Forums >Healthcare-Careers >Techs> Medical assisting

Greetings, folks.

I presently work as a home health aide in Sacramento, CA and have also been getting through the community college system slowly and painfully over the years.

I'm thinking down the road that I want to become a Physician Assistant, some time in the next century that it takes to finish my bachelor's degree, but I also need some kind of decent work in the meantime... my work offers no benefits and is basically drudgery that I'm finding mentally and emotionally draining. I work one-on-one with the same private consumers day in and day out.

I'm just short of a phlebotomy certification (at this point I need to take a recert course, but other than that, all I need to do is send in my hours and externship paperwork to the state board) and I have an EMT license.

But it seems like my best bet for paying my rent may be to go through a medical assistant program or something similar, esp. since I'm no more enlightened about how to actually become a phlebotomist or ER Tech than I was when I started off. I'd keep slogging through working on my eventual bachelor's degree/PA degree after I'm employed as an MA.

Is medical assisting a good way to go? Is the field growing? Is it a "bubble" (ex-dotcommer here)? Is it a good job for someone who's analytical in addition to being caring/personable? I learn quickly but the downside is, I get bored easily. Is it suitable for someone with ADHD? Are there jobs that are heavier on clinical work and lighter on office/administrative work? Thanks to my ADHD, if office work was the only work there was, I'd be homeless.

What options are there besides working in a doctor's office (not that doctor's office is a bad thing)?  Do things like public health or Planned Parenthood hire MAs? What about prisons or the state/county? Can one make MA experience dovetail into a job such as Coroner Technician? Does this count for clinical experience for PA? Do medical assisting jobs offer benefits?