Perhaps the reason the title “medical assistant” is so vague has to do with the broad range of job duties you are required to fulfill.
You are expected to assist medical staff with both clinical and administrative duties.
Hospitals and clinics couldn’t operate without the wide ranges of abilities you provide to keep the office functioning every day.
Most positions that provide this type of support are only noticed and recognized when things aren’t running smoothly.
So how do you write a medical assistant resume describing just how versatile and pertinent your skills are to a medical office?
We’ve got you covered on how to put it all together in a stand-out resume that is sure to earn you an interview.
How to write a medical assistant resume:
- Research required skills for the medical assistant position.
- Customize resume to target specific healthcare facilities or roles.
- Begin with a compelling summary statement.
- Highlight relevant clinical and administrative experience.
- Showcase proficiency in medical procedures and patient care.
- Emphasize knowledge of medical terminology and coding.
- Detail relevant certifications, such as CMA or RMA.
- Include pertinent education and training courses.
- Mention any specialized skills, like phlebotomy or EKG.
- Maintain a clean, organized, and easy-to-read format.
- Thoroughly proofread for accuracy and clarity before submitting.
Let’s begin with a sample medical assistant resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best medical assistant resume you possibly can.
Medical Assistant Resume Example (Text Version)
Contact Info:
Heidi Burge
[email protected]
1 (402) 333-0066
Omaha, NE 68007
linkedin.com/heidiburge
Summary Statement:
Medical Assistant: Dependable Certified Medical Assistant with over 5 years of experience with patient evaluation and clinical office procedures. Able to give injections and vaccinations to patients. Experience with Allscripts and EMR record keeping and very comfortable working calmly under pressure in both hospital and clinic environments.
Key Accomplishments and Areas of Expertise:
- MS Office
- HIPAA/OSHA Guidelines
- Electronic Records
- Research
- Attentiveness
- Detail Oriented
- Interpersonal Skills
- CPR/First Aid
- Database Management
Professional Experience:
Hometown Physicians | Omaha, NE
Medical Assistant | May 2018 – Present
- Recorded patient information on pre-existing conditions
- Obtained patient lab specimens, including blood & urine samples
- Performed clinical procedures such as EKG & PFT tests
- Communicated with health insurance on behalf of patient’s well-being
- Conducted stock maintenance & ordering, reduced cost by 5%
Evergreen Hospital | Omaha, NE
Medical Assistant | January 2015 – March 2018
- Administered injections to patients, including vaccinations
- Took patient vital signs and monitored conditions
- Communicated with patients concerning referrals and prescriptions
- Tested patients for flu, strep, and the common cold
- Updated and edited patient records using EMR system
Burton Clinic | Lincoln, NE
Medical Assistant | June 2012 – December 2014
- Worked with care team to provide focused treatment to all patients
- Sterilized instruments and maintained orderly treatment area
- Stocked supplies and medications and took inventory
- Observed all HIPAA & OSHA guidelines, renewed training as needed
Education and Certifications:
Clinical Medical Assistant Certification
Kansas City School of Phlebotomy, Kansas City, MO,
2011
Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting
Metropolitan Community College
2011
CPR & First-Aid Certification
Renewed – 2019
Know How to Format a Medical Assistant Resume
The first things most people think about when getting ready to write a resume typically have to do with what details they will discuss.
However, the first consideration when writing a resume should deal with how you want it to appear visually on the page – and that comes down to formatting.
The format of your medical assistant resume should appear straightforward and “approachable”.
Hiring managers only spend around 6 seconds reviewing the resumes they see and it stands out when a resume looks easy to read and comprehend.
To create this aesthetic, focus not only on the words you write but on the spacing you allow in between.
Being intentional about adding proper spacing between bullet points and sections creates a flow that draws the reader in and keeps their eyes moving down the page.
One of the easiest ways to create a separation between sentences is to use bullet points instead of paragraphs.
Bullet points create a professional appearance while allowing candidates to be more concise and to the point in how they describe their work history and accomplishments.
No matter how spot on your formatting is, it is still unlikely that a hiring manager is going to read your resume in its entirety.
Therefore, list details in reverse chronological order so that your most recent and relevant work comes first.
Mix these structural decisions together with a neat and legible font and you will be well on your way to your next interview.
Open With Your Medical Assistant Resume Summary
Starting your medical assistant resume with a summary section to describe who you are as a medical assistant is essential.
A resume summary is a two to three sentence description that should outline your strongest attributes and abilities as a medical assistant.
While this section is brief, it can be difficult to narrow things down in such a concise manner.
Even though this section comes first on your resume, you can always skip it and come back to it after you have written your skills and work experience sections.
Often, writing the rest of your resume first allows you to think more critically about what the most important characteristics are as a medical assistant, which helps to strengthen your summary sections.
