Clinical Medical Assistant Certificate Program Ashland MA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Choose a Medical Assistant School near Ashland Massachusetts

Ashland MA medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have decided to enter the rewarding profession of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Ashland MA, it’s time to select a school that will furnish the appropriate training. But just how do you go about evaluating and comparing schools so that you ultimately enroll in the right one? Most prospective students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences and then lean toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are important factors also. You might choose to take a look at some online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a program you need to complete your due diligence and compare all important aspects of the colleges you are assessing. And to assist you with that process, we have provided some 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 role of a medical assistant and the type of training and credentials that are available.

The Job of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Ashland MA nursing home patient The duties of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Primarily their function is ensure that the Ashland MA clinics, hospitals and other medical care centers where they work run efficiently. Based on the size or type of facility, they can be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are tasked with providing direct assistance to the nurses, doctors and other medical practitioners but can also be found working at the front desk or in an office. A few of the potential responsibilities of a medical assistant include:

Completing insurance forms and submitting claims
Setting and verifying appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Collecting blood and other fluid and tissue samples
Preparing rooms and instruments for doctors
Providing basic support during exams and procedures

While medical assistants can carry out almost any activity they are qualified to under Massachusetts law, some elect to specialize in a particular area and attain certification. Two of the choices offered are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Training

In contrast to most other healthcare professionals, medical assistants are not mandated to become certified, licensed, or to have a college degree. However, many Ashland MA health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (more on accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are basically 2 choices offered for a formal education. The first and fastest path to becoming a medical assistant is to acquire a certificate or diploma. These programs generally take about one year to complete, a few as little as 6 to 9 months. They are developed to teach the basics of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to acquire an Associate Degree, which are typically 2 year programs provided at community and junior colleges as well as technical and vocational schools. They are more extensive in nature than the certificate or diploma programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They usually have a clinical component involving an internship with a local healthcare practice. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied to a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.

Online Medical Assistant Classes

woman attending medical assistant school online in Ashland MA There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs offered online as well. They are a good alternative for individuals who might not have the time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if accessible at home. This is a particularly good option for students who continue working full time while earning their degree or certificate. 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 can be minimized also. Just remember that any requirements for practical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can typically be performed in Ashland MA area healthcare facilities. If you can earn a degree without the formal structure of going to supervised classes on campus, then this mode of receiving your education might be the right choice for you. Between the online lessons and the practical training, everything necessary to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As earlier stated, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent choice for graduates who want to advance their careers. It will not only help in securing a job after graduation, but it may also help with initial salary negotiations. A number of possible Ashland MA medical employers simply will not employ a medical assistant that has not obtained certification or accredited formal training. The most popular and possibly the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to sit for the CMA examination, a candidate must be a graduate or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are available as well, such as the CMAA and the CCMA that we discussed earlier which are provided by the NHA.

What to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Ashland MA medical assistant programs Prior to assessing your medical assistant school options, you must choose which kind of credential you want to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online from home. As soon as those choices have been made, you can begin the procedure of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some prospective students confine their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Ashland MA with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional factors that you must explore when assessing schools. To help you with that task, following are a few questions that you should ask about all of the programs you are thinking about before making your final choice.

Is the Medical Assistant College Accredited? There are several great reasons to confirm that the school you choose is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps ensure that the instruction you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you must complete an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged organizations for accreditation are the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). If your program is not accredited by one of these agencies, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you anticipate obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And finally, as mentioned previously, a number of prospective Ashland MA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the School’s Passing Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, you need to find out which of the certifications the schools you are reviewing are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will want to select 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 one of the methods to help evaluate the quality of a college’s program. Of course programs with low rates are those that you will want to eliminate.

Which Programs are Available? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two routes to obtaining medical assistant training. You can select a certificate or diploma program and receive entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is closer to one year. Or you can elect to earn an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will take approximately 2 years to finish in a community college or trade school. Whichever program you elect to pursue, make sure that the colleges you are considering offer the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Offered? Numerous medical assistant schools offer internship programs with Ashland MA area medical providers. They are an excellent means to receive hands-on clinical experience and training. They can also help students establish relationships within the Ashland healthcare community. And as an additional perk, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Assistance Offered? Finding that very first job can be a challenging task for medical assistant school graduates unless they receive some assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the colleges you are interviewing offer job placement assistance in the Ashland MA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a school has a high job placement rate for its students, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also signifies that it has a broad network of employers to help place students in positions.

How Large are the Classrooms? Class size may be an indicator of how much personal instruction you will get during your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer greater access to instructors and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to monitor a couple of classes before enrolling in a school to witness what the teaching environment is like and how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue working on a full time basis, it’s essential that the school you choose provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to attend classes at night or on weekends near Ashland MA, confirm that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in more conveniently with an online school, but you will also have to schedule any internships or practical training that may be required. Also, find out what the policy is for making up classes that you may have to miss because of illness, work or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Ashland Massachusetts?

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

Ashland, Massachusetts

The area now known as Ashland was settled in the early 18th century and inhabited prior to that by the Megunko Native Americans, to which Megunko Hill owes its name. Previously known as "Unionville," Ashland was incorporated in 1846, bearing the name of statesman Henry Clay's Kentucky estate. It is considerably younger than many of the surrounding towns, as Ashland's territory was taken in near-equal parts from the previously established towns of Hopkinton, Holliston, and Framingham.

The construction of the Boston & Worcester Railroad, later the Boston & Albany, in the 1830s was key to the early development of the town. Decades later, two other rail lines opened stations in Ashland. Along with the Sudbury River, the railroad helped to attract numerous mills to develop a bustling boot and shoe industry. However, by constructing three reservoirs along the river in 1878, the Boston Water Board inadvertently stymied further growth, most notably by halting the construction of the Dwight Printing Company's granite mills.[3] Although the mills closed, starting in the 1890s the Hopkinton Railroad Company, providing a connection to Milford, and the Natick Street Railway, which operated streetcars between the towns of Sherborn, Framingham, and Natick, offered service in Ashland.[4] These rail lines were gone by the 1920s, rendered obsolete by automobiles.[4]

Around the same time that the local rail lines were in decline, the inventor Henry E. Warren developed the Warren Synchronizing Timer in 1916, which made synchronous electric clocks possible by keeping alternating current flowing from power plants at a consistent sixty cycles per second.[5] Warren founded Telechron, which, in partnership with General Electric, manufactured electric clocks in Ashland until 1979.[6] A Warren Synchronizing Timer is on display at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in Washington D.C.,[7] and the Ashland High School sports teams are coined "The Clockers."

Choose the Best Medical Assistant Program Ashland MA

Ashland MA medical assistant student It’s important to start your new career on the right foot by enrolling in a medical assistant program that will provide the proper training. Regardless if you’re goal is to launch a career in medical care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your lifetime career, you need to obtain the right information on available programs before making your decision. There are such a large number of colleges providing training nowadays that you can make a decision based on your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have covered in this article, make sure that the program you decide on is accredited by a recognized organization, such as the CAAHEP. This is especially critical if you intend on taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Clinical Medical Assistant Certificate Program. But irrespective of the kind of credential that you intend to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an on-campus or online school, be sure to ask the questions we have provided in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the best program you can subsequently begin a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Ashland MA.