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Medical Assistants
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CheckoutCareers.com
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Medical Assistants
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Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
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Degrees
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Abilities
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Oral Comprehension| | The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
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Oral Expression| | The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
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Written Comprehension| | The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
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Near Vision| | The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
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Arm-Hand Steadiness| | The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. |
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Deductive Reasoning| | The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
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Information Ordering| | The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
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Problem Sensitivity| | The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
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Written Expression| | The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
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Speech Recognition| | The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
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Inductive Reasoning| | The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
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Speech Clarity| | The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
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Selective Attention| | The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. |
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Category Flexibility| | The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
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Finger Dexterity| | The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |
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Time Sharing| | The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources). |
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Memorization| | The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. |
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Multilimb Coordination| | The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. |
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Trunk Strength| | The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing. |
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Control Precision| | The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions. |
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Manual Dexterity| | The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. |
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Originality| | The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. |
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Auditory Attention| | The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds. |
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Gross Body Coordination| | The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion. |
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Perceptual Speed| | The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object. |
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Speed of Closure| | The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns. |
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Visual Color Discrimination| | The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness. |
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Visualization| | The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged. |
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Extent Flexibility| | The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs. |
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Depth Perception| | The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object. |
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Far Vision| | The ability to see details at a distance. |
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Fluency of Ideas| | The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). |
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Static Strength| | The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. |
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Flexibility of Closure| | The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material. |
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Stamina| | The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath. |
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Mathematical Reasoning| | The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. |
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Hearing Sensitivity| | The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness. |
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Number Facility| | The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly. |
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Speed of Limb Movement| | The ability to quickly move the arms and legs. |
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Dynamic Strength| | The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue. |
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Spatial Orientation| | The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you. |
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Response Orientation| | The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part. |
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Reaction Time| | The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears. |
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Wrist-Finger Speed| | The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists. |
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Gross Body Equilibrium| | The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position. |
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Interests
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Second Interest High-Point| | Secondary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness |
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Social| | Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
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Conventional| | Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
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First Interest High-Point| | Primary-Rank Descriptiveness |
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Realistic| | Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
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Investigative| | Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
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Enterprising| | Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
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Artistic| | Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. |
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Knowledge
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Customer and Personal Service| | Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
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English Language| | Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
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Clerical| | Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. |
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Medicine and Dentistry| | Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
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Psychology| | Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
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Therapy and Counseling| | Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance. |
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Education and Training| | Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
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Mathematics| | Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
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Administration and Management| | Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
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Chemistry| | Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods. |
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Biology| | Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. |
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Computers and Electronics| | Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. |
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Public Safety and Security| | Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions. |
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Sales and Marketing| | Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
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Economics and Accounting| | Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data. |
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Personnel and Human Resources| | Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems. |
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Law and Government| | Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. |
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Telecommunications| | Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems. |
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Physics| | Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes. |
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Foreign Language| | Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation. |
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Transportation| | Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits. |
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Geography| | Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life. |
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Communications and Media| | Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media. |
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Philosophy and Theology| | Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture. |
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Production and Processing| | Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. |
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Sociology and Anthropology| | Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins. |
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Mechanical| | Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance. |
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Engineering and Technology| | Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services. |
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Design| | Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models. |
