Colleges That Offer Medical Assistant Degrees Piscataway NJ - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant Program near Piscataway New Jersey

Piscataway NJ medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to become a part of the gratifying field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Piscataway NJ, it’s time to select a school that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you go about comparing and evaluating schools so that you ultimately enroll in the right one? A number of potential students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are closest to their homes and then gravitate toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While cost and location are very important, such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors as well. You may choose to take a look at several online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more on that later). The main point is that prior to selecting a college you must complete your due diligence and compare all important qualifications of the schools you are examining. And to assist you with that task, we have included some questions that you need to ask each of the colleges on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the kind of credentials and training that are offered.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Piscataway NJ nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be varied as well as demanding. Primarily their job is to make sure that the Piscataway NJ hospitals, clinics and other medical care facilities where they work operate successfully. Based on the type or size 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 medical professionals but may also be found working in an office or at the front desk. Some of the potential responsibilities of a medical assistant include:

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

While medical assistants may carry out almost any activity they are qualified to under New Jersey law, some prefer to specialize in a particular area and obtain 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 Education

Compared to many other medical professionals, medical assistants are not mandated to become certified, licensed, or to earn a college degree. However, many Piscataway NJ health care employers choose to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are generally 2 options available for a formal education. The first and quickest path to becoming a medical assistant is to attain a diploma or a certificate. These programs normally take about 1 year to complete, some as little as 6 to 9 months. They are designed to teach the basics of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to obtain an Associate Degree, which are typically 2 year programs offered at junior and community colleges as well as vocational and technical schools. They are more comprehensive in design than the certificate or diploma programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They usually have a clinical component requiring an internship with a local medical 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 similar field.

Medical Assistant Online Classes

woman attending medical assistant school online in Piscataway NJ There are many accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are a good alternative for students who might not have the time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if attended at home. This is an especially good solution for students who continue to work full-time while earning their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, many online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on campus alternatives. Supplemental costs including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies might be lessened also. Just remember that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can typically be completed in Piscataway NJ area health care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the rigid structure of going to supervised classes on campus, then this approach to getting your education may be the right choice for you. With the online lessons and the clinical training, everything needed to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent idea for those who want to boost their careers. It will not only help in securing a job after graduation, but it may also enhance initial salary negotiations. Many possible Piscataway NJ medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not received accredited formal training or certification. The most popular and perhaps the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to sit for the CMA examination, an applicant must have graduated or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are available as well, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are provided by the NHA.

Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Piscataway NJ medical assistant programs Prior to examining your medical assistant school options, you need to choose which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online from home. Once those decisions have been made, you can begin the procedure of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the opening of this article, many potential students restrict their searches to the schools that are closest to Piscataway NJ with the cheapest tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifications, they are by no means the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you must explore when evaluating programs. To help you with that task, below are a few questions that you should ask about all of the programs you are thinking about before making your ultimate choice.

Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are many great reasons to make certain that the college you choose is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps guarantee that the education you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you intend to become certified, you need to 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 school is not accredited by one of these organizations, you will not be qualified to take the CMA exam. Also, if you anticipate obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, many potential Piscataway NJ employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.

What is the School’s Passing Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools create their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, you need to learn 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 obviously you will want to select a program concentrating on that certification. Second, learn what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is just one of the methods to help assess the quality of a college’s program. Obviously programs with low rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Available? As we previously covered, there are generally two paths to acquiring medical assistant training. You can choose a certificate or diploma program and get entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, although the average is about 1 year. Or you can choose to acquire an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will require approximately two years to complete in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you decide to enroll in, make certain that the colleges you are reviewing provide the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? Numerous medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with Piscataway NJ area medical care providers. They are a great method to obtain hands-on practical experience and training. They can also help students build relationships within the Piscataway healthcare community. And as an additional benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Support Provided? Finding that very first job can be a challenging task for medical assistant school graduates unless they receive a little help from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are evaluating offer job placement assistance in the Piscataway NJ area and find out 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 suggests that it has a wide network of employers to help place students in positions.

How Large are the Classrooms? Class size can be an indicator of how much individual instruction you will receive during your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more prone to provide increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If practical, try to monitor a few classes before enrolling in a program to see 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 working full time, it’s important that the school you select provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Piscataway NJ, verify that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online program, but you will also need to schedule any internships or clinical training that might be required. Also, ask what the policy is for making up classes that you may have to miss because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Piscataway New Jersey?

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

Piscataway, New Jersey

Piscataway (/pɪˈskætəweɪ/) is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 56,044,[8][9][10] reflecting an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) from the 50,482 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 3,393 (+7.2%) from the 47,089 counted in 1990.[18]

The name Piscataway may be derived from the area's original Native American residents, transplants from near the Piscataqua River defining the coastal border between New Hampshire and Maine, whose name derives from peske (branch) and tegwe (tidal river),[19] or alternatively from pisgeu (meaning "dark night") and awa ("place of")[20] or from a Lenape language word meaning "great deer"[21] or from words meaning "place of dark night".[22] The area was first settled in 1666 by Quakers and Baptists who had left the Puritan colony in New Hampshire.[21]

Piscataway Township was formed on December 18, 1666, and officially incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships.[23] The community, the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey,[24] has grown from Native American territory, through a colonial period and is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic Ocean seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States. Over the years, portions of Piscataway were taken to form Raritan Township (March 17, 1870, now Edison), Dunellen (October 28, 1887), Middlesex (April 9, 1913) and South Plainfield (March 10, 1926).[23]

Choose the Best Medical Assistant Training Program Piscataway NJ

Piscataway NJ medical assistant student It’s essential to begin your new career on the right foot by picking a medical assistant program that will provide the appropriate training. Whether you’re planning to begin a career in medical care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you need to acquire the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your selection. There are such a large number of colleges offering training nowadays that you can make a selection based upon your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have covered in this article, make certain that the program you select is accredited by a recognized agency, for example the CAAHEP. This is especially important if you anticipate taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Colleges That Offer Medical Assistant Degrees. But irrespective of the type of credential that you intend to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an online or on-campus school, make sure to ask the questions we have supplied so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by selecting the best program you can subsequently begin a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Piscataway NJ.