How to Choose a Medical Assistant School near Elkland Pennsylvania
Now that you have decided to join the gratifying field of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Elkland PA, it’s time to choose a college that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you go about evaluating and comparing schools so that you ultimately pick the ideal one? A number of prospective students begin by researching the medical assistant schools that are closest to their residences and then lean toward those that have the lowest tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are critical factors as well. You might decide to research several online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more on that later). The main point is that before you select a college you need to finish your due diligence and compare all relevant aspects of the colleges you are assessing. And to help you with that task, we have provided a few questions that you should ask each of the colleges on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s talk a little bit about the role of a medical assistant and the type of credentials and training that are available.
The Role of Medical Assistants
The role of a medical assistant can be varied as well as challenging. Basically their job is ensure that the Elkland PA clinics, hospitals and other healthcare facilities where they work run efficiently. Depending on the size or type of facility, they can be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are tasked with providing direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other medical professionals but may also be found performing duties at the front desk or in an office. Some of the many responsibilities of a medical assistant include:
- Filling out insurance forms and submitting claims
- Setting and verifying appointments
- Taking vital signs and weighing patients
- Collecting blood and other fluid and tissue specimens
- Preparing rooms and instruments for doctors
- Providing basic support during exams and procedures
While medical assistants can perform almost any activity they are authorized to under Pennsylvania law, some prefer to specialize in a particular 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 Education
Compared to many other medical professionals, medical assistants are not required to become certified, licensed, or to have a college degree. However, a number of Elkland PA health care employers choose to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are basically 2 options provided for a formal education. The first and shortest path to becoming a medical assistant is to obtain a diploma or a certificate. These programs usually take about 1 year to complete, a few as little as six to nine months. They are designed to teach the basics of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to earn an Associate Degree, which are typically two year programs provided at junior and community colleges together with vocational and technical schools. They are more extensive in design than the diploma or certificate programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They usually have a practical element involving an internship with a local healthcare facility. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.
Medical Assistant Online Classes
There are many accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are a good option for individuals who may not have time to attend classes on campus but could fit them in if attended at home. This is an especially good alternative for students who continue working full-time while attaining their degree or certificate. As an added benefit, a number of online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on campus alternatives. Supplemental costs such as for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be reduced as well. Just remember that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be met, but they can usually be carried out in Elkland PA area medical care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on campus, then this approach to receiving your education might be the ideal choice for you. Between the online lessons and the clinical training, everything necessary 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 choice for those who want to boost their careers. Not only will it help in securing a job after graduation, but it can also enhance initial salary negotiations. Many possible Elkland PA medical employers simply will not employ a medical assistant that has not obtained accredited formal training or certification. The most popular and arguably the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to sit for the CMA exam, an applicant must be a graduate or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available as well, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.
Points to Ask Medical Assistant Schools
Before you can start evaluating your medical assistant school alternatives, 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 choices have been made, you can begin the process of comparing medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the beginning of this article, many prospective students confine their searches to the schools that are nearest to Elkland PA with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you need to explore when evaluating schools. 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 ultimate selection.
Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are many great reasons to confirm that the program you choose is accredited. First, 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 complete an accredited program. Two of the approved agencies 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 allowed to take the CMA exam. Also, if you plan on obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, a number of prospective Elkland PA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.
What is the Program’s Passage Percentage? The majority of accredited medical assistant colleges design their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you need to learn which of the certifications the programs you are reviewing are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for example, then naturally you will need to choose a program focused on that certification. Second, ask what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is just one of the means to help assess the quality of a college’s program. Naturally programs with lower rates are those that you will prefer to eliminate.
Which Credentials are Provided? As we previously covered, there are essentially two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can enroll in a diploma or certificate program and obtain entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is closer to one year. Or you can elect to obtain an Associate Degree and receive a broader education that will require about two years to finish in a community college or trade school. Whatever program you elect to pursue, make sure that the schools you are looking at offer the kind of program you have an interest in.
Are Internships Sponsored? Numerous medical assistant programs sponsor internship programs with Elkland PA area healthcare providers. They are an excellent way to get hands-on clinical experience and training. They can also assist students build relationships within the Elkland health care community. And as an added perk, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.
Is Job Placement Service Offered? Landing that first job may be a daunting undertaking for medical assistant school graduates unless they obtain a little assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are researching offer job placement assistance in the Elkland PA area and find out what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its students, it affirms that it has a good reputation within the health care community. It also signifies that it has a wide network of contacts to help place students in jobs.
