Georgia Leads the Nation in Medical Assistant Job Growth

Medical Assistants play some of the most important roles in today’s healthcare industry.  They take patients’ vital signs, maintain their charts, draw blood samples, and assist doctors and nurses with a wide range of hands-on responsibilities.  Medical Assistants make the patient experience more positive and help practices run smoothly and efficiently.

A career as a Medical Assistant is an ideal way to enter the healthcare field and work directly with patients without the time and expense of a medical school education.  The country is adding almost 95,000 Medical Assistants each year*, and nowhere is the demand expected to be greater than in Georgia – where a growth rate of almost 40% is projected.**

Lincoln Tech’s Marietta campus offers one of the most popular Medical Assistant training programs in Georgia.  Dozens of healthcare providers have hired Lincoln Tech Medical Assistant graduates in recent years, and to learn more about what’s driving demand Lincoln Tech spoke with one of those partners: Dedrick Tillerson, Senior Recruiting Specialist at Emory University.

What’s driving the demand for Medical Assistants in Georgia?  A Lincoln Tech partner shares his insights.

“The Medical Assisting field is growing so rapidly in Georgia, and especially in Atlanta, because we are becoming more and more healthcare heavy,” Tillerson says.  “Private practices are opening left and right and hospitals are undergoing major expansions to accommodate the growing population.”

“As one of the top research institutions in the country,” he adds, “At Emory University we see a lot of healthcare opportunities opening in the University-based healthcare system.”

Is it challenging to find people with the right skills to fill these roles?

Tillerson:  With there being so many healthcare avenues here in Georgia, Medical Assistant candidates need to have both front and back office skills.  [Back office skills include the administrative and coding/billing activities essential to day-to-day operations in a medical practice.]  There’s been an overwhelming push by our healthcare organizations to find people with skills appropriate to both.

How are Lincoln Tech graduates prepared to enter the field when they graduate?

Tillerson:  Schools like Lincoln Tech are putting out great students that come equipped with both skill sets.  When Lincoln Tech puts candidates in front of hiring managers, their graduates are able to speak to both sides of the M.A. world – which is critical for their success.

Working with Diane Walker [from Lincoln Tech’s Career Services team] has been great. Through our partnership I have been able to hire several grads who have come out of Lincoln’s M.A. program.  In our experience at Emory, Lincoln grads interview well, and have a good grasp of more than just the basics of being a Medical Assistant.  Lincoln Tech definitely prepares their students to enter into a healthcare office and hit the ground running as Medical Assistants.

Are you ready to take advantage of the booming demand for Medical Assistants in Georgia and around the country?  Check out Lincoln Tech’s Marietta campus, or find a campus near where you can put your potential to work and start on the road to an exciting career that really makes a difference – a career in Medical Assisting!

State-specific employment projections cited above are based on projected annual job openings which refers to the average annual job openings due to growth and net replacement. This data was compiled from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the years 2014-2024, www.careeronestop.org, captured on March 27, 2018.  * Based on IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) data collected for 2016 graduates.