Strategies to hire medical assistants and retain them

Medical assistants, like any other medical profession, have specific legal and regulatory considerations. The state where your facility is located has the right to set the practice guidelines for them. Understand these regulatory guidelines as a first step to navigating legal implications that may arise. Below are some legal considerations to follow while hiring medical assistants, as well as medical assistant hiring strategies:

• Always cross-check whether the medical assistant hired is licensed to practice in the state.
• Verify the credentials of the candidate before onboarding. His license should be active and valid throughout his employment to avoid medical assistant burnout issues.
• Cross-check other employment laws by the state, if any, to avoid compliance concerns and implement effective medical assistant retention strategies.
• Strictly cross-check background for any pending criminal records/charges.
• Pre-employment medical screening is without exemption. A detailed list of job duties that was provided in the job description, in the interview, and in the offer letter shall be made to ensure amiable clarity and reduce the risk associated with medical assistant burnout. These detailed job duties also help in creating effective medical assistant hiring strategies.

Employers’ guide to effective training strategies for Medical Assistants

 Recruiting recently graduated medical assistants is one of the easiest methods through which the staffing gap could be filled. These fresh medical assistants, however, are often short of practical experience in the area; thus, they could easily be trained with a mentor’s help to perform clinically in the most efficient way possible. However, facilities have to devise a structured approach to hiring and onboarding new medical assistants with adequate training for this strategy to work. Implementing effective medical assistant hiring strategies is crucial. A well-rounded training plan can be devised by defining objectives and then a timeline to orient under an experienced mentor or supervisor. Orientation can be given in different aspects, including organizational culture, clinical tasks, administrative procedures, and customer service, all of which are discussed below.

• Organizational culture orientation: The organizational culture will include everything that has to do with the facility’s values, beliefs, ethics, and workplace environment. This is important to ensure that the entry-level medical assistants hired fully believe in your mission, vision, and values. This is a key aspect of medical assistant retention strategies.
• Clinical training: Clinical training involves practical experience with the new resources to work in a clinical setting by handling procedures in their job description using medical equipment. This training will also include patient data collection and electronic health record management. Adequate training is necessary to avoid medical assistant burnout.
• Administrative training: As medical assistants perform administrative duties, they must be given an orientation on administrative procedures such as scheduling appointments, billing, insurance claim handling, and customer service.

            Once the orientations are provided, introduce the new entry-level medical assistants to the team by ensuring that they can support other experienced medical assistants. Monitor the new medical assistants’ progress and provide constructive feedback for improvement. This may help employers manage their demand for medical assistants more efficiently by effectively training new graduates and implementing robust medical assistant retention strategies.

Methods aimed at promoting the long-term retention of medical assistants

In today’s healthcare staffing environment, retention should be more than just hiring a medical assistant. Effective strategies can cut down on the new need for medical assistants by retaining the available staff in facilities. These are some strategies you should follow to build a loyal team in your facility by retaining medical assistants.

• Research the future prospects of the medical assistant career and offer competitive pay according to market rates
• In addition to pay and health, provide other benefits like career progression and vacation options
• Provide flexible working hours as well as rotating shifts 
• Regular monitoring of staff workload to prevent burnouts among medical assistants
• Clear career advancement paths are provided for professional growth. 
• Cross-training is provided to progress the skill set. Develop regular performance reviews and a reward cycle for employee motivation.
• Align the staff to your culture to reduce the medical assistant turnover rates.
• Ensure a safe and supportive working environment where no one feels left out.
• Create a safe and supportive work environment where no one feels left out.

According to the analysis by AMASTEPSforward, the retention rate of medical assistants in the USA has been declining in recent years. In today’s healthcare staffing environment, retention should focus on more than just hiring new medical assistants; it requires effective strategies to keep the existing staff engaged and satisfied. The table below clearly illustrates the state-by-state decline in retention rates of medical assistants over the past four years, highlighting the need for improved retention practices in the healthcare industry.