Medical Assistant Jobs at UT Southwestern Dallas: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas is hiring Medical Assistants for PRN (as-needed) work in their Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department with hourly pay ranging from $17.50 to $22.50. PRN positions offer flexibility for those who can’t commit to full-time schedules but want to maintain clinical skills and earn supplemental income.
What makes this position appealing is the combination of clinical and administrative duties at a major academic medical center. UT Southwestern is one of the top medical institutions in Texas, so working there provides exposure to high-quality healthcare practices and potential networking opportunities within the medical community.
Understanding the Medical Assistant PRN Role
As a Medical Assistant in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, you’ll support physicians and patients through a mix of clinical procedures, patient care, and administrative tasks. The PRN nature means you work on an as-needed basis rather than guaranteed full-time hours, which suits some lifestyles better than others.
Clinical Responsibilities
You’ll perform procedures including visual acuity testing, eye muscle balance assessments, and developmental or musculoskeletal screening. Drawing blood specimens from patients and handling related clinical duties requires both technical skill and patient interaction abilities.
Taking, recording, and reporting patient vital signs using medical equipment forms a routine part of your shifts. Accuracy matters significantly since vital signs inform treatment decisions.
Preparing exam rooms for patient care, facilitating use of diagnostic equipment, and ensuring availability of patient information like diagnostic exam reports and medical records keeps clinical operations flowing smoothly.
Documenting patient care interventions and education in medical records maintains the continuity of care and provides legal documentation of services provided.
Patient Support and Safety
Escorting or transporting patients to exam or treatment rooms might seem simple but provides important assistance to patients with mobility challenges or those unfamiliar with the facility layout.
Inspecting equipment and facilities to ensure patient safety and proper equipment functioning prevents accidents and maintains quality standards. In rehabilitation settings where patients may have physical limitations, safety vigilance becomes especially important.
Functioning as a clinic safety officer means verifying each employee’s knowledge of fire safety and evacuation plans. This responsibility extends beyond your personal duties to ensuring team preparedness.
Administrative and Support Duties
Administrative tasks include receiving and scheduling patient appointments, distributing mail, and preparing reports and correspondence. Ensuring appropriate patient consent and authorization forms are obtained for research or medical treatment protects both patients and the institution legally.
Responding to patient questions regarding accounts, billing, and insurance requires knowledge of healthcare billing systems and ability to communicate complex information clearly to worried patients.
Serving as preceptor and resource for newly-hired medical assistants means you’ll help integrate new staff into the department, sharing knowledge and procedures.
You may provide occasional working supervision to non-licensed medical or clerical office support personnel, adding a leadership dimension to the role.
PRN Medical Assistant Opportunities
UT Southwestern is hiring for PRN Medical Assistant positions, meaning the number of openings fluctuates based on departmental needs. PRN work provides scheduling flexibility but less income predictability than full-time employment.
Who Qualifies for This Position
The requirements balance education, certification, and experience to ensure competent patient care.
Educational Requirements
You need a high school diploma or equivalent as the educational foundation. Additionally, Basic Life Support certification from a course accredited by the American Heart Association or American Red Cross is required upon hire. If you don’t currently have BLS, you’ll need to obtain it before starting.
Experience and Training
You must have either one year of patient care experience in a physician office practice or completion of Medical Assistant training in an approved program. They’ll also accept completion of EMT or Paramedic Training Programs, recognizing that emergency medical training provides relevant clinical skills.
This flexibility in qualifying experience means multiple pathways into the role. If you’re a trained EMT looking for less intense work than emergency services, or a medical assistant wanting PRN supplemental income, you could qualify.
Skills and Competencies
Maintaining current customer service, clinical, and technical skills through attending training programs and seminars ensures competency and compliance with departmental policies. Continuing education is part of the job, not optional.
Maintaining adequate stock of supplies for your work area requires organizational skills and attention to inventory needs before shortages occur.
How to Apply for This Position
Applications go through UT Southwestern’s Taleo recruitment system.
Visit the Medical Assistant PRN application page on UT Southwestern’s career portal.
Create an account or log in if you’ve previously applied to UT Southwestern positions. You’ll need a valid email address for application updates.
