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How to Pick a Medical Assistant Training Program near Stony Point North Carolina

Stony Point NC medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have decided to become a part of the gratifying profession of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Stony Point NC, it’s time to choose a college that will furnish the right training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating colleges so that you ultimately pick the best one? Many prospective students start by checking out the medical assistant schools that are closest to their residences and then gravitate toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are critical factors also. You might choose to research several online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more about that later). The main point is that prior to selecting a college you must complete your due diligence and compare all relevant qualifications of the colleges you are evaluating. And to help you with that process, we have included several questions that you should ask all of the schools on your short list. But before we start that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the type of training and credentials that are available.

The Job of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Stony Point NC nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be varied as well as demanding. Primarily their function is ensure that the Stony Point NC hospitals, clinics and other healthcare centers where they work operate successfully. Based on the size or type of facility, they may be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller facilities both. They are responsible for giving direct support to the nurses, doctors and other health practitioners but may also be found performing duties in an office or at the front desk. A few of the potential responsibilities of a medical assistant include:

Completing insurance forms and submitting claims
Setting and verifying appointments
Taking vital signs and weighing patients
Collecting blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
Preparing instruments and rooms for physicians
Providing general support during examinations and procedures

Although medical assistants may perform almost any duty they are authorized to under North Carolina law, some elect 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) offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Programs

Unlike most other medical practitioners, medical assistants are not mandated to become licensed, certified, or to have a college degree. However, a number of Stony Point NC health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that are certified. There are basically two options provided for a formal education. The first and shortest way to becoming a medical assistant is to obtain a diploma or a certificate. These programs generally take about one year to complete, a few as little as 6 to 9 months. They are developed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to acquire an Associate Degree, which are normally 2 year programs available at junior and community colleges in addition to vocational and technical 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 usually have a practical component involving an internship with a local medical facility. Associate Degrees are often a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.

Online Medical Assistant Colleges

woman attending medical assistant school online in Stony Point NC There are many accredited medical assistant programs offered online also. They are a good alternative for individuals who may not have time to attend classes on campus but could work them in if attended at home. This is a particularly good choice for students who continue to work full-time while pursuing their certificate or degree. As an additional benefit, some online programs have cheaper tuitions than the more conventional on campus alternatives. Supplemental costs such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies may be minimized also. Just remember that all requirements for practical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can often be carried out in Stony Point NC area medical facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this approach to getting your training might be the ideal option for you. Between the online classes and the practical training, everything necessary to achieve proficiency to perform as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As previously mentioned, certification is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent idea for individuals who want to advance their careers. It will not only help in getting a position after graduation, but it can also help with preliminary salary negotiations. Some possible Stony Point NC medical employers just will not employ a medical assistant that has not attained certification or accredited formal training. Among the most popular and possibly the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to sit for the CMA examination, an applicant must have graduated or will be graduating within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are offered also, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

What to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Stony Point NC medical assistant programs Prior to assessing your medical assistant school options, you must decide which type of credential you want to attain, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online at home. Once those decisions have been made, you can begin the process of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, many students restrict their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Stony Point NC with the most affordable tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional considerations that you should look at when evaluating schools. To assist you with that process, below are some questions that you need to ask about each of the programs you are thinking about before making your final choice.

Is the Medical Assistant School Accredited? There are several great reasons to make certain that the school you select is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps ensure that the instruction you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you intend to become certified, you must enroll in an accredited program. Two of the accepted agencies for accreditation are the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). If your school is not accredited by one of these agencies, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Also, if you anticipate applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are often not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, many prospective Stony Point NC employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the School’s Passage Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to prep students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you must learn which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will want to choose a program focused on that certification. Next, ask what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. This is one of the methods to help evaluate the quality of a college’s program. Obviously schools with low rates are ones that you will want to avoid.

Which Credentials are Available? As we covered earlier, there are generally two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can select a certificate or diploma program and obtain entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is about one year. Or you can elect to acquire an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take about 2 years to complete in a community college or vocational school. Whatever program you choose to enroll in, make sure that the colleges you are considering provide the kind of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Offered? Many medical assistant programs sponsor internship programs with Stony Point NC area medical providers. They are a great means to obtain hands-on clinical training and experience. They may also assist students develop relationships within the Stony Point healthcare community. And as an added benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Service Supplied? Landing that first job can be a challenging task for graduating medical assistant students unless they obtain some assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the colleges you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Stony Point NC area and find out what their placement rate is. If a college has a high job placement rate for its students, it indicates that it has an excellent reputation within the healthcare community. It also signifies that it has a broad network of contacts to help place students in positions.

How Big are the Classes? Class size may be an indication 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 furnish increased access to instructors and face to face interaction. If convenient, try to sit in on a couple of classes before selecting a college to experience what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Convenient? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue working full time, it’s imperative that the college you enroll in provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Stony Point NC, make certain that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in easier with an online college, but you will still have to schedule any internships or practical training that might be required. Additionally, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss because of illness, work or family responsibilities.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Stony Point North Carolina?

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

Stony Point, North Carolina

Stony Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alexander and Iredell counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 1,317 at the 2010 census.[3] It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,380 people, 552 households, and 399 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 462.5 people per square mile (178.8/km²). There were 601 housing units at an average density of 201.4 per square mile (77.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.03% White, 3.77% African American, 0.72% Native American, 2.03% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.19% of the population.

There were 552 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.92.

Enroll in the Best Medical Assistant Program Stony Point NC

Stony Point NC medical assistant student It’s essential to begin your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant school that will provide the proper training. Regardless if you’re objective is to begin a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your life long career, you must get the right information on available programs before making your decision. There are so many colleges providing training nowadays that you can make a selection based upon your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have addressed in this article, make certain that the program you pick 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 Medical Assistant Programs Near Me. But regardless of the type of credential that you intend to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an on-campus or online school, make sure to ask the questions we have supplied in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the right program you can subsequently begin a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Stony Point NC.