring immediate attention and responds to directions per clinician.
• Prepares the patient for the visit/procedure during the rooming-in process and ensures the exam/procedure room contains appropriate supplies, equipment, forms, and educational materials.
• Checks equipment for safe working order, cleans the room after use, and provides the patient with after-visit, follow-up, self-care, or procedural instructions as directed by the clinician.
• Documents all pertinent data and outcomes of patient care in KP HealthConnect and other information systems according to standardized procedures and policies (e.g., SBAR, KP HealthConnect smarttools).
• Updates demographic or historical clinical data in the electronic medical record.

Clinical Procedures

Performs diagnostic tests, therapies, and procedures within the scope of authorized duties competently and with maintenance of proficiency according to department standards, developmental age of the patient, and established policies (e.g., patient safety, aseptic and sterile techniques, infection control). Examples include:

• Screening tests: vital signs, vision, hearing, developmental, LOPS, pain, etc.
• Diagnostic tests: urine dips, spirometry/peak flow, bladder scan, finger sticks for glucose, O2 saturation rate, etc.
• Medication administration via oral, topical, otic, rectal, vaginal, IM, SubQ, intradermal, ophthalmic, inhalation, and nasal routes.
• Wound care: routine dressing changes, staple/suture removal, cleansing/flushing of wounds.
• Application and/or removal of orthopedic appliances and other devices: splints, slings, orthotics, casts, crutch management, anti-embolic stocking measurement, procedural safety restraints, etc.
• Minor surgical procedure assistance: biopsies, excisions, insertion of devices, D & C, etc.
• Medical procedure assistance: PAP, colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, colposcopies, joint aspirations, etc.
• Lab specimen collection and labeling: nose, throat, wound, application of U-bag, etc.
• Irrigations: eye, ear.
• Instrument/equipment set-up, cleaning, and processing (sterile and non-sterile): scopes, cryogun, O2 tank, procedural trays, etc.
• Ambulate/transfer of patient using lift equipment.
• Other procedures outlined in the core skills checklist.

Practice Management Activities

• Maintains and adjusts the clinician’s patient schedule for efficient patient flow that facilitates appointed visits and overbooks.
• Answers and responds to incoming messages/requests via telephone, mail, or kp.org from patients or other departments by collecting and communicating pertinent data requiring clinician review and input.
• Acts as the clinician’s agent to communicate back to the patient or department the clinician’s response/instructions in a timely manner.
• Facilitates and completes follow-up duties on the patient’s plan of care as directed by the clinician, including processing prescriptions and forms, reminding patients of due screening/diagnostic tests, scheduling/staging procedures/tests/referrals/return appointments, and obtaining and inputting patient data to monitor progress in the electronic medical record.
• Sorts and prioritizes mail containing patient and/or clinical information requiring clinician review and attention.
• Provides population-based care outreach activities, including health maintenance screening as directed by the clinician.

Teamwork, Leadership, and Professional Development Activities

• Performs appropriate daily activities to start workflow in the work area per team agreements and procedures.
• Demonstrates flexibility and ability to reprioritize workflow to handle urgent/emergent demands of the team effectively.
• Assists with onboarding of new hires/transfers and/or validating peers’ clinical skills.
• Reports errors, near misses, or other hazards in a timely manner per established procedures.
• Seeks assistance with duties when unable to perform safely, lacks training, or is outside the scope of authorized duties.
• Completes annual competency assessments and trainings by meeting organizational standards and expectations.
• Demonstrates and maintains clinical knowledge and skills related to the department’s clinical area and contributes new ideas to assist the team in achieving departmental/regional quality and service goals/initiatives.

Requirements

• Employees must successfully obtain Kaiser Permanente’s Medication Administration Competency Certification within 90 days of employment as a Medical Assistant.
• Graduate of an accredited Medical Assistant program approved by the State.
• Medical Assistant Certificate (Washington).
• Basic Life Support certification within 1 month of hire.

Additional Requirements

• Demonstrated interpersonal and customer service skills (assessment required for external candidates).
• Demonstrated communication (written and oral) skills.
• Demonstrated literacy in using computers and keyboarding.
• Skills in problem-solving, setting priorities, and using good judgment for decisions.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently under pressure.

Preferred Qualifications

• One to two or more years in a medical assistant position in the assigned department’s clinical area (e.g., Pediatrics, FP/IM, OB/Gyn, Surgery, Dermatology, Neurology, Cardiology, etc.) within an ambulatory care setting.
• Current National Medical Assistant Certification.
• Demonstrated clinical knowledge and procedural skills and/or documented trainings in the assigned department’s clinical area within the last one to three years.
• Familiarity in documenting in an electronic medical record system.