Sample Resume Summaries for a Medical Assistant Resume
Yes!
Dependable Certified Medical Assistant with over 5 years of experience with patient evaluation and clinical office procedures. Properly conduct certain clinical care, including administering injections and vaccinations to patients. Experience with Allscripts and EMR record keeping and very comfortable working calmly under pressure in both hospital and clinic environments.
No!
Medical Assistant with many years of experience. Experience with record keeping and very comfortable working under pressure. Can do injections and vaccinate.
The “Yes!” example lends specific details to back up the abilities and skills they claim to have as a medical assistant.
The “No!” example incorporates little to no detail that would support the experience and abilities they are describing.
PRO TIP: Before you write your resume summary, try to ask yourself what characteristics are important to have when you are a medical assistant and what is expected of you. Answer the question with as many details and examples as possible. Go back through your answers and look for items that you relate to the most.
Detail Your Key Accomplishments and Medical Qualifications
Including a list of key skills and qualifications is crucial to catching the eye of a hiring manager.
The skills you include in this section should be relevant to the job you are applying to, but also specific to you so that you can stand out from the pack.
Formatting this list with bullet points and minimal to no description allows this section to draw more attention.
Sample Areas of Expertise to Put on a Medical Assistant Resume:
- MS Office
- HIPAA/OSHA Guidelines
- Electronic Records
- Research
- Attentiveness
- Detail Oriented
- Teamwork
- Interpersonal Skills
- CPR/First Aid
- Database Management
- Organization
- Written and Verbal Communication
When deciding what skills to include in your list, consider both hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are more commonly known as technical skills because they typically need to be taught or practiced to obtain.
Skills like CPR and First Aid and using MS Office would fall into this category.
Soft skills are often referred to as people skills – they are the kinds of skills that are more innate and relate to personality traits.
Traits like communicating well with coworkers or having a knack for organization are considered soft skills.
Working as a medical assistant requires both of these kinds of skills to deal with the technical aspects of working in a clinic, as well as being a good coworker and helpful staff member for patients.
PRO TIP: When responding to a job posting, make sure that you read their descriptions thoroughly. Often job posts will include a list of skills and qualifications they expect their candidates to have. Include what skills apply to you in your resume to show them that you are a compatible candidate.
Write a Compelling Medical Assistant Work Experience Section
The work history section often takes up the most space on a resume, and for a good reason.
While other sections do a great job of introducing who you are and describing some of your most outstanding abilities in this field, your work history gets specific and gives examples of how your skills have operated in previous positions.
When writing this section, it is essential to only include work experience that is relevant to being a medical assistant.
If you have previous experience as an office assistant or in the medical field in general, you can include those positions in your resume – provided they have job tasks relevant to the job you are currently applying to.
However, you might want to pass on including previous jobs that aren’t related to the field at all.
Use your best judgment when selecting which jobs to include and try to list your work experience in reverse chronological order so that your most relevant and impressive work comes first.
Describe each job on your resume in three to five bullet points detailing out the most significant job tasks and accomplishments you were responsible for.
Always opt to include things that relate the most to working as a medical assistant and match up to the job posting you are responding to.
Medical Assistant Resume Samples: Work Experience
Yes!
Hometown Physicians | Omaha, NE | Medical Assistant | May 2018-Present
- Recorded patient information on pre-existing conditions
- Obtained patient lab specimens, including blood & urine samples
- Performed clinical procedures such as EKG & PFT tests
- Communicated with health insurance on behalf of patient’s well-being
- Conducted stock maintenance & ordering, reduced cost by 5%
No!
Hometown Physicians | Omaha, NE | Medical Assistant | May 2018-Present
- Worked with patients and recorded health information
- Obtained lab specimens from patients
- Performed certain clinical procedures
- Communicated with health insurance
- Oversaw supply inventory
The first example lends specific details that quantify and qualify the job duties and tasks conducted by the candidate.
The second example lists job tasks with little to no detail that would explain the role the candidate played in operating a successful medical office.
PRO TIP: When you are writing a job description, always make sure you are including details that quantify and qualify the job tasks you are discussing. Quantifying gives numerical information, like saying you worked in an office that treated over 2,000 patients. Qualifying details give more information to show off your knowledge and skills – like listing specific procedures you assisted with as opposed to merely stating you “assisted with procedures.”
(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)
About Bots
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or bots, are programs designed to sort through resumes in search of potential candidates.
When businesses have a large number of resumes to sort through and not enough time to review each one, bots help narrow things down before a hiring manager takes a look.
Bots search resumes for specified keywords and power words (action verbs) to decide what resumes “make the cut.”
If a bot doesn’t flag a resume, it will likely not go on for further review.
