New Zealand has a strong medical care system that hires various professional experts. In every medical staff, a healthcare assistant is working on some specific medical tasks. What are the missions of a healthcare assistant? What training courses to follow to get into this profession? What are the merits and the salary? Fratres New Zealand will provide the best answers to you.

What is a Healthcare Assistant in NZ?

The healthcare assistant takes care of the patient’s reception and information. This job consists of being an intermediary between the doctor and the patients. A healthcare assistant plans the doctor's activities and ensures the administrative follow-up of the doctor's office, the hospital department, etc.…in other words, a healthcare assistant performs general secretarial work on behalf of one or more attending physicians. This job can also include managing the costs of healthcare operations.

Why Is a Healthcare Assistant an Important Job?

New Zealand offers new opportunities for recruitment and professional training. If you want to discover any profession there in detail, sign up to Fratres. A healthcare assistant has many advantages in the medical field. Hired to organize consultation time in overworked medical practices, this profession should not to be confused with the medical secretary or a hospital receptionist. It is rather established to compensate for the non-availability of doctors and the endless patients’ requests to obtain an appointment. Due to the increase in the aging category and the cases of chronic diseases, health assistants respond to multiple tasks:

1.Providing better access to patient care: healthcare assistants organize and re-order medical check-ups and visits by appointing the medical time. In this way, the healthcare professional will help more patients find the appropriate doctor and reach the correct department.

2. Ensuring better healthcare services: healthcare assistants organize the patient’s medical reports and files and help in the recovery procedures by informing the doctor about the case, its appointment, and its medical follow-up.

3. Improving coordination and post-medical follow-ups: healthcare assistants are operating halfway between the nurse and the doctor. They maintain the medical reports of a general practitioner or a specialist in his office daily.

This profession aims to fight against the medical shortage in areas lacking doctors since this job combines the tasks of both the nurse and the doctor,

Missions of a healthcare assistant in NZ:

A healthcare assistant has various missions to take, be it in a private or public workplace.

1.Administrative tasks: healthcare assistants are responsible for the reception, creation, and management of the patient's files. They store administrative and medical information and set up appointments and visits, etc.

2. Managing medical appointments and check-ups: healthcare assistants help patients in the process of medical consulting. Their tasks involve issuing screening tests, helping to perform technical procedures, guiding patients to reach the right medical department, etc ...

3. Organizational tasks: healthcare assistants coordinate with various sectors, such as the transition of patients from the reanimation field to the recovery space. They also interfere in the medical shifts of patients from one hospital to another.

Healthcare assistants operate in clinics, hospitals, medical offices. They interfere in various services (administrative, medical administration service, etc.). All in all, the tasks of a medical assistant revolve around: welcoming patients and managing appointments, administrative tasks, assisting practitioners, laboratory and radiology work.

Skills and Qualities Required in a Healthcare Assistant

A healthcare assistant should have some skills and personal qualities to get this job.

A positive attitude: a healthcare assistant should show dynamism, motivation, and know-how to deal with patients.

Organizational skills: healthcare assistants should master the regulatory procedures related to the entry and exit of patients. He/she should organize the patient’s files and medical reports.

Technical/computing skills: since everything requires a good level of mastering the computer. A healthcare assistant should know how to use IT tools and respond to medical calls and requests.

Flexibility and availability: a healthcare assistant should be present at emergency times. They can work on weekends and holidays.

Teamwork skills: a healthcare assistant should have the ability to exercise in a multi-professional team of doctors and nurses.

Healthcare Assistant Qualifications and Training:

Healthcare assistants must have one of the following professional qualifications:

Healthcare services Diploma consists of 12 months training at New Zealand Healthcare Certificate level 3, alternating theoretical courses, and practical training in a care establishment.

-Apprenticeship in Health and Wellbeing: this diploma is a level 4 qualification that lasts between 18 to 24 months. The training involves rehabilitation in brain surgery departments.

-Apprenticeship in primary care practice assistance: this is a diploma involving clinical and administrative training to operate in Child care medical departments. The training lasts 12 months and grants a level 4 qualification.

Training for exercising health assistance tasks depends on the applicant’s qualification. The training includes:

-Administrative procedures: patient reception, vaccine check, billing, etc...

-Medical procedures: carrying out simple medical tasks such as taking blood pressure or temperature. Take a look at; What Does a Caregiver Do in New Zealand?

Healthcare Assistant Salary in New Zealand:

Healthcare assistants are paid depending on qualification and level of expertise.

-A level 4 healthcare assistant gets up to 22$ per hour.

-A level 5 healthcare assistant earns up to 26$ per hour.

This was all about the healthcare assistant’s job in New Zealand. The application process is undergone through medical job portals. Applicants can submit their CVs depending on the requirements listed in the job description.