Medical Assistant Council recognizes Medical Assistant Recognition Week at VUMC

Vanderbilt University Medical Center will recognize nearly 500 medical assistants across its campuses the week of October 19th-23rd in observance of Medical Assistants Recognition Week (MARWeek). MARWeek focuses on the important contributions of these medical professionals who are at the front lines of health care.

Medical assistants work predominantly in the outpatient health care setting and are a crucial and versatile part of the health care team with training in both clinical and administrative patient centered care. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical assisting is one of the nation’s fastest growing careers, in part due to continued expansion of care being delivered in the ambulatory setting.

In February 2020, under the direction of Michele Hasselblad, Vice President of Adult Ambulatory Nursing, a Medical Assistant Council was launched as a means of creating a professional home for medical assistants. The mission of the council is to meet the needs of medical assistants with education, networking opportunities, shared governance, and advocacy for quality patient-centered health care. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, this council’s members have been busy via the Zoom platform reviewing and revising the MA orientation skills check off, goal setting, and working with Nursing Education and Professional Development to provide educational in-services.