Medical Assistant Accreditation Lakeland FL - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Pick a Medical Assistant Program near Lakeland Florida

Lakeland FL medical assistant checking pulse Once you have made a decision to enter the rewarding profession of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Lakeland FL, it’s time to select a school that will provide the right training. But just how do you go about evaluating and comparing colleges so that you subsequently pick the right one? A number of prospective students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences and then gravitate toward those that have the lowest tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are important issues as well. You may want to take a look at several online medical assistant programs as an option also (more on that later). The main point is that before you select a college you must finish your due diligence and compare all relevant aspects of the colleges you are examining. And to help you with that task, we have provided a few questions that you need to ask each of the schools on your short list. But before we start that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the type of training and credentials that are available.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Lakeland FL nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Basically their role is ensure that the Lakeland FL clinics, hospitals and other healthcare centers where they work run successfully. Depending on the size or type of facility, they can be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller facilities both. They are tasked with providing direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other health practitioners but may also be found working at the front desk or in an office. A few of the possible duties of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and submitting claims
Setting and confirming appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Taking blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
Preparing instruments and rooms for doctors
Supplying general support during exams and procedures

Even though medical assistants can carry out almost any task they are qualified to under Florida law, some opt to specialize in a specific area and obtain certification. Two of the options available are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Courses

Compared to most other medical practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become licensed, certified, or to obtain a college degree. However, a number of Lakeland FL health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that are certified. There are basically two options available for a formal education. The first and fastest path to becoming a medical assistant is to attain a diploma or a certificate. These programs typically take about one year to complete, a few as little as six to nine months. They are developed to teach the basics of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to obtain an Associate Degree, which are normally two year programs available at junior and community colleges together with technical and vocational schools. They are more extensive in nature than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They often have a clinical element involving an internship with a local medical facility. Associate Degrees are often a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a related field.

Medical Assistant Online Colleges

woman attending medical assistant school online in Lakeland FL There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs available online also. They are a good alternative for students who might not have time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if attended at home. This is an especially good alternative for students who continue to work full time while pursuing their degree or certificate. As an added benefit, a number of online programs have lower tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental expenses such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies might be lessened as well. But keep in mind that all requirements for clinical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can often be performed in Lakeland FL area medical care facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of going to supervised classes on campus, then this method of receiving your education might be the best option for you. Between the online classes and the clinical training, everything necessary to attain proficiency to perform as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, certification is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent idea for individuals who wish to advance their careers. Not only will it help in securing a job after graduation, but it might also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. Many potential Lakeland FL medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not received accredited formal training or certification. One of the most popular and perhaps the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to sit for the CMA exam, an applicant must have graduated or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are offered as well, such as the CMAA and the CCMA that we discussed earlier which are provided by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask Lakeland FL medical assistant programs Prior to assessing your medical assistant school options, you need to decide which type of credential you want to earn, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online from home. After those selections have been made, you can begin the process of comparing medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the beginning of this article, some students limit their searches to the schools that are closest to Lakeland FL with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional factors that you need to look at when evaluating schools. To assist you with that process, following are a few questions that you need to ask about all of the programs you are thinking about before making your ultimate choice.

Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are several great reasons to confirm that the school you select is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps ensure that the training you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you must complete an accredited program. Two of the accepted organizations for accreditation are the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). If your school is not accredited by either of these agencies, you will not be allowed to take the CMA exam. Also, if you plan on obtaining a student loan or financial aid, they are often not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, many prospective Lakeland FL employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the Program’s Passing Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, you need to find out which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then naturally you will want to choose a program concentrating on that certification. Second, learn what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is just one of the ways to help evaluate the quality of a school’s program. Of course schools with lower rates are those that you will want to avoid.

Which Programs are Available? As we covered earlier, there are generally two paths to getting medical assistant training. You can enroll in a diploma or certificate program and receive entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is about one year. Or you can choose to obtain an Associate Degree and get a broader education that will take about 2 years to finish in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you choose to pursue, verify that the schools you are looking at offer the type of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? A large number of medical assistant schools offer internship programs with Lakeland FL area medical care providers. They are an excellent means to obtain hands-on clinical training and experience. They may also assist students build relationships within the Lakeland health care community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Service Furnished? Finding that initial job may be a difficult task for graduating medical assistant students unless they have some assistance from a job placement program. Confirm that the colleges you are interviewing provide job placement assistance in the Lakeland FL area and ask what their placement rate is. If a school has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also indicates that it has a broad network of employers to help place students in positions.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size can be an indicator of how much individual attention you will receive throughout your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer greater access to instructors and face to face interaction. If possible, try to attend a few classes before selecting a school to observe what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you plan on attending a medical assistant program while you continue to work full time, it’s essential that the program you enroll in provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to attend classes at night or on weekends near Lakeland FL, verify that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will still need to schedule any internships or practical training that will be required. Additionally, ask what the policy is for making up classes that you may have to miss due to work, illness or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Lakeland Florida?

If you are considering attending a medical assistant school in the Lakeland FL area, following is some background information that may be both interesting and useful regarding your future campus location.

Lakeland, Florida

Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. The westernmost city in Polk County, it is part of the Tampa Bay Area. According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 100,710.[2] Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area (coterminous with Polk County), which had an estimated population of 623,009 in July 2013 based on data from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. It is twinned with Richmond Hill, Ontario; Imabari, Ehime, Japan; Bălți, Moldova; Portmore, Jamaica; and Chongming County, Shanghai, China through the Lakeland chapter of Sister Cities International.

Native Americans began to live in the area 12,000 years ago. European-American settlers arrived in Lakeland from South Carolina in the 1870s. The city expanded in the 1880s with the arrival of rail service, with the first freedmen railway workers settling here in 1883.[6] They and European immigrants also came because of new jobs in the large phosphate industry that developed. Lakeland is home to the 1,267-acre Circle B Bar Reserve.

The first Paleo-Indians reached the central Florida area near the end of the last ice age, as they followed big game south.[23][24] As the ice melted and sea levels rose, these Native Americans ended up staying and thrived on the peninsula for thousands of years. By the time the first Spanish conquistadors arrived, more than 250,000 Native Americans were living on the peninsula.[citation needed] Some of these first early tribes were the Tocobago, Timucua, and Calusa. In 1527, a Spanish map showed a settlement near the Rio de la Paz.[23][24] The arrival of the Spanish turned out to be disastrous to these Native American tribes. Within 150 years, the majority of the pre-Columbian Native American peoples of Florida had been wiped out. Those who had not succumbed to diseases such as smallpox or yellow fever were either killed or enslaved.[23][24][25][26] Little is left of these first Native Americans cultures in Polk County except for scant archaeological records, including a few personal artifacts and shell mounds. Eventually, the remnants of these tribes merged with the Creek Indians who had arrived from the north and became the Seminole Indian tribe.[24][26]

Pick the Ideal Medical Assistant Training Program Lakeland FL

Lakeland FL medical assistant student It’s essential to begin your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant college that will provide the right training. Regardless if you’re objective is to begin a career in healthcare starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your lifetime career, you must obtain the right information on available programs before making your selection. There are so many colleges providing training nowadays that you can make a selection based upon your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have covered in this article, verify that the program you select is accredited by a recognized organization, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly critical if you intend on taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Medical Assistant Accreditation. But regardless of the type of credential that you plan to earn or if you have decided to attend either an online or on-campus school, make sure to ask the questions we have supplied so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the right program you can subsequently begin a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Lakeland FL.