Well I started my externship recently and though I agree that as a patient, that's all you see, but in my office there is soooo much more that goes on behind the scenes!
In my office, first of all, the MAs have a lot of autonomy. We can decide whether a U/A is called for, an EKG, a rapid strep, BS, any test we can do in the office, we can decide if it's necessary. We intake the pts obviously, and then we do what we need to do. For instance, someone came in today with chest pain that was indicative of CHF, so we did an EKG. I also did another EKG that was routine, but ended up catching afib that the pt went into while he was waiting! We also take most of the calls for the doctors, open their mail, call pts back for them, answer phone calls, forward messages, fax, copy, and clean. There is not a moment of down time.

Obviously, not every office is going to be as busy as mine (we have 6 providers and have had up to 200 pts in a day)but I hope it helps!

Your Professional Title/Credentials: MA Student

Are You Still In School? Yes

Are You Working? Yes