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Fine Arts| | Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture. |
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Wages
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| District of Columbia | $32,530.00 |
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| North Carolina | $24,400.00 |
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| South Carolina | $24,860.00 |
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| Virgin Islands | $21,760.00 |
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Related Careers
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Dental Assistants| | Assist dentist, set up patient and equipment, and keep records. |
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Emergency Medical Technicians & Paramedics| | Assess injuries, administer emergency medical care, and extricate trapped individuals. Transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities. |
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Licensed Practical & Licensed Vocational Nurses| | Care for ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled persons in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required. |
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Nuclear Medicine Technologists| | Prepare, administer, and measure radioactive isotopes in therapeutic, diagnostic, and tracer studies utilizing a variety of radioisotope equipment. Prepare stock solutions of radioactive materials and calculate doses to be administered by radiologists. Subject patients to radiation. Execute blood volume, red cell survival, and fat absorption studies following standard laboratory techniques. |
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Nursing Aides, Orderlies, & Attendants| | Provide basic patient care under direction of nursing staff. Perform duties, such as feed, bathe, dress, groom, or move patients, or change linens. |
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Radiation Therapists| | Provide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiologist according to established practices and standards. Duties may include reviewing prescription and diagnosis; acting as liaison with physician and supportive care personnel; preparing equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, and protection devices; and maintaining records, reports, and files. May assist in dosimetry procedures and tumor localization. |
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Registered Nurses| | Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required. Includes advance practice nurses such as: nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. Advanced practice nursing is practiced by RNs who have specialized formal, post-basic education and who function in highly autonomous and specialized roles. |
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Skills
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Active Listening| | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
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Social Perceptiveness| | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
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Instructing| | Teaching others how to do something. |
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Reading Comprehension| | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
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Service Orientation| | Actively looking for ways to help people. |
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Learning Strategies| | Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
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Speaking| | Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
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Active Learning| | Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
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Coordination| | Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
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Mathematics| | Using mathematics to solve problems. |
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Writing| | Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
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Time Management| | Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
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Monitoring| | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
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Critical Thinking| | Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
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Operation and Control| | Controlling operations of equipment or systems. |
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Troubleshooting| | Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it. |
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Persuasion| | Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
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Judgment and Decision Making| | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
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Operation Monitoring| | Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. |
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Negotiation| | Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
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Complex Problem Solving| | Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
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Science| | Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
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Equipment Selection| | Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. |
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Systems Analysis| | Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes. |
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Equipment Maintenance| | Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
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Quality Control Analysis| | Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. |
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Systems Evaluation| | Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system. |
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Operations Analysis| | Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design. |
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Technology Design| | Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. |
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Management of Financial Resources| | Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures. |
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Management of Personnel Resources| | Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
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Management of Material Resources| | Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. |
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Installation| | Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications. |
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Repairing| | Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools. |
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Programming| | Writing computer programs for various purposes. |
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Tasks
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| Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height. |
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| Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician. |
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| Record patients' medical history, vital statistics and information such as test results in medical records. |
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| Collect blood, tissue or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing. |
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| Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets and physicians' instructions to patients. |
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| Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician. |
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| Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies. |
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| Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments and materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures. |
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| Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean. |
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| Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies. |
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| Schedule appointments for patients. |
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| Change dressings on wounds. |
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| Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses. |
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| Set up medical laboratory equipment. |
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| Keep financial records and perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit and collections and mailing monthly statements to patients. |
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| Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic. |
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| Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission. |
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| Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), and other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests. |
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| Perform general office duties such as answering telephones, taking dictation or completing insurance forms. |
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| Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies and equipment. |
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| Give physiotherapy treatments such as diathermy, galvanics, and hydrotherapy. |
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Tools
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| Alcohol analysers |
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| Breathalyzers |
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| Audiometers or accessories |
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| Audiometers |
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| Bedside pulmonary function screeners |
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| Pulmonary function measurement equipment |
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| Benchtop centrifuges |
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| Centrifuges |
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| Binocular light compound microscopes |
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| Microscopes |
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| Blood collection needles |
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| Single draw needles |
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| Body plethysmographs |
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| Plethysmographs |
