Ophthalmic Medical Assistant Concord NC - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant School near Concord North Carolina

Concord NC medical assistant checking pulse Once you have made a decision to become a part of the rewarding profession of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Concord NC, it’s time to choose a school that will provide the right training. But just how do you undertake evaluating and comparing colleges so that you subsequently pick the ideal one? A number of future students start by checking out the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their homes and then gravitate toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While location and cost are very important, such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are critical factors also. You might want to take a look at some online medical assistant programs as an option as well (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a program you need to carry out your due diligence and compare all relevant qualifications of the schools you are reviewing. And to help you with that task, we have provided some questions that you need to ask each of the colleges on your short list. But before we start that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the kind of credentials and training that are available.

The Job of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Concord NC nursing home patient The role of a medical assistant can be varied as well as challenging. Basically their duty is to make sure that the Concord NC clinics, hospitals and other medical care centers where they work operate efficiently. Based on the type or size of facility, they may be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are tasked with providing direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other health professionals but can also be found working at the front desk or in an office. Some of the potential responsibilities of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and filing claims
Scheduling and confirming appointments
Taking vital signs and weighing patients
Taking blood and other fluid and tissue samples
Preparing rooms and instruments for doctors
Providing basic support during exams and procedures

Even though medical assistants may carry out almost any activity they are qualified to under North Carolina law, some choose to specialize in a particular area and attain certification. Two of the options offered are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) provided by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Training Programs

In contrast to many other medical practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become certified, licensed, or to obtain a college degree. However, a number of Concord NC 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 essentially two choices offered for a formal education. The first and quickest route to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a diploma or a certificate. These programs usually take about 1 year to finish, a few as little as six to nine months. They are designed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to earn an Associate Degree, which are usually 2 year programs available at community and junior colleges together with vocational and technical schools. They are more comprehensive in nature than the diploma or certificate programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They often have a clinical component involving an internship with a local healthcare practice. Associate Degrees are often a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.

Online Medical Assistant Programs

woman attending medical assistant school online in Concord NC There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs offered online as well. They are a good choice for those who may not have time to attend classes on campus but could work them in if accessible at home. This is an especially good option for students who continue to work full-time while attaining their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, some online programs have lower tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental expenses including those for commuting, textbooks and school supplies can be lessened as well. Just remember that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can usually be carried out in Concord NC area medical facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this approach to getting your training may be the right choice for you. Between the online courses and the clinical training, everything needed to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As previously mentioned, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent option for graduates who wish to advance their careers. Not only will it help in obtaining employment after graduation, but it can also enhance initial salary negotiations. Many potential Concord NC medical employers just will not employ a medical assistant that has not received certification or accredited formal training. Among the most popular and perhaps the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to apply for the CMA exam, a candidate must be a graduate or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available also, including the CMAA and the CCMA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Programs

Questions to ask Concord NC medical assistant programs Prior to evaluating your medical assistant school alternatives, you have to determine which kind of credential you would like to earn, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online at home. As soon as those choices have been made, you can begin the procedure of researching medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, some potential students confine their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Concord NC with the lowest tuition. Although location and cost are important qualifications, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional factors that you should look at when researching programs. To help you with that process, below are a few questions that you need to ask about each of the schools you are considering before making your ultimate selection.

Is the Medical Assistant College Accredited? There are many great reasons to verify that the school you choose is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps ensure that the education you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you intend to become certified, you need to complete 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 qualified to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, a number of potential Concord NC employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.

What is the Program’s Passing Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools design their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To begin with, you need to learn which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for example, then naturally you will need to enroll in a program focused on that certification. Second, learn what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. This is just one of the means to help evaluate the quality of a college’s program. Of course schools with lower rates are ones that you will want to avoid.

Which Programs are Provided? As we covered earlier, there are generally two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can select a diploma or certificate program and obtain entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however 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 accomplish in a community college or vocational school. Whichever program you elect to enroll in, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Offered? Numerous medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with Concord NC area health care providers. They are a great method to obtain hands-on practical training and experience. They can also assist students develop relationships within the Concord healthcare community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Help Supplied? Landing that first job may be a challenging task for graduating medical assistant students unless they receive some help from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are researching offer job placement assistance in the Concord NC area and ask what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its students, it affirms that it has an excellent reputation within the medical community. It also signifies 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 individual instruction you will receive throughout your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide increased access to instructors and face to face interaction. If practical, try to monitor a few classes before selecting a school 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 school while you continue to work full-time, it’s essential that the program you choose provides classes that fit your schedule. If you have to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Concord NC, make certain that those times are available. You may be able to fit your classes in more conveniently with an online program, but you will also have to schedule all clinical training or internships that might be required. Also, find out 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 Concord North Carolina?

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

Concord, North Carolina

Concord (/ˈkɒn.kord/) is a city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 79,066,[4] with an estimated population in 2016 of 89,891.[5] It is the county seat and the largest city in Cabarrus County.[6] In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second-largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area and is the eleventh largest city in North Carolina.[7]

Concord, located in today's rapidly growing northeast quadrant of the Charlotte metropolitan area, was first settled about 1750 by German and Scots-Irish immigrants. The name Concord means with harmony. This name was chosen after a lengthy dispute over where the county seat should be located between the German Lutherans and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.[citation needed] By United States standards, Concord is considered an old town, as it was incorporated in 1806. Today, markers identifying the original town limits can be seen in the downtown area.

As county seat, Concord became a center of trade and retail for the cotton-producing region, especially on court days. The downtown would be crowded with farmers and townfolk, in addition to lawyers and their clients. During the antebellum era, wealth was built by planters through the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop; the work was done by enslaved African Americans.

Select the Ideal Medical Assistant School Concord NC

Concord NC medical assistant student It’s important to begin your new career on the right foot by picking a medical assistant program that will provide the right training. Regardless if you’re objective is to launch a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you must obtain the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your decision. There are such a large number of schools providing training these days that you can make a decision based on your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have discussed in this article, make sure that the program you choose is accredited by an acknowledged organization, 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 Ophthalmic Medical Assistant. 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, be sure to ask the questions we have provided so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the best program you can subsequently start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Concord NC.