Medical Assistant Week: Famous Medical Assistants
Medical Assistant Week: Famous Medical Assistants
Medical Assistants Recognition Week is observed the third full week in October. One of the fastest-growing careers in the nation, medical assistants make medical offices run more smoothly. They also play an instrumental role to overall quality patient care.
Alphonse Laveran
Born: 1845
Died: 1922
Origin: France
French doctor Alphonse Laveran, who discovered the cause of malaria and later won the 1907 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, started out as a medical assistant working as an ambulance officer during the Franco-German War.
Since 1900, he especially studied the trypanosomes and published, either independently or in collaboration with others, a large number of papers on these blood parasites.
Maria Montessori
Born: : 1870
Died: 1952
Origin: Italy
Known primarily as an educator who created the influential Montessori method of education emphasizing child-centric, practical learning, Maria Montessori was also Italy’s first female doctor, and she worked during her youth as a medical assistant in Florence.
Soon after this accomplishment she was promoted to surgical assistant at Santo Spirito, where she had worked previously as a medical assistant. She continued research at the University of Rome, joining the university staff in 1897.
Harald zur Hausen
Born: : 1936
Origin: German
Winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the role of papilloma viruses, German doctor Harald zur Hausen worked as a medical assistant shortly after earning his medical degree from the University of Düsseldorf in 1960.
Brittany Smith
Born: 1990
Origin: United States
The 2013 winner of the Miss Illinois title (earning her entry into the Miss America pageant), Brittany Smith graduated from Purdue University in 2012 with a degree in Health & Kinesiology and currently works as a medical assistant. .