Top 30 Skills Every Medical Assistant Needs
July 2025 | Jenn Hall
Do you have MAD skills? Medical assistants are at the heart of the healthcare practice, creating a positive and safe patient experience, serving as the liaison between patient and physician, supporting efficient healthcare workflows, and more. To do this successfully, they must have MAD skills (Medical Assistant in-Demand skills)!
How many of these MAD skills do you have today?
Interpersonal skills
When working in a healthcare setting, medical assistants must work well with a diverse population, whether they are colleagues or patients. Some of the necessary interpersonal skills include:
- Communication – verbal and written
- Problem-solving
- Critical thinking
- Multi-tasking
- Attention to detail
- Organization
- Phone etiquette
- Adaptability
- Conflict resolution
- Time management
Clinical skills
Medical assistants have direct patient care responsibilities, which means they must have specific clinical skills to meet the needs of their patients. Some of the necessary clinical skills include:
- Vital signs measurement
- Medical terminology
- Patient preparation for exams
- Medication preparation and administration
- Specimen collection (e.g., urine)
- Basic laboratory tests
- Phlebotomy (if applicable)
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
- Basic life support
- First aid
- Sterilization and infection control
- Patient education
Administrative skills
Medical assistants support the administrative side of the healthcare business, helping to optimize workflows, ensure accurate documentation, and more. Some of the necessary administrative skills include:
- Appointment scheduling
- Medical coding and billing support
- Inventory management
- Patient registration and check-in processes and procedures
- Medical history documentation
- General computer literacy
- Patient paperwork guidance and support
- Medical record updates and filing
MAD skills check in
How did you do? Are there any MAD skills left unchecked? If so, there’s an easy way to fill those gaps – enroll in a medical assistant career training program. There, you will not only be introduced to key concepts, skills, and processes you’ll need to be successful in your role, but you’ll also have the added benefits of working directly with instructors with real-world experience, supportive student success team members, and peers who are all going through the same learning journey!