How to Reach the Practice Manager Hiring Medical Assistants
Ad Call reads the live medical assistant ads in your city and hands back, for each practice and clinic, the practice or clinic manager who most likely owns the req: name, title, email and office line, graded by confidence, plus how long the ad has been up. You reach the person covering the empty exam room, not a health system's careers page.
The practice manager who needs an MA is already doing the MA's job between patients.
Find the medical assistant hiring managers in my market — freeWho owns a medical assistant req
In an outpatient practice the practice manager runs both halves of the office: the front desk that checks patients in and the back office where MAs room patients, take vitals and prep the physician. They write the schedule, feel every call-out, and usually make the hire. The physicians rarely touch MA hiring beyond a final nod. In a clinic owned by a hospital or health system, the clinic manager plays the same role, but system HR posts the ad and issues the offer, so the manager is still your conversation and HR is the paperwork.
- Lead MA / Clinical SupervisorTrains new MAs and runs patient flow. Often interviews, and will tell you honestly how short the back office is. Doesn't own the req.
- Practice Manager / Clinic Manager (Office Manager at small practices)usually owns the reqOwns the req. Builds the schedule, covers the gaps, makes the hire. At a one- or two-physician office the title is often Office Manager.
- Clinical ManagerOversees clinical staff across several sites in larger groups. Call when one manager's seat is open or the same group has MA ads at multiple locations.
- Physician Owner / Medical DirectorSigns off, doesn't run the search. Pitching the doctor directly usually gets you handed back to the manager, now slightly annoyed.
What Ad Call gives you for a medical assistant ad
For MA ads Ad Call puts the practice or clinic manager first, with the clinical supervisor as a second name. The signals tell you how bad the gap is: days live, reposts, and whether the same practice is also advertising for the front desk, which usually means the manager is covering both.
Ad CallDeskFollow-upsCompaniesGuide- Three weeks without a full back office means physicians are rooming their own patients or the schedule is being trimmed.
- A quick repost suggests the first round of applicants didn't hold the credential the ad asks for.
- An open front-desk ad at the same time means the manager is likely covering check-in as well as the back office.
Who hires medical assistants, and why they'll take your call
Medical assistants are the hardest seat in a practice to keep filled, and practice leaders say so. In a May 2025 MGMA Stat poll, 47% of medical practice leaders named MAs as the hardest staff role to recruit, well ahead of nurses, billers and coders. A May 2026 MGMA follow-up found 56% said MA hiring got harder over the past year; respondents pointed to a shortage of qualified candidates and wage competition from hospitals.
The work is concentrated where practice managers live. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook counts 833,900 medical assistant jobs in 2025, with 56% in offices of physicians, projects 13% growth from 2025 to 2035, and expects about 109,700 openings a year. Every one of those physician-office openings has a manager who is rooming patients, calling in refills or pulling a double shift at check-in until it's filled.
That is your opening. You are not selling a candidate to a skeptical buyer; you are offering relief to someone doing two jobs. Be brief, be specific, and respect the patient schedule.
Best time to contact a medical assistant hiring manager
Clinic hours are the whole story. Once patients are in the building, the practice manager belongs to them. Work the edges of the day.The front-desk script: patients first, then your question
The person who answers is checking someone in while talking to you. Make it easy for them to help you, and they usually will.How to pitch an MA: what the practice manager checks first
Practice managers screen MAs on a short list of questions. Answer them before they're asked.- Specialty match. Pediatrics means vaccine schedules and anxious parents; dermatology means procedure setup and biopsies; orthopedics means splinting and imaging workflows; cardiology means EKGs. Name the specialty the candidate has actually worked in.
- Credential, named correctly. The CMA (AAMA) requires graduating from a CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited medical assisting program. The RMA (AMT) has several routes, including education, military training and qualifying work experience. Say which one, and whether it is current.
- Certification preference. The BLS notes that most states don't require certification, but employers may prefer or require it. If the ad says “certified,” lead with the credential.
- Clinical skills that the state allows. Injections, venipuncture and medication tasks depend on what a physician can delegate under state law, and AAMA's state scope-of-practice summaries show how much that varies. Confirm the candidate's skills are ones the practice's state lets an MA perform.
- Front and back office. An MA who can also check in, verify insurance and schedule is worth more to a small practice than one who only rooms patients.
- The practice's schedule. Early starts, late clinics and Saturday hours. A great candidate who can't do 7:30 is a no.
- The practice's EHR. Familiarity with the same system cuts training time. Ask the front desk, or the manager on your first call.
- Commute and pay. Practices compete with hospitals on wages, as MGMA respondents noted. Know the candidate's floor before you call, and don't pitch someone you know is priced above the practice.
“We train our own MAs”: when it's true and what to say
Sometimes it's true. MGMA reports that some larger organizations built their own certified MA academies after concluding the local pipeline couldn't supply enough qualified candidates. A health system with an academy and a cohort starting next month does not need you for entry-level MAs. Log it and move on.
At an independent practice, the phrase usually means something else: “we've been burned by agency fees” or “we hire from the local school's externs and hope.” Training a new MA takes a lead MA or the manager off the floor for weeks, and that is the cost you're offsetting. Try:
“That makes sense for new grads. This candidate is already certified and has three years in family medicine, so she'd be training your next externs, not taking your time. Would a 15-minute call before clinic tomorrow be worth it?”
If the answer is still no, ask one respectful question: “Is there any role where you'd rather hire experienced than train?” Specialty-heavy practices often say yes for procedure rooms even when they grow their own general MAs. Ad Call shows you which practices have had the ad up longest, which is where “we train our own” tends to soften. Run your market free.
Questions recruiters ask about medical assistant reqs
- Who hires medical assistants at a doctor's office?
The practice manager, or the office manager at a small practice. In clinics owned by a health system, the clinic manager makes the decision and system HR posts the ad and issues the offer. Physicians usually give a final nod but don't run the search.
- What is the best time to call a practice manager?
Before the clinic opens and after the last patient leaves, Tuesday through Thursday. Avoid the morning rush, the lunch hour when many offices close phones, and Monday mornings. Ask the front desk what time the manager arrives; they'll usually tell you.
- Is a CMA better than an RMA?
Neither is universally “better”; they are different routes to a national credential. The CMA (AAMA) requires graduating from an accredited medical assisting program; the RMA (AMT) also accepts routes such as military training or qualifying work experience. Match what the ad asks for, and if it only says “certified,” either can qualify.
- How do I get a medical assistant hiring manager's email?
Ad Call hands back the practice or clinic manager's name, title and email, graded by confidence, alongside the practice's office line. Use the email for a two-line intro and the phone for the early-morning or end-of-day call.