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What is an Aesthetic Medical Assistant?

What is an Aesthetic Medical Assistant?

The medical assisting field offers a wide range of different ways to specialize. One of these specialties is aesthetic medical assistant. An aesthetic medical assistant supports providers who offer beauty and wellness medical services, including dermatology and plastic surgery.

Medical assisting careers like working as an aesthetic medical assistant can be rewarding. These jobs let you support patient care, help people and earn competitive wages. Learn more about these careers and how to move into aesthetic medical assistant work below.

Common Duties of an Aesthetic Medical Assistant

Aesthetic medical assistants work in specific types of care settings, including dermatology offices, cosmetic medical spas and plastic surgery offices. Here’s what an aesthetic medical assistant might do as part of their job:

  • Provide assistance during procedures. Depending on where you work, you may support a licensed provider as they administer chemical peels, dermal fillers, laser therapies and other cosmetic medical treatments. Responsibilities might include providing supplies and tools as directed, monitoring vital signs like blood pressure, dressing surgical locations for recovery care or labeling and preparing specimens for the lab.
  • Offer support and education to patients. Assistants may be the first person to interact with a patient or act as a patient point of contact before and after treatment. As such, they often provide appointment or care instructions and answer patient questions.
  • Handle administrative office duties. Many aesthetic medical assistants manage office tasks like scheduling appointments and taking patient payments.
  • Clean and sanitize treatment areas and equipment. You might be tasked with cleaning and sanitizing treatment rooms or resetting spaces between patients. This can include restocking supplies, cleaning equipment and reporting any serious concerns to custodial or maintenance staff.

Other Types of Medical Assisting Careers

Aesthetic medical assistant is just one of the many career niches available within the medical assisting field. Here are just a few of the paths your career might go down after completing a medical assistant training program:

  • Medical office assistant. These positions support office operations in healthcare settings like doctor’s offices or hospitals by handling patient scheduling and records management.
  • Clinic technical assistant. In these medical assistant jobs, you might prepare exam rooms, assist licensed providers with procedures and set up and clean medical equipment.
  • Phlebotomist assistant. In this role, you support phlebotomy and lab professionals by collecting, labeling and processing samples.
  • Physical therapy aide. These assistants prepare treatment areas, provide support during patient exercises and help maintain equipment for physical therapy.

 

Medical Assisting School: Becoming a Medical Assistant

The best way to begin a career as a medical assistant is by completing a training program at an established healthcare vocational institution like PCI. At PCI, you can complete your training in as little as nine months through our hybrid online program, which allows you to complete assignments on your own time with limited on-campus commitments. Begin your journey towards a new career with great opportunities to specialize by enrolling at PCI today!