O*NET-SOC 31-9092.00

Medical Assistants

Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.

Preparation

ItemValue
Preparation zoneZone 3 – Medium preparation needed
What O*NET says the zone requiresPrevious work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required
Broad occupation in O*NETTrue (Yes)
Skills listed for this occupation6
Abilities listed for this occupation6
Tasks listed for this occupation5
Interest scores given for this occupation6

Skills

The 6 skills with the highest importance values in this occupation's records.

SkillO*NET elementImportanceDate
Social Perceptiveness2.B.1.a4.008/2021
Active Listening2.A.1.b3.8808/2021
Speaking2.A.1.d3.8808/2021
Reading Comprehension2.A.1.a3.7508/2021
Critical Thinking2.A.2.a3.6208/2021
Coordination2.B.1.b3.508/2021

The importance value is what each record itself carries on O*NET's importance scale; the date is the date in each record.

Abilities

The 6 abilities with the highest importance values in this occupation's records.

AbilityO*NET elementImportanceDate
Oral Comprehension1.A.1.a.14.008/2021
Oral Expression1.A.1.a.34.008/2021
Written Comprehension1.A.1.a.24.008/2021
Near Vision1.A.4.a.13.8808/2021
Problem Sensitivity1.A.1.b.33.8808/2021
Speech Recognition1.A.4.b.43.8808/2021

The importance value is what each record itself carries on O*NET's importance scale; the date is the date in each record.

Tasks

The tasks O*NET records for this occupation, with the type, respondent count and date each record carries.

TaskTypeIncumbents respondingDate
Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.Core5808/2021
Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.Core5808/2021
Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.Core5708/2021
Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.Core5908/2021
Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.Core5808/2021

Work interests

The interest scores O*NET gives this occupation, on the six interest types.

InterestScoreDate
Conventional5.7611/2023
Social4.8111/2023
Realistic4.0611/2023
Investigative3.811/2023
Enterprising1.9811/2023
Artistic1.011/2023

More occupations in preparation zone 3

Source: O*NET 29.1 Database (Occupation Data, Job Zones, Skills, Abilities, Task Statements, Interests), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Data fetched 2026-10-31. See about and sources.