How to Work With Medical Assistants as a New Physician Assistant

Have you ever considered what it will be like to be someone’s supervisor after you graduate from physician assistant (PA) school? While this may not be something you think about while in school it should be. I have had a lot of ups and downs when working with different people over the past few years. If you work well with your medical assistant (MA) or nurse then your job and life will be much easier. Trust me on this.

Teamwork is an essential part of working in the medical field and being a PA. When I first started working, the only professional relationship I thought about was the one with my supervising physician. That was my first mistake. I am going to discuss the things I wish I had known when I first started out as a new physician assistant, as it relates to working with MAs. I hope you give this aspect of your new career a lot of consideration. It will make your life easier in the long run.

You may be expected to train your assistant

You need to be prepared. On top of doing your job, you may at some point need to train the person assisting you. This could be a brand new MA that has no pre-existing training or simply a new MA to you. You are no longer responsible for just yourself and your job but also the job of someone else. You need to train this person well. It will not only make your job easier but will also increase patient satisfaction. If you train them well, you will eventually find a groove with your MA. The two of you will become an efficient team.

If you are worried about training new medical assistants, you may be able to avoid having to train someone new upfront by including that in your contract. For example, you can ask that you not be required to train new hires. Regardless of if you do that or not, at one point or another, you will need to be able to effectively teach someone how you like things done. I recommend typing something up with how you like things documented if you are working with a scribe. You could also consider creating a script for how you like to counsel patients on certain things such as expectations with a specific procedure or post-surgical wound care. That way the MA can always default to the document or script when need be. This will save them from having to ask you a ton of questions and will save you time from having to repeat yourself every time you work with someone new.

There may be an age difference (they could be 30+ years older than you!)

Most people graduate from PA school in their 20s or early 30s. Something I never gave any thought to during school was that I would be working with MAs that were twice my age. That and that some of them had been doing their job longer than I had been alive. You will be judged when you first start out. It will also take time for them to be able to trust you. Always show respect to your staff, especially those that have been doing their job for a long period of time. You will likely need to rely on them for certain things such as learning which medical providers in the area to refer to or the process for getting certain medications covered for patients.

Respect and trust need to go both ways

It is sometimes easier to give respect than it is to receive it, even when you believe you deserve it. It can get very tricky when your MA doesn’t trust you. This may be due to them having had a poor experience with a new physician assistant in the past. Or maybe they’re simply used to working with physicians. I have had my diagnoses and treatment methods questioned by MAs. It is easy to become irritated and to feel you need to explain your treatment decision. If you know you are treating someone properly then in my opinion you don’t need to explain yourself.

My advice is to be willing to admit when you don’t know something and need help from your supervising physician. At the same time, don’t be afraid to be firm when you are confident. Over time, when the MA sees your patients responding well to your treatments they will begin to naturally trust you as a medical provider.

Always default to being professional over getting personal

Mind what you say and for goodness’ sake do not give in to office gossip. You may think you’re becoming good friends with your MA, but I recommend always keeping a professional relationship with those you work with. My husband is in the Navy and there is a hard fast rule that officers can’t hang out with enlisted sailors outside work. That rule is there for a reason. Of course, you want to be friendly with everyone you work with, but think long and hard before you break those professional boundaries, especially as a new physician assistant. There may be no going back.

Final thoughts

I may be old-school but I believe in always leading with kindness and professionalism in the workplace. Be careful with what you say and how you say it and treat people with respect but don’t always expect the same in return. You are the medical provider and with that title also comes the title of leader. You need to lead by example in order to ensure a healthy working environment. My hope is that new physician assistants take the time to read and think about what it takes to be a leader.

Are you a PA with experience working with medical assistants? Do you have any additional advice for new graduate PAs who find themselves in a leadership position they weren’t prepared for? Please feel free to share your experiences below in the comments.