Medical Assistant II

Under the supervision of the Lead Medical Assistant, Practice Manager, and the Sr. Operations Director for the MGH Department of Gastrointestinal and Oncologic Surgery, the Medical Assistant II (MAII) will provide a broad level of clinical and administrative support to the ambulatory surgical practices in Danvers. Works independently with the clinical, administrative, and leadership team to ensure a quality-based, customer-oriented flow of work. Utilizes discretion and judgment to organize priorities, complete tasks and handle confidential patient information. Provides clinical support utilizing well established skills and experience to support a busy ambulatory surgery practice.

MEDICAL ASSISTANT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Direct patient flow in outpatient practice facility, managing flow of patients between the reception area, clinical examination area and check-out.
• Schedule surgical and non-surgical follow up appointments as requested by provider.
• Monitor designated In-Basket pools for clinical messaging.
• Place patients in exam /procedure rooms, complete Epic rooming procedures.
• Prepare procedure room for diagnostic procedures and set up sterile field procedures when needed.
• Clean and prepare scopes and catheters for central terminal sterilization and transport to/from the Central Processing Department.
• Specialized equipment care and maintenance
• Specialized surgical instrument care and maintenance
• Assist in / chaperone procedures in accordance with provider preference.
• Turnover exam rooms in preparation for next patient ensuring a clean, safe and well-prepared environment.
• Prepare all patient specimens accurately in adherence to laboratory standards and transport or drop off
• Bag soiled linen and red bag waste for pick up.
• Inventory examination rooms (and confirm central inventory) ensuring adequate supplies on hand.
• Stock examination rooms with medical supplies, replenishing as necessary to maintain specified par levels.
• Provide Practice Manager or designee with order requests for disposable supplies and instruments adhering strictly to par levels provided by practice administration.
• Enter orders for, and schedule, laboratory, imaging or procedural testing.
• Provide cross-coverage as needed with other medical assistants and/or patient services coordinators.
• Manage medical assistant work queues in EPIC.

• Completes follow up appointment scheduling tasks as necessary, including but not limited to:




• Procedures to check-out patients as they exit exam rooms
• Scheduling follow-up appointments, including radiology testing
• Manage cancelled appointments, bump lists and reminder notices as necessary




• Serve as touchdown resource for other administrative support task as needed by providers while in clinic.

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

* Set up and assist in colorectal ultrasound procedures during daily outpatient clinic hours.

oAssist with image capture and archiving and storing images in equipment database by taking digital image with equipment, labeling file with patient identifiers and saving to appropriate archival database.

oAssist in preparing and positioning patient for transducer placement by administering the appropriate bowel prep and positioning patient in prone position on procedure table.

oAssist in balloon inflation and drainage by inserting the appropriate anoscope for balloon insertion and assisting patient with evacuation.

oAdminister patient bowel preps as needed.

oClean and disinfect anorectal probe.

* Set up and assist in anorectal manometry procedures during daily office clinical sessions.

oPrepare and assist in positioning patient and placing catheter and balloon by inserting the appropriate anoscope for balloon insertion and assisting patient with evacuation.

oCoach the patient on timing contractions while surgeon operates equipment, using stop watch and telling patient when to flex the splenic flexture inducing voluntary contractions.

oAssist patient with balloon expulsion and catheter removal.

oAssist with pudendal nerve monitoring (probe placement) and sphincter sponge testing as warranted by insertion of the appropriate anoscope for probe to be placed through.

* Set up and assist with flexible sigmoidoscopy and polypectomy.

oSterile test all instruments prior to procedure.

oAdminister bowel preps as needed.

oAssist in preparing and positioning the patient for scope insertion, administering the appropriate lubricant and placing the patient in the prone position on procedure table.

oAssist in polypectomy by inserting forceps into scope and extracting tissue samples from forceps.

