Unitek College Blog

California’s first 2010 human cases of the disease West Nile Virus (WNV) were recently confirmed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The infections were discovered in two women from central California’s Stanislaus County through routine blood testing. The tests were conducted when the women attempted to donate blood to an area blood bank.

In a statement issued on July 16, the CDPH gave precautions on preventing further spread of the blood-borne disease:

“With the first confirmed human illnesses from West Nile virus this year, we are intensifying our surveillance for the virus with the help of all counties,” said Dr. Mark Horton, Director of the California Department of Public Health. “The most important step people can take to prevent West Nile virus infection is to protect themselves from being bitten by a mosquito,” he advised.

First identified in Uganda in the 1930s and discovered in the U.S. in 1999, West Nile Virus is a disease typically transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Both people and animals are susceptible to contracting the illness. The effects of the disease are often mild and include symptoms like: abdominal and back pain, fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, loss of appetite, vomiting and sore throat. These unpleasant symptoms typically last between three to six days.

In rarer cases, West Nile Virus can lead to the development of serious neurological conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis. Elderly people, pregnant women and individuals with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to the more dangerous form of WNV. Signs of a possible WNV infection in need of immediate medical attention include: loss of consciousness, stiff neck, muscle weakness and confusion.

According to the CDPH, neither women from Stanislaus County required hospitalization, and both are recovering from their infections. In addition to these first human cases, WNV has also been reported in 19 California counties in 52 dead birds, six chickens, one squirrel and 107 randomly sampled mosquitoes.

The CDPH offers four tips, or “four Ds,” to all California residents and health professionals, including Bay Area Medical Assistants, to help prevent the spread of WNV:

1. DEET – Apply inspect repellent containing DEET, picaradin, lemon or eucalyptus oil or IR 3535. DEET can be used safely on infants and children 2 months of age and older.

1. DRESS – Covering skin reduces the risk of exposure to WMV-infected mosquitoes.
2. DAWN AND DUSK – Mosquitoes are especially prevalent during the early morning and evening. During these times, repellant and appropriate clothing can offer increased protection from mosquito bites.
3. DRAIN – Since mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water, draining it from swimming pools plant pots, tires, pet bowls and rain gutters can help reduce the mosquito population.

Outbreaks of West Nile Virus and other contagious diseases in California require increased care from skilled healthcare personnel like Sacramento Medical Assistants and San Francisco Medical Assistants. Discover now how Unitek’s quality training program can get you started in this growing field.

For more information about West Nile Virus, please visit www.westnile.ca.gov.

In a July 19 article published in ForbesWoman, an online and print periodical targeting women professionals, Medical Assistant jobs are listed as some of the fastest-growing professional opportunities for women in the country.

The article cites recent research conducted by Laurence Shatkin, a 30-year veteran of the career information field, and the prolific author of numerous employment resource guides, including “Best Jobs for the 21st Century,” “50 Best Jobs for Your Personality,” and “150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs.”

According to Shatkin, the Medical Assistant field is ranked eighth in a list of the 20 fastest-growing professional fields for women. Opportunities for Medical Assistants, such as San Francisco Medical Assistant jobs, are projected to increase 40% through 2018. This anticipated growth is likely to bode well for women professionals, who, according to ForbesWoman, make up 90 percent of the Medical Assistant field.

Shatkin is said to attribute the impressive growth of jobs in the Medical Assistant field, like San Jose Medical Assistant jobs, to the country’s significant population of aging baby boomers and the recently approved reforms to U.S. health care law; both factors are expected to contribute to the need for greater numbers of qualified Medical Assistant personnel throughout Northern California and the rest of the country.

Shatkin’s findings are based largely the analysis of data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor, which provides detailed job and salary descriptions for Medical Assistants and hundreds of other professions in its annual Occupation Outlook Handbook (OOH).

