Care + Career

In honor of today’s National Pharmacy Technician Day, we want to highlight one more way pharmacy technicians are making a difference in their pharmacies and communities. 

Pharmacy technician roles have evolved and techs have embraced many new opportunities and have excelled in them. Whether performing MTM duties or compounding, techs are an important part of the day-to-day functions of all pharmacies, helping to improve patient safety and quality of life. One valuable tech skill in particular will be put to use on this year's "Check Your Meds Day:" collecting and documenting accurate medication histories. 

Here’s good news for potential and about-to-graduate MAs: Jobs in medical assisting are growing - fast.

For aspiring medical assistants interested in keeping up with the trend, there are a few statistics to be aware of:

First, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - which is a U.S. government agency that reports on employment and labor statistics- reports that employment of medical assistants is expected to increase 23 percent from 2014 to 2024. The BLS calculates that the average growth of all jobs in all fields is seven percent - so medical assisting is seeing some huge growth.

Today kicks off the first day of Medical Assistant Recognition Weekand it’s never been a better time to be a medical assistant!

As the healthcare field grows and changes, the role of the medical assistant has grown, too - there are more and more MAs working on healthcare teams, and the scope of work for medical assistants has grown. Here are some reasons why it’s a great time to be an MA:

You’ve studied, you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep. You’ve had a nutritious breakfast and all the other things that can help prepare you for your test day – but what else can you expect?

Although your experience may vary test location to location a few things will remain the same for every NHA exam candidate. Let’s take a look at what you can expect that test day, plus how to get your exam results when you're done.

The healthcare industry changes everyday, making continuing education vital to your success as an allied health professional. That’s why NHA requires Continuing Education (CE) credits to maintain certification. And when it comes to creating new educational content, we turn to some of the industry’s top experts — active leaders of the allied health community who are helping shape the future of healthcare.

Despite her nerves and tight schedule, Tiffany walked out of the testing center three times with a ‘Pass’ mark on every single exam! In less than three months after passing her exams, Tiffany became a patient care technician at a local hospital where she performs STAT EKGs and blood draws daily.

So how did she do it?

We asked her to share the tips that made a difference for her.

Are you one of the 700 million Instagram users? Well, so are we!

Introducing the new NHA Instagram account: @IamNHAcertified, dedicated to sharing real stories from NHA certified professionals.

People like Gerri Henry, CCMA:

Healthcare practices change over time and we have to make sure NHA certification exams accurately test the most current and relevant tasks in each profession we serve. So, every few years NHA consults with a lot of healthcare experts, and conducts nationwide job analysis research to update or create a new test plan for a given exam.

Depending on the profession (medical assistant, phlebotomy, etc.), a test plan could change a little or a lot. Some professions are evolving rapidly and others are changing, but not as fast. That can make it hard to know at-a-glance the difference between a new and a previous test plan. That’s where the exam crosswalk comes in.

The healthcare industry changes everyday, making continuing education vital to your success as an allied health professional. That’s why NHA requires Continuing Education (CE) credits to maintain certification. And when it comes to creating new educational content, we turn to some of the industry’s top experts — active leaders of the allied health community who are helping shape the future of healthcare.