If you have an interest in the medical field, but you don’t want to spend several years in college, you might want to consider pursuing an online dental assisting degree or a medical assisting degree. Obtaining an online dental assisting and medical assisting degree typically takes less than two years. Yet, you can enjoy a very rewarding career with a great deal of job stability and an attractive income.

If you are interested in pursuing either of these rewarding careers, take a look at a few online colleges and universities that offer some of the best dental and medical assistant programs:

Lincoln Technical Institute
Strayer University
Keiser Career College
Walden University
American InterContinental University

As a dental assistant or medical assistant, your job is to help the dentist or physician with completing routine tasks. The exact tasks you will be required to perform will depend upon your employer’s needs as well as state laws and regulations. When it comes to dental assistants, it is important to note that assistants are not the same as dental hygienists. Whereas dental hygienists are licensed to perform clinical duties, dental assistants are responsible for sterilizing instruments, laying instruments out for the dentist, obtaining and updating dental records and handing instruments to the dentist. While the dentist performs procedures, the dental assistant may also help keep the patient’s mouth clear and dry with a suction device or through other methods.

After earning an online medical assisting degree, you will be qualified to handle administrative duties as well as clinical duties. Some administrative duties that medical assistants commonly perform include updating and filing patient medical records, making arrangements for hospital admissions, filling out insurance forms, greeting patients and scheduling appointments. Clinical duties that are commonly performed by medical assistants include recording vital signs, preparing patients to be examined and explaining treatment procedures to patients. If allowed by state regulations, a medical assistant may also collect laboratory specimens, sterilize equipment and administer medication.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor statistics, the median hourly salary of dental assistants was $14.53 in 2006. Medical assistants, on the other hand, earned a median annual income of $26,290 in 2006, with those who worked in general medical and surgical hospitals earning the most with a median annual income of $27,340. Those who worked in the offices of optometrists, on the other hand, earned the least with a median annual income of $22,850.