According to the most current information listed in government’s established career guide, the outlook for the Medical Assistant field is particularly strong:

“Employment is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2008–18 decade. Job opportunities should be excellent, particularly for those with formal training or experience, and certification,” states the U.S. Department of Labor in the 2010-2011 edition of its Occupation Outlook Handbook.

In addition to requiring greater numbers of Medical Assistants, the healthcare field and medical professionals will need skilled personnel who can perform a number of key administrative tasks (scheduling appointments, maintaining patient files and arranging laboratory services); as well as clinical duties (taking patient medical histories, preparing patients for exams, recording vital signs).

If you’ve considered exploring Medical Assistant Jobs in Sacramento, Santa Clara or elsewhere in the Bay Area, now may be the best time to start training for this exciting and rapidly-growing profession! Learn how Unitek College can help you get the quality training you need to start your new Medical Assistant career.

To learn more about ForbesWoman’s Top 20 Fastest-Growing Jobs for Women, please visit:

http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/job-market-growing-industries-employment-forbes-woman-leadership-most-secure-jobs.html?boxes=Homepagemostpopular

For information on the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, please see: http://www.bls.gov/oco/

And for additional details on Laurence Shatkin, please go to:
http://shatkin.com/default.aspx

Here’s a pretty good article highlighting the increasing demand for healthcare positions other than just doctors.  This increased need has subsequently led to increased opportunities in medical fields ranging from medical assistant to pharmacy technicians.

“You never know where your path is going to take you in healthcare, because there are just so many opportunities for growth.  People can continue to be practitioners or go into research. They can also go into the more entrepreneurial, business side of healthcare.”

Check here to read the full article

One of the more interesting parts of the article involves quotes about how the most sought-after medical professionals are multi-skilled workers who can do a variety of medical tasks.  The high demand isn’t allowing a lot of hospitals and medical organizations to wait for nurses and doctors to finish multiple years of schooling.  They need healthcare professionals now, making other health care careers all the more valuable and lucrative.

Medical Assistant: Profession Facts

• About 62 percent of medical assistants work in offices of physicians.
• Employment is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2006-16 decade.

Medical Assistant: Profession Details

Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. They should not be confused with Physician assistants, who examine, diagnose, and treat patients under the direct supervision of a physician. (Physician assistants are discussed elsewhere in the Handbook.)

The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner’s specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually do many different kinds of tasks, handling both administrative and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area, under the supervision of department administrators.

Medical assistants who perform administrative tasks have many duties. They update and file patients’ medical records, fill out insurance forms, and arrange for hospital admissions and laboratory services. They also perform tasks less specific to medical settings, such as answering telephones, greeting patients, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, and handling billing and bookkeeping.

Read More: Profession Training, & Outlook
Unitek’s Medical Assistant Program Detail

Technology’s beautiful isn’t it? It does great things. One minute, it’s letting us watch movies on our brand new iPhone. The next, its advances in medicine are revamping the entire healthcare industry by increasing the need for all health care workers. This has led to a wealth of opportunities for people who have always dreamed or at least thought of a fulfilling career of doing something that helps people on a daily basis.

The most traditional way of pursuing this path was becoming a doctor. Yet, the prospect of going through medical school (fulfilling undergraduate prerequisites, MCATS, applications, 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and the licensure and certification that happens during it) isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea.

Fortunately, this same demand for great people in healthcare has also reinforced the importance of so many other existing positions in the field.

Medical Assistants for example, are expected to see employment grow by 35 percent in the next four years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it one of the fastest growing professions. Increasing the demand for Medical Assistants is the fact that they are also now finding employment in both private and public hospitals, as well as inpatient and outpatient facilities.

And it doesn’t take a decade either. Most programs can be completed in 8 months time, part time, so you don’t even have to quit your day job. While getting certified isn’t required, it’s a safe bet as it is a way to guarantee competency of a medical assistant at a job-entry level.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to one of the primary reasons you considered healthcare in the first place. You get to help people. You also gain valuable administrative experience. So if you end up becoming a Medical Assistant (MA) you can thank technology’s advances for your job and your new iPhone.