Medical Assistant Online Belmont NC - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant Program near Belmont North Carolina

Belmont NC medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to enter the gratifying field of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Belmont NC, it’s time to choose a school that will provide the right training. But just how do you approach evaluating and comparing colleges so that you subsequently enroll in the right one? Most future students begin by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences and then gravitate toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are critical issues as well. You may want to look into some online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more about that later). The bottom line is that before you select a program you must complete your due diligence and compare all relevant qualifications of the schools you are assessing. And to help you with that task, we have furnished several questions that you should ask all of the schools on your short list. But before we start that review, let’s talk a little bit about the role of a medical assistant and the kind of credentials and training that are offered.

The Job of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Belmont NC nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be varied as well as challenging. Primarily their duty is to make sure that the Belmont NC hospitals, clinics and other healthcare institutions where they work run efficiently. Based on the type or size of facility, they can be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller facilities both. They are responsible for providing direct assistance to the nurses, doctors and other health practitioners but may also be found working in an office or at the front desk. Some of the many duties of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and filing claims
Setting and confirming appointments
Taking vital signs and weighing patients
Collecting blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
Preparing instruments and rooms for doctors
Giving basic support during examinations and procedures

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

Medical Assistant Education

Compared to many other medical practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become licensed, certified, or to have a college degree. However, a number of Belmont NC health care employers would rather hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are basically 2 choices available for a formal education. The first and fastest way to becoming a medical assistant is to obtain a certificate or diploma. These programs generally take about one year to complete, some as little as 6 to 9 months. They are designed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to acquire an Associate Degree, which are usually two year programs provided at community and junior colleges as well as trade 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 training. They often have a clinical element involving an internship with a local medical practice. Associate Degrees are commonly a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.

Medical Assistant Online Schools

woman attending medical assistant school online in Belmont NC There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs available online as well. They are an excellent option for students who may not have time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if attended at home. This is a particularly good alternative for students who continue working full time while earning their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, many online schools have lower tuitions than the more conventional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental costs including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be minimized as well. But keep in mind that any requirements for practical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can usually be completed in Belmont NC area medical care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the formal structure of going to supervised classes on campus, then this approach to getting your education may be the ideal choice for you. Between the online classes and the practical training, everything needed to achieve proficiency to perform as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent idea for individuals who wish to advance their careers. It will not only help in securing employment after graduation, but it can also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. Many possible Belmont NC medical employers simply will not employ a medical assistant that has not obtained certification or accredited formal training. One of the most popular and possibly the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to apply for the CMA examination, a candidate must have graduated or will be graduating within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are available also, for instance the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

What to Ask Medical Assistant Programs

Questions to ask Belmont NC medical assistant programs Before you can start examining your medical assistant school options, you have to choose which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online at home. After those choices have been made, you can begin the process of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, some prospective students limit their searches to the schools that are nearest to Belmont NC with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are important qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you must examine when researching programs. To help you with that task, following are a few questions that you need to ask about each of the schools you are thinking about before making your final choice.

Is the Medical Assistant School Accredited? There are a number of great reasons to confirm that the program you enroll in is accredited. To begin 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 enroll in an accredited program. Two of the approved 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 either of these agencies, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial aid, they are often not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of potential Belmont NC employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the Program’s Passing Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant colleges design their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. To begin with, you need to determine which of the certifications the schools you are reviewing are preparing their students to take. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then naturally you will want to select a program targeting that certification. Next, learn what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is just one of the methods to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Of course programs with low rates are ones that you will want to avoid.

Which Credentials are Provided? As we previously covered, there are generally two routes to getting medical assistant training. You can choose a certificate or diploma program and receive entry level training in the fastest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can decide to obtain an Associate Degree and receive a broader education that will require approximately two years to accomplish in a community college or vocational school. Whatever program you choose to enroll in, verify that the schools you are considering offer the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Sponsored? A large number of medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Belmont NC area health care providers. They are a great way to get hands-on practical training and experience. They may also help students develop relationships within the Belmont healthcare community. And as an additional perk, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Service Supplied? Finding that initial job can 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 interviewing offer job placement assistance in the Belmont NC area and ask what their placement rate is. If a college has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has an excellent reputation within the healthcare community. It also signifies that it has a wide network of contacts to help place students in positions.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size might be an indication of how much individual instruction you will get throughout your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to furnish increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If practical, try to monitor a couple of classes before enrolling in a school to observe what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue to work full-time, it’s important that the program you choose provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Belmont NC, make certain that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will also have to schedule any internships or clinical training that will be required. Additionally, find out what the policy is for making up classes that you may have to miss due to work, illness or family issues.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Belmont North Carolina?

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

Belmont Abbey College

Belmont Abbey College is a private liberal-arts Catholic college located in Belmont, North Carolina, United States, about 15 miles (24 km) west of Uptown Charlotte. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The school is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.

Belmont Abbey College was founded in 1876 as St. Mary's College by Benedictine monks from Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania. Father Jeremiah O'Connell purchased Caldwell farm and donated the land to the Benedictines, hoping the community would found a Catholic educational institution in the Carolinas.[5] On April 21, 1876, Father Herman Wolfe, from St. Vincent's, arrived with two students to take possession of the property and begin classes. In 1878, the college held its first commencement exercises. Katharine Drexel, a benefactor of the monastery and college, visited Belmont Abbey in 1904. The present name of the college was adopted in 1913. In 1967 John Oetgen, college president and Benedictine priest, conferred an honorary degree on the Protestant evangelist Billy Graham, marking what was at the time seen as a bold ecumenical gesture.[6] Originally a college for young men, Belmont Abbey became a coeducational institution in 1972.[7] In 1987, Sacred Heart College for women merged with the Abbey, and its campus began to host a variety of Abbey classes and programs.[8]

The Belmont Abbey Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.[3] It encompasses 14 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites, 1 contributing structure, and 1 contributing object (a statue of Saint Benedict (1924)). It includes at its heart the separately listed Belmont Abbey Cathedral. Other contributing buildings include the Brothers' Building (1893, 1897, 1904), Old Science (1893), Jubilee Hall (1897), The Monastery (1880, 1891, and 1894), the College Building (or Stowe Hall, 1886, 1888, 1898), Saint Leo Hall (1907), and The Haid (1929).[9]

Pick the Best Medical Assistant College Belmont NC

Belmont NC medical assistant student It’s important to start your new career on the right foot by picking a medical assistant school that will provide the appropriate training. Whether 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 need to acquire the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your selection. There are so many schools offering training these days that you can make a decision based upon your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have addressed in this article, make sure that the program you pick is accredited by an acknowledged agency, such as 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 Medical Assistant Online. But regardless of the kind of credential that you intend 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 supplied so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the best program you can subsequently begin a fulfilling career as a medical assistant in Belmont NC.