Complete the online application with accurate information about your education, certifications, and patient care experience. Be specific about where you gained your one year of experience or which approved program you completed.
Upload your resume, high school diploma or equivalent documentation, and any relevant certifications. If you have BLS certification already, include it. If not, note that you’ll obtain it upon hire as required.
Emphasize any experience in rehabilitation settings, working with patients who have physical limitations, or relevant clinical procedures you’ve performed.
Important Considerations
PRN positions mean variable hours. Some weeks you might work several shifts; other weeks you might not be called at all. This flexibility suits people with other commitments or income sources but doesn’t provide reliable full-time income.
The hourly rate of $17.50 to $22.50 depends on your experience level and credentials. Understand where you’d likely fall within that range based on your background.
Working at UT Southwestern, a major academic medical center, means exposure to complex cases and cutting-edge medical practices. The learning opportunities exceed those at smaller practices.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation departments serve patients recovering from injuries, surgeries, or managing chronic conditions. The patient population requires patience and understanding as they work through challenging recovery processes.
Application Timeline
No specific deadline is mentioned, suggesting rolling applications for PRN positions that fill as needs arise. However, don’t delay indefinitely. PRN pools can reach capacity, after which they stop reviewing applications until spots open again.
Additional Healthcare Opportunities
While exploring medical assistant roles, consider other opportunities like content creator positions if you have interests in digital media alongside healthcare, though these are entirely different career paths.
Common Questions About This Role
How do PRN shifts actually work at UT Southwestern?
PRN means “as needed,” so you’re called to work when patient volume or staff shortages require additional coverage. You’re not guaranteed minimum hours, but you’re also not obligated to accept every shift offered. Typically, PRN staff indicate their availability preferences, and scheduling contacts you when shifts matching your availability become available. During busy periods, you might work consistently; during slower times, shifts decrease. Some PRN workers maintain other jobs and use this for supplemental income, while others prefer the scheduling flexibility for personal reasons. Clarify during interviews how far in advance shifts are typically posted and whether there’s any minimum hour requirement or commitment expected.
Can PRN positions lead to full-time employment at UT Southwestern?
PRN positions often serve as pipelines to full-time roles at healthcare institutions. Working PRN lets you prove your capabilities, learn the organization’s systems, and become a known quantity to hiring managers. When full-time positions open, internal candidates who’ve demonstrated reliability and competence through PRN work often have advantages over external applicants. However, this isn’t guaranteed—some people prefer PRN indefinitely, and not all PRN workers transition to full-time. If your goal is full-time employment, communicate this interest to supervisors and apply for full-time openings as they’re posted. PRN work provides the advantage of already understanding UT Southwestern’s operations and culture when competing for permanent positions.
What’s different about working in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation versus other medical specialties?
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation focuses on helping patients recover function after injuries, surgeries, or manage chronic conditions affecting mobility and quality of life. Unlike fast-paced emergency or acute care settings, rehabilitation involves longer-term patient relationships as individuals progress through recovery over weeks or months. You’ll work with patients who may be frustrated by their limitations, dealing with pain, or discouraged about recovery timelines. The role requires patience, encouragement, and celebrating small improvements that might seem insignificant to outsiders but represent major progress for patients. The specialty also involves coordinating with physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physicians to support comprehensive rehabilitation plans. If you prefer ongoing relationships with patients and seeing gradual improvement over time versus high-turnover acute care, rehabilitation settings can be very rewarding.
Final Assessment
The Medical Assistant PRN position at UT Southwestern offers flexible clinical work at a premier medical institution. The hourly rate is competitive for medical assistant work in Dallas, and the PRN structure accommodates those who can’t or don’t want full-time commitments.
The combination of clinical procedures, patient care, and administrative duties provides well-rounded experience. Working in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation means serving patients through recovery processes, which can be deeply satisfying for those who enjoy seeing gradual progress and building patient relationships.
If you have the required education and experience, current or obtainable BLS certification, and want flexible medical assistant work at a respected institution, this position offers solid opportunity. Just ensure you’re comfortable with the variable hours inherent in PRN work and that it fits your financial and scheduling needs before applying.
