A Day in the Life

As a single mother starting at a young age, I knew I had to set a good example for my kids from the very beginning. I worked a lot of low-paying jobs, and it was tough to take care of my kids and make enough to pay the bills. I had always wanted a job in the health care field, but I didn’t have enough time to study to be a physician as I had hoped to do.

When I found out that I could take an eight-month course to become a medical assistant, I jumped at the opportunity. After seven months of classroom work and a one-month externship, I was working in a gratifying job that had good benefits and paid me more than I had ever earned before. I also have a fixed schedule, so I can be sure to spend time with my kids and, now that they’re older, I have time to go back to school to study to be a traveling registered nurse.

I look forward to going to work at the clinic every day because I’m always busy doing different things like taking patients’ vitals and assisting doctors with various procedures. As the lead medical assistant, I’m also responsible for office payroll and managing the team of other support staff. I love working with people who genuinely want to help others. I feel most proud when patients go out of their way to tell me that they appreciate what I’ve done to help them get better.

It’s particularly hard to see people come into the clinic again and again who aren’t able to take care of themselves. It’s troubling to see them in difficult life situations where they can’t manage their own health.

I’ve been with the same clinic where I did my training externship — they actually hired me after my first day on the job — for seven years and have done medical assisting in urgent care, family practice, pulmonary and internal medicine. Today, I not only work as a medical assistant, but I also train the students who work at the clinic for their externship.

From the beginning I’ve shown initiative and motivation to go above and beyond what is asked of me, and I think this is a crucial personality trait if you want to build a career in the health care field.

But to get started, there are a number of short courses you can take to be on your way to a good-paying job with opportunities for advancement. A lot of the program graduates — people like me! — will be willing to talk with you to help you determine your next step.