MEDICAL ASSISTANT Correctional Facility

Meadville Medical Center•Meadville, PA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Provides medical assistant services to incarcerated individuals and assists physicians and mid-level practitioners with patient care. Performs clinical functions in a physician’s office, including preparing patients for visits, obtaining histories and vital signs, assisting with treatments and procedures, collecting and processing specimens, performing tests as ordered, administering medications and vaccinations, notifying providers of results, and responding to patient calls and prescription refill requests under physician supervision. Maintains medical records, supplies, equipment, inventory, and clinical areas, and performs administrative tasks such as appointment scheduling, authorizations, telephone communications, and payment collection. The position operates in a correctional facility and must comply with facility security and safety policies. The Medical Assistant coordinates with correctional officers, follows protocols for patient movement and access, maintains professional boundaries, and reports safety concerns, incidents, and suspected abuse or neglect. The role also requires recognizing medical distress, activating emergency response procedures, providing first aid or CPR within current training, and assisting clinical personnel during emergencies. The work requires frequent reaching, handling, fingering, talking, hearing, near vision, accommodation, and color vision. It is classified as light work, involving lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling up to 20 pounds occasionally and up to 10 pounds frequently. The employee may encounter blood or body fluids and must follow aseptic technique, infection-prevention, PPE, and hand-washing procedures. The position works first shift, with additional hours sometimes required on short notice, and involves computer and office equipment use, multitasking, interruptions, and working with minimal direction.

Requirements

Preferred graduate of a medical assistant program; sufficient experience may be substituted for the educational requirement.
Current BLS Healthcare Provider card.
Great attention to detail.
Ability to type accurately and use data-entry equipment efficiently.
Ability to apply grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules.
Computer knowledge.
Ability to prioritize activities, organize work, and solve problems.
Above-average to excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to communicate with the public by telephone and in person and to deal with anxious and angry people.
Ability to communicate respectfully and tactfully with administrative staff, managers, attorneys, physicians, and hospital staff.
Understanding of confidentiality rules.
Ability to exercise independent judgment and initiative, work with minimal direction and assistance, multitask, and handle frequent interruptions.
Ability to work first shift and to work additional hours on short notice when needed.
Knowledge of aseptic technique and infection prevention, including PPE and hand washing.
Ability to perform light work, including occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling up to 20 pounds and frequent work involving up to 10 pounds.
Frequent reaching, handling, fingering, talking, hearing, near acuity, accommodation, and color vision.

Nice To Haves

Graduation from a medical assistant program.

Responsibilities

Prepare patients for provider visits by gathering visit reasons, medical histories, symptoms, problems, height, weight, vital signs, medication information, and allergies.
Administer medications and vaccinations as ordered by a physician.
Assist physicians with procedures and treatments as requested.
Collect specimens, perform limited on-site laboratory tests and other tests as ordered, and perform venipuncture when applicable.
Notify providers of laboratory and test results.
Maintain clinical equipment and controls, including refrigerator temperatures where applicable.
Promote patient and equipment safety and assist with smooth patient flow.
Communicate effectively with patients, families, physicians, coworkers, and other health team members.
Maintain adequate supplies and medications, manage drug samples and inventory, rotate stock, and check expiration dates monthly.
Process prescription refill calls under a physician’s direct supervision and document them in the patient record by the end of the business day.
Maintain complete medical records, including vaccine and sample lot numbers; file or scan medical information.
Perform administrative duties, including appointment scheduling, follow-up scheduling, telephone answering and message taking, patient callbacks, mail distribution, authorizations, and collecting patient payments.
Maintain clean exam rooms, infirmary areas, and workstations; sterilize instruments and instrument packs if applicable.
Triage patient clinical calls and schedule tests or procedures as appropriate.
Use Meditech, Medisoft, Medisoft Clinical EMR, or other electronic medical record systems.
Follow the appropriate chain of command when reporting grievances, patient complaints, staff issues, and other concerns.
Demonstrate knowledge of emergency procedures, professionalism, respect, and willingness to assist other staff.
Comply with correctional facility security requirements, coordinate with correctional officers, maintain awareness of the secure environment, and report suspicious activity, threats, contraband, and safety concerns.
Maintain professional boundaries with incarcerated individuals and follow facility protocols for patient identification, observation, and access to clinical areas.
Report injuries, workplace incidents, security breaches, and suspected abuse or neglect through established channels.
Recognize and report signs of medical distress, activate emergency response, summon clinical and correctional personnel, and provide first aid or CPR within current training and certification.
Follow infection-control, PPE, exposure-incident, and hazardous-material protocols; participate in required safety training, emergency drills, and infection-prevention education.
Perform other duties as assigned.