How Long Are Medical Assistant Courses Ambler PA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Enroll In a Medical Assistant Training School near Ambler Pennsylvania

Ambler PA medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to enter the rewarding profession of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Ambler PA, it’s time to select a college that will provide the right training. But just how do you approach evaluating and comparing colleges so that you ultimately pick the best one? Most prospective students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences and then gravitate toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While location and cost are very important, such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are important factors also. You might want to look into several online medical assistant programs as an option as well (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a program you must complete your due diligence and compare all relevant qualifications of the colleges you are assessing. And to assist you with that process, we have furnished several 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 type of credentials and training that are offered.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Ambler PA nursing home patient The duties of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Primarily their role is ensure that the Ambler PA hospitals, clinics and other healthcare institutions 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 tasked with giving direct support to the physicians, nurses and other medical practitioners but may also be found performing duties at the front desk or in an office. A few of the potential duties of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and submitting claims
Setting and confirming appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Collecting blood and other fluid and tissue samples
Preparing instruments and rooms for doctors
Giving general support during exams and procedures

Although medical assistants can carry out almost any activity they are qualified to under Pennsylvania law, some choose to specialize in a particular area and attain certification. Two of the options 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 Programs

In contrast to many other medical practitioners, medical assistants are not mandated to become licensed, certified, or to earn a college degree. However, a number of Ambler PA health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are generally 2 choices available for a formal education. The first and shortest way to becoming a medical assistant is to acquire a certificate or diploma. These programs generally take about one year to finish, some as little as six to nine months. They are created to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to earn an Associate Degree, which are typically 2 year programs offered at junior and community colleges as well as technical and vocational schools. They are more extensive in nature than the certificate or diploma programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They usually 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 related field.

Medical Assistant Online Programs

woman attending medical assistant school online in Ambler PA There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs offered online also. They are a good 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 choice for students who continue working full time while pursuing their degree or certificate. As an additional benefit, a number of online programs have lower tuitions than the more conventional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental expenses such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies may be lessened as well. Just keep in mind that all requirements for practical training or internships must still be met, but they can often be completed in Ambler PA area medical facilities. If you can earn a degree without the rigid structure of going to supervised classes on-campus, then this method of receiving your education might be the best choice for you. With the online classes and the practical training, everything necessary to attain proficiency to perform as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As earlier stated, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is a good idea for those who want to advance their careers. Not only will it help in obtaining a job after graduation, but it can also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. A number of potential Ambler PA medical employers just will not employ a medical assistant that has not received 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 exam, an applicant must have graduated or will be graduating within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are available as well, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are provided by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Programs

Questions to ask Ambler PA medical assistant programs Before you can start examining your medical assistant school options, you must choose which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you would prefer attending classes on campus or online at home. Once those selections have been made, you can begin the procedure of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, many students limit their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Ambler PA with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional factors that you need to examine when assessing schools. To assist you with that task, following are some questions that you should ask about all of the programs you are considering before making your ultimate selection.

Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are many great reasons to verify that the school you select is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps guarantee that the education you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you plan on becoming certified, you need to complete an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged 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 allowed to take the CMA examination. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, many potential Ambler PA employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the Program’s Passage Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges design their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification exams. First, you must find out which of the certifications the colleges you are reviewing are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will want to select a program targeting that certification. Second, find out what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. Doing this is just one of the means to help evaluate the quality of a college’s program. Naturally programs with lower rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Available? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two routes to getting 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 closer to one year. Or you can opt to obtain an Associate Degree and get a broader education that will require approximately 2 years to complete in a junior college or vocational school. Whatever program you decide to pursue, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer the type of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? A large number of medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Ambler PA area healthcare providers. They are a great way to obtain hands-on practical training and experience. They may also help students develop relationships within the Ambler medical community. And as an additional benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Service Provided? Getting that first job can be a challenging undertaking for graduating medical assistant students unless they have some assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are interviewing provide job placement assistance in the Ambler PA 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 large network of contacts to help place students in jobs.

How Big are the Classes? Class size may be an indicator of how much personal instruction you will get during your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide greater access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to attend a couple of classes before selecting a school to see what the teaching environment is like and how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue working full time, it’s important that the school you select offers classes that fit your schedule. If you have to attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Ambler PA, 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 need to schedule all internships or clinical training that might be required. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up classes that you may have to miss due to work, illness or family responsibilities.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Ambler Pennsylvania?

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

Ambler, Pennsylvania

The historical territory of the Lenni Lenape was in the Delaware River Valley, in an area reaching from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, northward towards the lower Hudson Valley in southern New York. The area towards the south, including what is now Philadelphia and nearby Ambler, was the home of a linguistic group called the Unami.[4] According to tradition, the Lenape established a peace treaty in with Quaker William Penn in the 1680s.[5]

William and George Harmer are listed among the Quakers who emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1682.[6] In 1716, William and George Harmer purchased a 408-acre tract from William Penn, an area including most of what now is Ambler Borough.[7] They are credited as the first landholders to actually settle in the area.[8] William Harmer built a grist mill powered by the Wissahickon Creek, "the first commercial venture in the Ambler area".[9] He also built a stone dwelling with casement windows and diamond shaped leaded glass, near what is now the intersection of Butler Pike and Morris Road. After his death in 1731, the house, mill, and property were sold to Morris Morris and his wife Susanna Heath Morris.[9]

Residents sought permission from the Crown to build roads in the area. The first road built in Ambler, now known as Mt. Pleasant Avenue, was confirmed in 1730. It went from Harmer's Mill to the North Wales Road (now Bethlehem Pike).[7] Butler Pike was created in 1739, and went through the town, which was known at that time as the Village of Wissahickon, after the Wissahickon Creek.[10]:7

Enroll in the Right Medical Assistant Training Ambler PA

Ambler PA medical assistant student It’s important to begin your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant college that will furnish the appropriate training. Regardless if you’re planning to launch a career in medical care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your lifetime career, you must obtain the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your decision. There are such a large number of colleges offering training these days that you can make a selection based on your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have covered in this article, verify that the program you select is accredited by a recognized agency, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly important if you intend on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in How Long Are Medical Assistant Courses. But irrespective of the kind of credential that you intend to earn or if you have decided to attend either an on-campus or online school, make sure to ask the questions we have provided in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the right program you can subsequently begin a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Ambler PA.