How Large are the Classrooms? Class size can be an indication of how much individual attention you will receive during your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more prone to offer increased access to instructors and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to sit in on a few classes before selecting a school to witness what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students receive.
Is Class Scheduling Accessible? If you plan on attending a medical assistant school while you continue working full-time, it’s imperative that the college you select offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Elkland PA, verify that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in easier with an online college, but you will still need to schedule any clinical training or internships that may be required. Also, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to illness, work or family issues.
Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Elkland Pennsylvania?
If you are considering attending a medical assistant school in the Elkland PA area, following is some background information that may be both interesting and useful regarding your future campus location.
Elkland, Pennsylvania
In 1814 the township of Elkland, was organized. Its territory, taken from Delmar Township, extended along the New York state line from the ninety-third to the one hundred and fourth mile-stone—a distance of eleven miles (18 km). It extended north and south a distance of ten miles (16 km) and embraced within its boundaries the present borough of Elkland and townships of Nelson, Osceola, all of Farmington, and parts of Lawrence, Deerfield, and Middlebury townships. In December 1816, a part of the township of Lawrence was taken from it, and in September 1822, another portion of its territory went to Middlebury township. In February 1830, the territory of the township of Farmington was taken from it. Those several reductions confined it to a narrow strip, about eight miles (13 km) long, from east to west, by two and three-fourths miles wide, from north to south. By an act of the legislature, approved April 10, 1849, its territory was still further reduced by the creation of the borough of Elkland, to which, from time to time, additions have been made. In January 1857, all that part of the township not embraced in Elkland borough limits, lying west of a line extending through the center of that borough, from north to south, was erected into the township of Osceola, and in December 1857, all lying east of the same line became the township of Nelson, and Elkland township passed out of existence. By the subsequent extension of the Elkland borough limits south of the Cowanesque river, the townships of Osceola and Nelson both suffered material reductions of area. There is still left, however, a narrow strip between the southern boundary of Elkland and the northern boundary Farmington township, the western half of which belongs to Osceola Township, and the eastern half to the township of Nelson. Some years ago a movement was afoot to annex this strip to Elkland borough and thus give it and Osceola and Nelson townships more symmetrical boundaries, but for some reason the annexation was not made.
A man named Baker Pierce, who died in 1815, and whose remains were buried in the old pioneer graveyard at Osceola, appears to have been the first settler within the boundaries of Elkland borough. Just when he settled or how long he remained cannot now be ascertained, but it must have been during the earlier years of the first decade of the present century. The next to settle was the Taylor family, who located at Barney Hill. The family consisted of Mrs. Permelia Taylor and her three sons, Ebenezer, Philip and Mitchell, who emigrated from the Delaware Water Gap, New Jersey, to the Wyoming valley, thence to Pipe Creek, below Owego, from which place, in 1806, they came to the Cowanesque valley. Ebenezer and Philip soon afterward removed to Osceola. The latter, his mother and his brother, Mitchell, all died before 1815, and were buried at Barney Hill. In 1882, their resting place being disturbed by the building of the Addison and Pennsylvania railroad, Capt. Charles R. Taylor and Charles Tubbs—descendants in the fourth generation of Mrs. Permelia Taylor—removed their remains to the cemetery at Osceola.
It appears that William Courtright acquired title to the land first bought and settled on by Philip Taylor, which, in 1814, he conveyed to Lintsford Coates. The Coates family came early, as early, so it has been stated, as 1806. In 1808, however, Timothy Coates Sr. acquired the title to 170 acres (0.69 km2) of land, situated between the lands of Cyprian Wright and those of Amasa Culver, and covered by warrant No. 233 within the limits of what is now Nelson borough, and later he and his son, Lintsford, bought land and became residents of Elkland. The exact year is, however, difficult to ascertain. Daniel Holiday was here previous to 1810, in which year his son, Daniel, now a resident of Holidaytown, Middlebury township, was born.
Pick the Best Medical Assistant Program Elkland PA
It’s important to start your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant school that will furnish the right training. Regardless if you’re objective is to launch a career in healthcare starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you must acquire the right information on available programs before making your decision. There are such a large number of schools offering training these days that you can make a selection based on your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have covered in this article, verify that the program you decide on is accredited by a recognized organization, such as the CAAHEP. This is especially important if you plan on taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Best Colleges For Medical Assistant. But regardless of the type of credential that you plan to earn or if you have decided to attend either an on-campus or online school, be sure to ask the questions we have provided in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the best program you can ultimately start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Elkland PA.
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