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| Butterfly needles |
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| Canes or cane accessories |
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| Canes |
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| Capillary or hematocrit tubes |
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| Microcapillary hematocrit tubes |
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| Cast cutters or saws |
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| Cast cutters |
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| Chemistry analyzers |
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| Blood chemistry analyzers |
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| Combination refractor keratometers |
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| Keratometers |
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| Crutches or crutch accessories |
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| Crutches |
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| Dictation machines |
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| Dictation equipment |
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| Dropping pipettes |
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| Pipettes |
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| Electrocardiography EKG units |
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| Electronic blood pressure units |
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| Electronic blood pressure measuring devices |
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| Electrosurgical or electrocautery equipment or accessories or related products |
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| Electrocautery equipment |
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| Endotracheal tubes |
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| Trach tubes |
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| Enema kits or accessories |
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| Enema equipment |
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| Eye charts or vision cards |
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| Snellen Charts |
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| Eye occluders |
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| Hand-held occluders |
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| Flexible endoscopes or accessories or related products |
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| Flexible sigmoidoscopy equipment |
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| Gait belts for rehabilitation or therapy |
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| Gait belts |
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| Hearing aids for the physically challenged |
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| Hearing aids |
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| Hypodermic needles |
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| Intradermal needles |
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| Intramuscular needles |
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| Subcutaneous needles |
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| Lancets |
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| Lap mayo trays or mayo stands for surgical use or accessories |
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| Mayo stands |
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| Laser printers |
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| Printers |
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| Mechanical stethoscopes or accessories |
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| Stethoscopes |
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| Medical gas cylinders or related devices |
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| Oxygen tanks |
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| Medical imaging wet darkroom or daylight processors |
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| X ray development equipment |
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| Medical oxygen masks or parts |
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| Oxygen masks |
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| Medical radiation films or badges |
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| Dosimetery badges |
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| Medical staple or clip removers |
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| Staple removers |
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| Medical syringes with needles |
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| Syringe needles |
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| Medical syringes without needles |
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| Syringes |
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| Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use |
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| X ray machines |
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| Mercury blood pressure units |
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| Baumanometers |
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| Manual blood pressuring measurement equipment |
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| Microscope slides |
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| Nebulizers or accessories |
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| Nebulizers |
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| Pulmonary nebulizers |
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| Non vacuum blood collection tubes or containers |
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| Blood collection vials |
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| Notebook computers |
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| Ophthalmic lensometers |
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| Lensometers |
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| Ophthalmic retinoscopes |
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| Retinoscopes |
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| Ophthalmic tonometers or accessories |
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| Tonometers |
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| Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets |
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| Opthalmoscopes |
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| Otoscopes |
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| Opticians tools or accessories |
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| Metric rules |
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| Orthopedic splint systems |
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| Splints |
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| Oxygen therapy delivery system products accessories or its supplies |
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| Oxygen equipment |
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| Personal computers |
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| Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers |
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| Personal digital assistant PDAs |
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| Phlebotomy trays or accessories |
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| Evacuated collection tube holders/adapters |
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| Scanners |
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| Specimen collectors |
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| Culturettes |
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| Spirometers or its accessories or its supplies |
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| Spirometers |
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| Vitalors |
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| Steam autoclaves or sterilizers |
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| Autoclaves |
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| Surgical suction machines or vacuum extractors or ultrasonic surgical aspirators or regulators or accessories |
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| Suction machines |
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| Surgical suction or irrigation tubings or accessories |
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| Suction tubing |
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| Suture removers |
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| Tablet computers |
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| Tourniquets |
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| Tuberculin syringes |
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| Tuberculin skin test equipment |
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| Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers |
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| Evacuated blood collection tubes |
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| Walkers or rollators |
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| Walkers |
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| Wheelchairs |
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Technology
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| Accounting software |
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| Billing software |
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| Bookkeeping software |
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| Calendar and scheduling software |
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| Appointment scheduling software |
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| Categorization or classification software |
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| Diagnostic and procedural coding software |
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| Data base user interface and query software |
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| Computerized patient management software |
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| Database software |
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| Electronic mail software |
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| Internet browser software |
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| Web browser software |
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| Medical software |
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| Visual electro diagnostic software |
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| Office suite software |
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| Business software applications |
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| Spreadsheet software |
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| Word processing software |
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Career Activities
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| Assisting and Caring for Others |
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| administer injections |
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