Doctors' surgery assistant
Also called cast assistant, medical assistant, surgery assistant
Doctors' surgery assistants support doctors of medicine in medical measures, in performing simple support activities during medical procedures, standardised diagnostic programmes and standardised point-of-care tests, ensuring surgery hygiene, cleaning, disinfecting, sterilising and maintaining medical devices and performing the organisational and administrative tasks required for operating a doctor`s surgery under supervision, following the orders of the doctor of medicine.
What you'd do
Medical assistants · ILO- Interviewing patients and their families to obtain information on their health status and medical history
- Assisting medical doctors and other health professionals to examine and treat patients, including measuring and recording vital signs, administering medications and performing routine clinical procedures such as giving injections and removing sutures
- Getting patients ready for examination and treatment, including explaining procedures and showing them to examination rooms
- Preparing and handling medical instruments and supplies, including sterilizing instruments and disposing of contaminated supplies in accordance with safety procedures
- Collecting blood, tissue or other specimens, and preparing them for laboratory testing
- Providing information to patients and families on health care topics including medications prescribed by a medical doctor or other health professional
- Providing prescription and drug refill information to pharmacies
- Maintaining cleanliness of patient waiting and examination rooms
- Recording information on patients' medical history, diagnostic testing and treatment procedures and results, and other information in medical records-keeping systems
- Scheduling appointments with patients, and preparing documentation required for billing, reporting and insurance purposes
- Indoors
- On your feet most of the day
- Constant contact with people, including the public
- Some freedom to decide
- Usually under 40 hours a week
- Deadlines most weeks
- Some repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Yes, good prospectsMany jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
About averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,500 a month (Bulgaria) to €8,200 (Luxembourg), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among technicians and associate professionals in the EU, women earn 16% less per hour than men. Technicians and associate professionals · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Usually post-secondary or a short degreePost-secondary training or a short degree in medicine is the usual route.
946 institutions in the EU offer health and welfare bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
In some tasksAI could take on part of some tasks, but none fully.
Average task score 0.35 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 10 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for medical assistants. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).