Medical Assistant Jobs in Baltimore, MD

Certified medical assistants in Baltimore are seeing posted ranges from about $18 to $37 an hour, with Johns Hopkins clinics in East Baltimore and Kaiser Permanente medical centers from Woodlawn to White Marsh among the steadiest hirers. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and how to get certified.

Current medical assistant Openings in Baltimore, MD

Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.

Medical Assistant Work in Baltimore

Most medical assistant jobs in Baltimore sit in outpatient clinics and physician practices tied to the big health systems. Johns Hopkins alone posts MA roles at the Johns Hopkins Hospital clinics in East Baltimore, the cardiology suites at Johns Hopkins Bayview on Mason Lord Drive, and Johns Hopkins Community Physicians practices such as the one on Dundalk Avenue. Mercy Medical Center staffs its downtown outpatient practices and its Maryland Family Care offices with MAs.

Kaiser Permanente is the other big name, with medical centers ringing the city along the Beltway: Woodlawn on Security Boulevard, South Baltimore County in Halethorpe, White Marsh, Lutherville-Timonium and the Baltimore Harbor offices on East Pratt Street. Because Maryland requires a pay range on every posting, you can see what each clinic pays before you apply, and the gap between systems is wide.

Top Baltimore Employers Hiring Medical Assistants

These Baltimore employers have medical assistant openings on their own careers sites:

• Johns Hopkins Hospital - the East Baltimore campus hires certified MAs for specialty clinics including diabetes, pediatrics and ultrasound, day shift with no weekends.
• Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center - the Southeast Baltimore hospital hires certified MAs for clinics such as cardiology, Monday through Friday.
• Johns Hopkins Community Physicians - the Hopkins primary care network hires MAs for neighborhood practices, including internal medicine and podiatry on Dundalk Avenue.
• Kaiser Permanente - the health plan and medical group hires MAs, including float MAs, for its Woodlawn, Halethorpe, White Marsh, Timonium and Baltimore Harbor centers.
• Mercy Medical Center - the St. Paul Place hospital hires MAs and medical office specialists for its outpatient Centers of Excellence and Maryland Family Care practices.

Medical Assistant Salaries in Baltimore

• Entry level: about $18 to $22 per hour for newly certified MAs in hospital-based clinics.
• Experienced: roughly $22 to $28 per hour for MAs with a few years in a specialty clinic.
• Senior: $28 to $37 per hour at the top of posted ranges, mostly at Kaiser Permanente and senior Hopkins clinic roles.

These are estimates built from ranges Baltimore employers posted this year. Certification, phlebotomy skills, specialty clinic experience and the employer itself move pay the most; Kaiser's posted range runs well above the Hopkins clinic ranges, and float roles that cover several sites can pay more.

How to Become a Medical Assistant in Baltimore

Maryland does not license medical assistants. Under Maryland Board of Physicians rules, a physician delegates tasks to an MA and stays responsible for them, so the real gate is employer certification. Johns Hopkins asks for a national credential such as CMA, RMA, NCMA or CCMA, before hire at hospital clinics or within three months at Community Physicians, plus BLS CPR. Kaiser asks for graduation from an accredited MA program that includes phlebotomy, one of those credentials and American Heart Association BLS. Locally, the Community College of Baltimore County runs a 653-hour Medical Assistant workforce certificate at its Essex, Hunt Valley and Randallstown campuses that prepares you for the NHA CCMA exam.

What the Job Involves

Medical assistants room patients, take vital signs, review medications and history, and prepare patients for exams and procedures. Depending on the clinic, you may draw blood and send specimens to the lab, give injections and immunizations the physician orders, assist with procedures, clean and sterilize instruments, keep exam rooms stocked and document the visit in the electronic health record.

Skills Employers Look For

• National MA certification such as CMA, RMA, NCMA or CCMA
• Current BLS CPR certification
• Phlebotomy and specimen handling
• Accurate vital signs and medication reconciliation
• Electronic health record experience, such as Epic or Meditech
• Calm, friendly patient communication

Career Path and Advancement

In Baltimore the MA ladder usually runs from a general clinic role to a specialty clinic, then to lead MA, float MA or clinic coordinator. Many MAs use the experience to move into nursing: practical nursing at CCBC's Dundalk campus or Baltimore City Community College, then RN, which opens the hospital floors at Hopkins, Mercy and the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Related Careers in Baltimore

If medical assisting interests you, these related Baltimore roles are close matches:

• Certified Nursing Assistant Jobs
• Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs
• Registered Nurse Jobs
• Healthcare Jobs

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a license to be a medical assistant in Maryland?

No. Maryland does not license medical assistants; physicians delegate tasks to them under Maryland Board of Physicians rules. Most Baltimore employers, including Johns Hopkins and Kaiser Permanente, still require a national certification.

How much do medical assistants make in Baltimore?

Posted ranges run from about $18 an hour at the low end of Hopkins clinic ranges to about $37 an hour at the top of Kaiser Permanente's range. Most new MAs start near the bottom of a range and move up with certification and experience.

Which certification do Baltimore employers accept?

Johns Hopkins and Kaiser both accept several national credentials, including the AAMA CMA, AMT RMA, NCCT NCMA and NHA CCMA. Kaiser also wants your MA program to have included phlebotomy training.

Where can I train as a medical assistant in Baltimore?

The Community College of Baltimore County offers a Medical Assistant workforce certificate at its Essex, Hunt Valley and Randallstown campuses. It runs 653 course hours and prepares you for the NHA CCMA exam.

Do medical assistant jobs in Baltimore have weekend hours?

Many do not. Most Hopkins and Kaiser clinic MA postings are full-time day shifts, Monday through Friday, though schedules vary by clinic, so check each posting.

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