* Set up and assist in thyroid ultrasound and ultrasound guided biopsy procedures

oPrep and position patient for surgeon.

oPrepare needle gun for biopsies.

oDownload, archive and index all captured images.

* Set up and assist with a variety of minor, specialized surgical procedures including (but not limited to):

oHemorrhoid ligation by setting up the ligator with appropriate bands, preparing the rectal area and positioning the patient.

oCore needle breast biopsy preparing biopsy tray and needle guns for use by surgeon and passing instruments needed during procedure.

oFNA by preparing the aspiration needles and setting up the slides for specimen capture.

oLymph node and temporal artery biopsy

oExcisions (pilonidal and sebaceous cyst, lipomas, moles and skin lesions) by setting up the instrument trays, laying out the local nerve block agent, preparing the site for excision (marking if necessary), dressing the wound post excision, preparing specimens for pathology and recording the Universal Protocol Timeout.

oIncision and drainage procedures following protocols similar to office excisions.

oBotulinum toxin (and other) injections by reconstituting the medication and laying it out for surgeon with the appropriate needles, preparing the rectal area and placing the patient in a prone position on the procedure table.

oRemoves sutures and staples instructed by surgeon

* Perform required infection control testing and documentation for sterilization agents and equipment

* Pre-clean and leak test all video-sigmoidoscopes prior to processing.

* Clean suction pumps, replacing canisters as needed.

* Clean and disinfect rectal ultrasound probes in high level disinfecting agent.

* Clean and disinfect linear array transducers for thyroid ultrasound.

* Clean and disinfect manometry and biofeedback probes and pudendal nerve monitors.

* Scrub out (remove blood and tissue) and disinfect all instruments prior to terminal sterilization

* Wrap all clean instruments for processing

* Tag and remove all defective instruments; notify manager of status of these instruments.

* Assemble all specialized instrument trays used in practice.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Interacts in a courteous manner with physicians and administrative staff within and outside of MGH/MGB to coordinate care of patients, provide feedback, answer questions, etc.
• Cross covers other staff members, e.g., breaks, lunches, planned/unplanned time off, and during variations in workflow as needed.
• Participates in staff meetings or other departmental meetings.
• Performs/participates in other assignments and special projects as assigned by leadership.

• High School Diploma or equivalent
• Completion of a medical assisting training program required. Associates Degree preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years' experience as a medical assistant in outpatient clinical care (preferably surgical)
• Current BLS/CPR certification
• ABS certification for lab order entry (LOE) (provided by practice)
• Basic computer skills

Ability to adhere to Covid-19 requirements related to patient care, which include following MGH/MGB infection control guidelines in day-to-day work

• Demonstrated skills in medical assisting to include:




• Understanding of sterile field and aseptic and ability to maintain field during office-based procedures
• Ability to obtain accurate patient vitals
• Handling of surgical instruments/understanding of appropriate brushing/soaking processes
• Ability to assist in procedures within the scope of position
• Proper handling, use and storage of clinical equipment and supplies

• Maintains high level of knowledge and skill in the use of appropriate electronic medical record systems to obtain and provide information (e.g. Epic). Monitors and uses systems to execute tasks and Patient Gateway for patient messages.
• Exceptional computer skills (including word processing, database, electronic mail, internet, and spreadsheets) required. Knowledge of Epic, Microsoft Office, and other systems at a level sufficient to perform job.
• Good command of English language, including medical and scientific terminology.
• Exceptional organizational skills and the flexibility to handle multiple tasks, and deadline pressures.
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Independently triage clinical matters, with the ability to solve problems independently when appropriate.
• In-depth understanding of all pertinent medical insurances, managed care and patient financial services.
• Successful credentialing in Assessment-based Recognition in Order Entry (ABR-OE)
• Is knowledgeable and compliant in all hospital, State and Federal regulatory requirements, including hospital policy and procedures (where applicable to the performance of the job), Joint Commission (JC), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

Massachusetts General Hospital is an Affirmative Action Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.