Some resume experts believe that the best way to impress a bot is to use paragraphs for job descriptions instead of bullet points to incorporate more keywords.
However, here at Big Interview, we believe that sticking with bullet points still allows for a sufficient use of keywords while remaining more eye-catching and easy to follow.
Take a look at the visual difference between these two formatting styles.
Medical Assistant Resume Written in Standard Bullet Point Format:
Evergreen Hospital | Omaha, NE | Medical Assistant | January 2015 – March 2018
- Administered injections to patients, including vaccinations
- Took patient vital signs and monitored conditions
- Communicated with patients concerning referrals and prescriptions
- Tested patients for flu, strep, and the common cold
- Updated and edited patient records using EMR system
Medical Assistant Resume Written in Paragraph Format:
Evergreen Hospital | Omaha, NE | Medical Assistant | January 2015 – March 2018
Administered injections to patients, including vaccinations, took patient vital signs and monitored conditions. Communicated with patients concerning referrals and medication prescriptions. Tested patients for flu, strep, and the common cold. Updated and edited patient records using EMR system.
A Combo (Paragraph Format with Bullet Points):
Evergreen Hospital | Omaha, NE | Medical Assistant | January 2015 – March 2018
Administered injections to patients, including vaccinations, took patient vital signs, and monitored conditions. Communicated with patients concerning referrals and medication prescriptions. Tested patients for flu, strep, and the common cold. Updated and edited patient records.
- EMR System
- Checked-in 35+ patients daily
Create Your Medical Assistant Education Section
When writing your education section, make sure that you include degree titles, what school you attended, and the date of graduation for all applicable schooling.
Order your degrees, starting with your most relevant and impressive.
You can also include certifications and licenses in this section as well, or separate them in their own section directly preceding or following your education.
Sample Education Section on a Medical Assistant Resume:
Education and Certifications
Clinical Medical Assistant Certification
Kansas City School of Phlebotomy, Kansas City, MO,
2011
Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting
Metropolitan Community College
2011
CPR & First-Aid Certification
Renewed – 2019
For Maximum Impact, Add Extra Sections to Your Medical Assistant Resume
In some instances, you might have additional sections to include on your medical assistant resume if you have other accomplishments or qualifications that haven’t applied to any of the previous sections we have discussed.
Including sections to accommodate information you feel will help “beef up” your resume is always a good idea when applicable.
Examples of good sections to add to a medical assistant resume:
- Awards and honors
- Publications
- Noteworthy Projects
- Social Media Influence
- Speaking Engagements
- Hobbies/Interests
- Volunteer Work
What If You Have No Experience as a Medical Assistant?
If you are fresh out of school or you have recently switched careers and have no relevant work experience, this section is for you.
For starters, don’t worry – while it is always beneficial to have relevant work experience, it isn’t always a requirement.
Instead of focusing on what you lack, take the time to focus and hone in on what you have – starting with your education.
Move your education section below your resume summary so that it will draw more attention – then try to improve on it if possible.
If you earned a high GPA, received any honors or awards, or completed any specific or advanced course work, include those details in your education section.
Outside of updating your education, consider adding in additional sections if you have any internship or volunteer work experience.
Details that include experience (even unpaid experience) can give a new-candidate resume an edge that the others won’t always have.
If you can add in additional details and expand on the details you do have, your medical assistant resume will be in great shape to impress a hiring manager.
Key Medical Assistant Resume Points to Remember
Checkup
If you are busy looking for a job, sometimes it is tempting to either skip reviewing your resume or review it half-heartedly. Sometimes small mistakes are the only thing standing between you and an interview, so make sure that you are giving yourself time to review and revise before turning in your resumes.
Clear and concise
Depending on your background, you might have a large amount of experience. Regardless, make sure that you are keeping your resume entirely on one-page only and don’t over-crowd it. Take the time to narrow things down and make sure you are wording things as concisely as possible.
Contact information
Remember always to include your name and the correct contact information. When you are busy reviewing your entire resume, sometimes the most simple of details are overlooked.
Mistakes to Avoid on a Medical Assistant Resume
Don’t be generic
Make sure that you are reading a job posting for the position you are after, or that you have at least looked up the company if there isn’t a posting. Often candidates stress about creating the “best” resume, but they aren’t always concerned with creating the most “compatible” resume.
Avoid keyword stuffing
Don’t reuse the same keyword more than once. While it sounds silly, you don’t want to come off as a candidate who lacks versatility and skill, just because you didn’t take enough time to describe yourself accurately.
Watch out for “I” and “me”
Don’t include the words “I” or “me” in your resume. Even though you will be talking about and referencing yourself, you should avoid using these two words. This “rule” might sound awkward, but it is important to follow.
