Medical Assistant Apprentice

Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 21,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition assistance

On-the-job training

Job summary

Washington University in St. Louis is seeking a student intern to support clerical and selected clinical duties under licensed staff.

The role involves scheduling, medical records, patient intake, blood draws, and assisting with examinations in a hospital-affiliated setting in Saint Louis, MO. The program features a 1.5 year apprenticeship toward National Health Association Medical Assistant certification, with on-the-job training, mentoring, and structured coursework.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 1.5 year apprenticeship path toward NHA Medical Assistant certification.
• On-the-job training with mentor and structured MA coursework.

Responsibilities

• Provides clerical and administrative support, including answering phones and scheduling.
• Prepares treatment rooms and sterilizes equipment.
• Interviews patients to obtain medical information and schedule activities.
• Explains treatment procedures, medications, and instructions to patients.
• Collects blood and prepares samples for testing; may measure vital signs.
• Performs routine lab tests and assists physicians as directed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills

File Maintenance

Healthcare Environments

Interpersonal Communication

Medical Terminology

Microsoft Office

Office Administration

Office Procedures

Oral Communications

Patient Interactions

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

Position Summary

This is a student intern role. Performs select administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a licensed healthcare professional; administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, patient billing, and coding medical information for insurance purposes; clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and providing medical attention as directed by physician or nursing staff.

Location

SAINT LOUIS, MO 63110

Scheduled Hours

40

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Provides clerical and administrative support, including answering phones, setting schedules and meetings, typing documents, filing and back-up support for others.
• Prepares treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean; cleans and sterilizes equipment, instruments, rooms, etc. and appropriately disposes of contaminated supplies.
• Interviews patients via phone or in person to obtain medical information or schedule various activities; creates, updates and coordinates various medical records and files.
• Interacts with patients providing various routine information such as explaining treatment procedures, medications, diets or various pre-established instructions to patients.
• Collects blood, tissue or other laboratory specimens, logs the specimens and prepares them for testing; may measure patient vital signs, weight and height.
• May perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.
• May show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions

Job Location/Working Conditions

• Normal office environment.
• Exposure to blood-borne pathogens.
• Requires protective devices.
• Patient care setting.
• Direct patient care setting.

Physical Effort

• Typically sitting at desk or table.
• Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement.
• Occasional lifting (25 lbs or less).

Equipment

• Office equipment.
• Clinical/diagnostic equipment.
• Simple hand tools.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent high school certification or combination of education and/or experience.

Certifications / Professional Licenses

The list below may include all acceptable certifications, professional licenses and issuers. More than one credential, certification or professional license may be required depending on the role.

• Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) - American Heart Association
• Basic Life Support - American Heart Association
• Basic Life Support - American Red Cross

Work Experience

No specific work experience is required for this position.

Skills

Not Applicable

Driver's License

A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job

Would you like to find a quick way to take your 2+ years of healthcare experience, your strong clinical and educational knowledge to become a Certified Medical Assistant and work a permanent position at the prestigious Washington University School of Medicine? Have you graduated an MA program and never sat for a professional certification? Have you let your MA certification lapse?

If so...this may be the opportunity of a lifetime designed for you.

• This is a sourcing requisition created by Human Resources to attract experienced non-credentialed MAs or Patient Care Techs in the workforce who would like to become certified/Registered Medical Assistants. This 1.5 year apprenticeship commitment will provide the education, mentorship, and on the job training to qualify for the NHA Medical Assistant exam and the path toward a professional career.
• Apprentices are paid for 40 work hours/per week but will work 36 hours in the department and spend 4 hours a week in MA Training for up to the first 16 weeks of employment. At that time, hire will sit for NHAs Certified Medical Assistant exam, pass and promote to a Registered/Certified Medical Assistant in On-The-Job Training for the remainder of the 1.5 year commitment. At completion of 1.5 years, the Apprentice earns their journeyman status through the US Department of Labor for their participation in our Registered MA Apprenticeship Training program.
• While completion of the program does not end your employment with the Washington University clinical department hired, you are open to transfer to another department within Washington University with your Journeyman Status. Apprentice must complete the 1.5 years of Apprenticeship training to be recognized nationally as graduating from an MA Program and receive permanent NHA certification.
• Basic Life Support certification must be obtained within one month of hire date. Online BLS certifications, those without a skills assessment component, are not sufficient to meet the BLS requirements.

Please READ: In order to qualify, you must have at least two years of current or recent patient care experience, preferably in a physician's office, clinic or hospital setting. Medical Assistants who have graduated from a tech program but have never sat for certification are attracted to this program. We welcome MAs who need a refresher prior to taking the national NHA exam. Employment is required to participate in Washington University's Registered Medical Assistant Apprenticeship.

• We typically hire Medical Assistants to work the clinic back office where they room patients, document in electronic medical record, perform clinical skills associated with the specialty, perform blood draws, phone triage, schedule tests or order lab work, provide patients with follow-up instructions. We do have a few departments that strictly hire front office Medical Assistants and a couple of departments that primarily utilize their Medical Assistants phone triaging patient and office calls.

Education

Preferred Qualifications: No additional education unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Certifications / Professional Licenses

No additional certification/professional licenses unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Work Experience

No additional work experience unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Skills

File Maintenance, Healthcare Environments, Interpersonal Communication, Medical Terminology, Microsoft Office, Office Administration, Office Procedures, Oral Communications, Patient Interactions

Grade

C03-H

Salary Range

$15.25 - $21.33 / Hourly

The salary range reflects base salaries paid for positions in a given job grade across the University. Individual rates within the range will be determined by factors including one's qualifications and performance, equity with others in the department, market rates for positions within the same grade and department budget.

Questions

For frequently asked questions about the application process, please refer to our External Applicant FAQ.

Accommodation

If you are unable to use our online application system and would like an accommodation, please email [e-mail] or call the dedicated accommodation inquiry number at 314-935-1149 and leave a voicemail with the nature of your request.

All qualified individuals must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.

Pre-Employment Screening

All external candidates receiving an offer for employment will be required to submit to pre-employment screening for this position. The screenings will include criminal background check and, as applicable for the position, other background checks, drug screen, an employment and education or licensure/certification verification, physical examination, certain vaccinations and/or governmental registry checks. All offers are contingent upon successful completion of required screening.

Benefits Statement

Personal

• Up to 22 days of vacation, 10 recognized holidays, and sick time.
• Competitive health insurance packages with priority appointments and lower copays/coinsurance.
• Take advantage of our free Metro transit U-Pass for eligible employees.
• WashU provides eligible employees with a defined contribution (403(b)) Retirement Savings Plan, which combines employee contributions and university contributions starting at 7%.

Wellness

• Wellness challenges, annual health screenings, mental health resources, mindfulness programs and courses, employee assistance program (EAP), financial resources, access to dietitians, and more!

Family

• We offer 4 weeks of caregiver leave to bond with your new child. Family care resources are also available for your continued childcare needs. Need adult care? We’ve got you covered.
• WashU covers the cost of tuition for you and your family, including dependent undergraduate-level college tuition up to 100% at WashU and 40% elsewhere after seven years with us.

For policies, detailed benefits, and eligibility, please visit: https://hr.wustl.edu/benefits/

EEO Statement

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. It is the University’s policy to provide equal opportunity and access to persons in all job titles without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship (where prohibited by federal law), age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.