Medical Assistant, General Surgery

St. Luke's University Health Network; Palmerton (Carbon County); On-site; USD 36,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Luke’s University Health Network in Palmerton, PA, seeks a Medical Assistant to support a primary care practice. The role emphasizes pre-visit planning, patient preparation, and care coordination to ensure smooth patient flow.

Requirements include a High School diploma or MA program, or one year of clinical experience. BLS/CPR is required or within 60 days of hire; prior healthcare experience is preferred and onboarding paperwork will be completed during initiation.

Qualifications

• High School degree or equivalent required.
• One year of clinical experience OR graduate of Medical Assistant program required.
• Two years of experience in similar healthcare setting is preferred.
• BLS/CPR: Current or within 60 days of hire; through ARC or AHA.

Responsibilities

• Review patient records prior to appointment and determine needed services with the provider.
• Complete pre-charting of all value-based pieces up to five days prior to appointment.
• Prepare patients for examination and escort to exam room; record vitals, meds, allergies, and history.
• Assist with injections or immunizations within State guidelines.
• Communicate with Care Team regarding discharge, ED visits, labs, and specialist visits.
• Maintain cleanliness of exam rooms and inventory of supplies.
• Support department initiatives and participate in onboarding and quality improvement.

Skills

Clinical experience

CPR/BLS

Education

High School diploma

Medical Assistant program

Job description

St. Luke’s is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke’s are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay for health care.

The Medical Assistant, Practice Operations’ primary responsibility is to assist in the delivery of healthcare support for the practice. The Medical Assistant is a professional member of the interdisciplinary team and consistently demonstrates and promotes the values of the organization.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Conducts pre-visit planning by reviewing and updating the patient’s medical record prior to the appointment with recent test results and correspondence and determines needed services by conferring with the provider.

• Completes pre-charting of all value-based pieces up to five days prior to patient’s appointment. Sends messages to the Care Team, when warranted.

• Responsible for preparing patients for examination and escorting them into the exam room. Preparation includes the following: height, weight and vital signs; update medication list; update allergies in record; update personal, family and social history; inquire about smoking status; obtain the reason for the visit. Assists in capturing demographic information.

• Provides other patient care services as needed/directed: keeps exam rooms clean; maintains clinical supplies in exam rooms; cleans and autoclaves contaminated instruments; gives injections or immunizations within State guidelines.

• Communicates and coordinates with providers or Care Team regarding hospital discharge, Emergency Department visits, consulting physicians, community resources, disease management, patient self-management, patient and/or family education on chronic conditions, and labs or other testing as well as specialist visits.

• Actively participates in department activities; attends departmental meetings; actively participates as a team member in resolution of problems as they are identified; analyzes current procedures.

• Responsible to dispose Bio-Hazardous waste and regular waste per practice protocol.

• Maintains vaccine temperature logs, inventory and ordering of medical supplies (i.e.: vaccines, medications), disposing of expired sample medication, and stocking rooms to set par levels.

• Performs other administrative tasks (e.g. check-in and check-out functions, opening and closing office procedures, etc…) as needed.

• Brings suggestions for improvement to the attention of Practice Managers and Providers for consideration.

• Actively participates in maintaining and/or improving quality improvement initiatives.

• Other related duties as assigned.

PHYSICAL AND SENSORY REQUIREMENTS:

Requires sitting, standing and walking for extended periods of time (up to 8 hours at time). Occasional requirement to lift up to 25 pounds. Occasionally push wheelchairs with patients weighing up to 325 pounds.

EDUCATION:

High School degree or equivalent required.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

One year of clinical experience OR graduate of Medical Assistant program required. Two years of experience in similar healthcare setting is preferred. Customer service experience is strongly preferred. BLS/CPR: Current or within 60 days of hire; through the American Red Cross or American Heart Association. Where applicable, a 30/60/90 day on-boarding checklist will be completed during the on-boarding process for new or transferred employees to confirm mastery of skills relevant to the service line. This on-boarding checklist will be acknowledged by practice leadership or a provider when appropriate; records will be retained at the practice location.

St. Luke’s University Health Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer.