How to Select a Medical Assistant Training School near Rockport Indiana
Once you have made a decision to enter the rewarding profession of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Rockport IN, it’s time to select a college that will provide the proper training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating colleges so that you subsequently pick the ideal one? Many prospective students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are closest to their homes and then lean toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors as well. You might choose to research several online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more on that later). The bottom line is that before you select a college you need to complete your due diligence and compare all pertinent aspects of the colleges you are assessing. And to assist you with that task, we have provided several questions that you should ask each of the colleges on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s talk a little bit about the responsibilities of a medical assistant and the kind of training and credentials that are available.
The Duties of a Medical Assistant
The responsibilities of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Essentially their role is ensure that the Rockport IN clinics, hospitals and other medical care institutions where they work operate efficiently. Based on the type or size of facility, they can be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are responsible for providing direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other health practitioners but may also be found working in an office or at the front desk. Some of the potential duties of a medical assistant include:
- Completing insurance forms and submitting claims
- Scheduling and verifying appointments
- Weighing and taking patients vital signs
- Taking blood and other fluid and tissue specimens
- Preparing instruments and rooms for physicians
- Supplying basic support during examinations and procedures
Even though medical assistants can perform almost any activity they are authorized to under Indiana law, some elect to specialize in a specific area and earn certification. Two of the choices available are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) provided by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).
Medical Assistant Programs
In contrast to many other healthcare professionals, medical assistants are not mandated to become certified, licensed, or to obtain a college degree. However, many Rockport IN health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are essentially 2 choices offered for a formal education. The first and shortest way to becoming a medical assistant is to acquire a certificate or diploma. These programs usually take about one year to complete, some as little as 6 to 9 months. They are created to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to acquire an Associate Degree, which are normally two year programs provided at junior and community colleges together with technical and vocational schools. They are more comprehensive in design than the diploma or certificate programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant courses. They usually have a clinical component requiring an internship with a local healthcare facility. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a related field.
Online Medical Assistant Classes
There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs offered online also. They are an excellent 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 a particularly good solution for students who continue to work full-time while pursuing their certificate or degree. As an extra benefit, some online programs have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Ancillary expenses including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies might be lessened as well. Just keep in mind that all requirements for practical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can typically be performed in Rockport IN area medical care facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of attending supervised classes on campus, then this method of receiving your education might be the right choice for you. Between the online classes and the clinical training, everything necessary to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.
Certification Options for Medical Assistants
As earlier stated, certification is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent choice for individuals who wish to boost their careers. Not only will it help in attaining a position after graduation, but it may also help with initial salary negotiations. Some potential Rockport IN medical employers simply will not employ a medical assistant that has not attained accredited formal training or certification. Among 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 take the CMA exam, an applicant must be a graduate or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are available also, including the CMAA and the CCMA that we previously mentioned which are provided by the NHA.
Points to Ask Medical Assistant Programs
Before you can start assessing your medical assistant school alternatives, you need to decide which kind of credential you want to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on campus or online from home. After those selections have been made, you can start the procedure of researching medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the beginning of this article, a number of students confine their searches to the schools that are nearest to Rockport IN with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are important qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you should examine when researching schools. To help you with that process, following are some questions that you need to ask about each of the programs you are considering before making your ultimate choice.
Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are a number of great reasons to make certain that the school you choose is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps ensure that the education you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you plan on becoming certified, you must enroll in an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged agencies 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 one of these organizations, you will not be allowed to take the CMA exam. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial aid, they are frequently not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, a number of potential Rockport IN employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.
What is the Program’s Passage Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools create their programs to prep students to pass one or more certification examinations. To begin with, you need to determine which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then naturally you will need to select a program targeting that certification. Second, find out what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. Doing this is one of the ways to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Naturally programs with lower rates are ones that you will want to avoid.
Which Programs are Available? As we covered earlier, there are generally two paths to obtaining medical assistant training. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program and obtain entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, although the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can elect to acquire an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will require about 2 years to complete in a junior college or vocational school. Whichever program you elect to pursue, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer the type of program you have an interest in.
Are Internships Offered? Numerous medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Rockport IN area medical care providers. They are an excellent means to receive hands-on practical training and experience. They may also assist students develop relationships within the Rockport healthcare community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews as well.
Is Job Placement Support Provided? Finding that first job may be a daunting task for graduating medical assistant students unless they obtain a little help from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are interviewing provide job placement assistance in the Rockport IN area and find out what their placement rate is. If a college has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also suggests that it has a large network of contacts to help place students in jobs.
How Big are the Classes? Class size may be an indication of how much individual instruction you will get during your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more prone to offer greater access to instructors and face to face interaction. If convenient, try to sit in on a few classes before enrolling in a college to experience what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students receive.
Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant program while you continue working full-time, it’s imperative that the school you choose offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Rockport IN, make sure that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in easier with an online college, but you will still have to schedule any clinical training or internships that might be required. Also, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to work, illness or family emergencies.
Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Rockport Indiana?
If you are considering attending a medical assistant school in the Rockport IN area, following is some background information that may be both interesting and useful regarding your future campus location.
Rockport (company)
The Rockport Group is an American manufacturer of shoes based in Newton, Massachusetts. It is currently owned by Crescent Capital Group. It is home to the Aravon, Dunham and Rockport brands and the popular Rockport Cobb Hill Collection.
In 1930, Samuel Katz founded the Hubbard Shoe Company, which had its first factory in Rochester, New Hampshire; eight years later the company employed 700. In 1945, Saul Katz took control of Hubbard from his father. In the 1960s, U.S. shoe manufacturing increasingly moved to countries with lower labor costs, making it difficult for U.S. plants to stay competitive in the face of less expensive imports. Saul Katz urged Congress to aid the American shoe industry[2] and in 1977 the Carter administration imposed quotas on shoe imports,[3] but the controls arrived too late for Hubbard, which went out of business in 1970.[4]
Saul Katz continued to run a surviving subsidiary spun off from Hubbard, called Highland Import. It operated out of offices in the old Diamond Shoe Company in Marlboro, Massachusetts and imported shoes from Brazil. Highland Import worked with American branded shoe companies to develop special products. One was a hand sewn heavy leather moccasin modeled after a shoe developed by Walter Dyer in Rockport, MA. When Saul Katz went to the tannery in Brazil he named the leather Rockport.
Pick the Right Medical Assistant School Rockport IN
It’s imperative to start your new career on the right foot by choosing a medical assistant school that will provide the right training. Whether you’re goal is to begin a career in healthcare starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you need to obtain the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your decision. There are so many schools providing training nowadays that you can make a decision based on 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 agency, 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 Certification Online. But irrespective of the type of credential that you plan to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an online or on-campus school, be sure to ask the questions we have provided so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the best program you can ultimately start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Rockport IN.
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