What Can A Medical Assistant Do East Bridgewater MA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant School near East Bridgewater Massachusetts

East Bridgewater MA medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to join the gratifying profession of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near East Bridgewater MA, it’s time to select a school that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you undertake comparing and evaluating colleges so that you ultimately pick the right one? Most prospective students begin by checking out the medical assistant schools that are closest to their homes and then lean toward those that have the lowest tuition. While location and cost are very important, such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are critical factors also. You may choose to look into several online medical assistant programs as an option also (more on that later). The bottom line is that before you select a college you must complete your due diligence and compare all pertinent aspects of the colleges you are examining. And to help you with that task, we have furnished several questions that you should ask each of the colleges on your short list. But before we start that review, let’s briefly talk about the role of a medical assistant and the kind of training and credentials that are offered.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with East Bridgewater MA nursing home patient The job of a medical assistant can be varied as well as demanding. Basically their job is ensure that the East Bridgewater MA hospitals, clinics and other medical care facilities where they work operate successfully. Based 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 responsible for providing direct assistance to the nurses, doctors and other health practitioners but can also be found working in an office or at the front desk. A few of the many duties of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and filing claims
Scheduling and verifying appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Collecting blood and other tissue and fluid samples
Preparing instruments and rooms for doctors
Providing basic support during examinations and procedures

Even though medical assistants can carry out almost any task they are authorized to under Massachusetts law, some opt to specialize in a particular area and earn certification. Two of the options 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 Education

Compared to many other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not mandated to become certified, licensed, or to have a college degree. However, a number of East Bridgewater MA health care employers choose to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are basically 2 options provided for a formal education. The first and shortest way to becoming a medical assistant is to acquire a diploma or a certificate. These programs typically take about a year to complete, a few as little as six to nine months. They are developed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to obtain an Associate Degree, which are normally 2 year programs available at community and junior colleges in addition to technical and vocational schools. They are more comprehensive in nature than the diploma or certificate programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant courses. They often have a practical element requiring an internship with a local healthcare 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 similar field.

Online Medical Assistant Courses

woman attending medical assistant school online in East Bridgewater MA There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs accessible online as well. They are an excellent option for those who may not have the time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if accessible at home. This is an especially good solution for students who continue working full time while earning their degree or certificate. As an added benefit, many online schools have lower tuitions than the more conventional on campus alternatives. Ancillary expenses such as for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be lessened as well. Just keep in mind that all requirements for practical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can often be completed in East Bridgewater MA area medical facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of going to supervised classes on-campus, then this mode of getting your education may be the ideal option for you. With the online classes and the clinical training, everything needed to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As earlier stated, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent idea for those who wish to boost 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 East Bridgewater MA medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not received certification or accredited formal training. Among the most popular and arguably 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 examination, an applicant must have graduated or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available as well, for instance the CMAA and the CCMA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask East Bridgewater MA medical assistant programs Before you can start assessing your medical assistant school alternatives, you must choose which type of credential you want to earn, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online at home. Once those selections have been made, you can start the procedure of comparing medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, a number of potential students confine their searches to the colleges that are closest to East Bridgewater MA with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you should look at when evaluating programs. To help you with that process, following are some questions that you should ask about all of the programs you are considering before making your final choice.

Is the Medical Assistant College Accredited? There are a number of good reasons to make certain that the college you select is accredited. First, 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 accepted 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 either of these agencies, you will not be eligible to take the CMA examination. Also, if you anticipate applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, many potential East Bridgewater MA employers will not employ 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 prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, you must find out which of the certifications the schools you are reviewing are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then of course you will need 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 one of the ways to help assess the quality of a college’s program. Of course schools with lower rates are those that you will want to avoid.

Which Programs are Offered? As we previously covered, there are essentially two paths to getting medical assistant training. You can select a diploma or certificate program and receive entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, although the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can choose to obtain an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will require approximately 2 years to complete in a community college or vocational school. Whichever program you decide to pursue, verify that the schools you are considering provide the type of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Offered? Numerous medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with East Bridgewater MA area health care providers. They are a great means to receive hands-on practical training and experience. They can also assist students develop relationships within the East Bridgewater health care community. And as an additional benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Assistance Supplied? Landing that very first job may be a challenging task for graduating medical assistant students unless they obtain some assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are researching provide job placement assistance in the East Bridgewater MA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a college has a high job placement rate for its students, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the healthcare community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of contacts to help place students in jobs.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size can be an indication of how much personal attention you will receive during your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If possible, try to sit in on a few classes before enrolling in a school to see what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Convenient? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue to work on a full time basis, it’s imperative that the program you enroll in offers classes that fit your schedule. If you need to go to classes at night or on weekends near East Bridgewater MA, make certain that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will also need to schedule all clinical training or internships that will be required. Additionally, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to illness, work or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near East Bridgewater Massachusetts?

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

East Bridgewater, Massachusetts

The lands that would become East Bridgewater were first settled by Europeans in 1630 as an outgrowth of the Plymouth and Duxbury plantations. It was a part of Olde Bridgewater, as the "East Parish" founded in 1723, until it officially separated from Bridgewater and incorporated on June 14, 1823.

The town was located on the northern portion of the Taunton River, and had an economy primarily based on agriculture, though industrial development followed. Iron works in the town provided muskets and cannon for the Colonial armies during the American Revolution. There was more residential development in the late 19th century and early 20th century along the community's rail and trolley lines. The famous bank robber Jack Turner had a brother who owned a home in East Bridgewater during the mid-19th century. It is widely believed that Turner had left his fortune there before he was mistakenly shot by Union agents outside of Richmond, Virginia in 1864. Today, East Bridgewater is mostly known as a residential community.[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.5 square miles (45 km2), of which 17.2 square miles (45 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2), or 1.49%, is water. East Bridgewater ranks 214th of 351 communities in the Commonwealth in terms of land area, and fifteenth of the twenty-seven communities of Plymouth County. The town is bordered by Whitman to the north, Hanson to the east, Halifax to the southeast, Bridgewater to the south, West Bridgewater to the west, and Brockton to the northwest. East Bridgewater's town center is located twenty-seven miles southeast of Boston.

Select the Best Medical Assistant Program East Bridgewater MA

East Bridgewater MA medical assistant student It’s essential to begin your new career on the right foot by choosing a medical assistant school that will furnish the right training. Regardless if you’re objective is to launch a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your life long career, you must acquire the right info on available programs before making your selection. There are such a large number of schools providing training these days that you can make a selection based upon your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have addressed in this article, verify that the program you decide on is accredited by a recognized agency, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly important if you intend on taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in What Can A Medical Assistant Do. But regardless of the kind 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 provided so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the ideal program you can ultimately begin a rewarding career as a medical assistant in East Bridgewater MA.