Certified Medical Assistant Career Lewisberry PA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Pick a Medical Assistant School Program near Lewisberry Pennsylvania

Lewisberry PA medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to enter the gratifying field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Lewisberry PA, it’s time to choose a college that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you go about evaluating and comparing colleges so that you ultimately pick the best one? A number of future students start by checking out the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their homes and then lean toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are critical issues as well. You might want to research several online medical assistant programs as an option as well (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a college you need to complete your due diligence and compare all relevant qualifications of the colleges you are reviewing. And to help you with that process, we have included some questions that you should ask all of the colleges 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 Role of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Lewisberry PA nursing home patient The job of a medical assistant can be varied as well as demanding. Primarily their function is ensure that the Lewisberry PA hospitals, clinics and other medical care facilities where they work operate efficiently. Based on the size or type of facility, they may be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are responsible for providing direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other health professionals 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:

Completing insurance forms and filing claims
Scheduling and verifying appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Collecting blood and other fluid and tissue samples
Preparing rooms and instruments for physicians
Providing basic support during exams and procedures

Even though medical assistants can perform almost any duty they are authorized to under Pennsylvania law, some choose to specialize in a specific area and earn 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 mandated to become certified, licensed, or to obtain a college degree. However, many Lewisberry PA health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are essentially 2 choices offered for a formal education. The first and shortest route to becoming a medical assistant is to obtain a diploma or a certificate. These programs usually take about a year to complete, some as little as six to nine months. They are developed to teach the basics of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to obtain an Associate Degree, which are usually two year programs provided at junior and community colleges as well as vocational and technical schools. They are more extensive in design than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant courses. They frequently have a practical component requiring an internship with a local medical 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.

Online Medical Assistant Programs

woman attending medical assistant school online in Lewisberry PA There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are an excellent choice for individuals who may not have the time to go to classes on campus but could fit them in if accessible at home. This is an especially good alternative for students who continue to work full-time while pursuing their degree or certificate. As an extra benefit, many online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on-campus options. Supplemental costs such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies might be lessened as well. But bear in mind that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can often be completed in Lewisberry PA area healthcare facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of going to supervised classes on-campus, then this method of getting your training might be the best choice for you. With the online lessons and the clinical training, everything necessary to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent option for those who want to advance their careers. Not only will it help in obtaining a job after graduation, but it might also help with preliminary salary negotiations. Many potential Lewisberry PA medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not obtained accredited formal training or certification. One of the most popular and possibly the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to take the CMA exam, an applicant must have graduated or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are available also, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are provided by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask Lewisberry PA medical assistant programs Before you can start reviewing your medical assistant school options, you need to decide which type of credential you want to earn, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online at home. After those decisions have been made, you can begin the process of comparing medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, a number of prospective students limit their searches to the colleges that are closest to Lewisberry PA with the cheapest tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifications, they are not the only ones. There are several additional considerations that you should explore when evaluating schools. To help you with that process, below are some questions that you should ask about all of the schools you are thinking about before making your ultimate selection.

Is the Medical Assistant School Accredited? There are a number of great reasons to make sure that the program you enroll in is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps guarantee that the training you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you intend to become certified, you need to enroll in an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged 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 organizations, you will not be qualified to take the CMA examination. Also, if you plan on obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of potential Lewisberry PA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.

What is the School’s Passing Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant colleges create their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification exams. First, you must determine which of the certifications the schools you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will need to choose a program focused on that certification. Next, find out what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. This is one of the methods to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Of course programs with lower rates are those that you will prefer to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Provided? As we covered earlier, there are basically two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can choose a diploma or certificate program and get entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, however the average is about 1 year. Or you can decide to earn an Associate Degree and get a broader education that will require approximately 2 years to accomplish in a junior college or vocational school. Whichever program you elect to pursue, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer the type of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Offered? Numerous medical assistant programs sponsor internship programs with Lewisberry PA area health care providers. They are a great way to get hands-on clinical experience and training. They can also help students establish relationships within the Lewisberry health care community. And as an additional benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Support Furnished? Getting that very first job may be a difficult undertaking for medical assistant school graduates unless they have some help from a job placement program. Confirm that the colleges you are researching offer job placement assistance in the Lewisberry PA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a college has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of employers to help place students in positions.

How Large 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 greater access to teachers and face to face interaction. If practical, try to sit in on a couple of classes before enrolling in a school to experience what the teaching environment is like and just how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you plan on attending a medical assistant school while you continue working on a full time basis, it’s imperative that the school you choose provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to go to classes at night or on weekends near Lewisberry PA, verify that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in easier with an online school, but you will also have to schedule all 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 due to work, illness or family issues.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Lewisberry Pennsylvania?

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

Lewisberry, Pennsylvania

The lands in and around the borough of Lewisberry were under control of the Susquehannock people until the first Quaker settlements in the 1730s. These settlements were among the first Quaker settlements in America west of the Susquehanna River. Among the group of original titleholders along the small creek that would become known as Bennett Run were Ellis Lewis, Joseph Bennett, John Rankin, John Heald, and John Hall. At this time, the area that would become York County was still almost entirely populated by the Susquehannock Indians. Yet there are few recorded conflicts between these early settlers and the native population. In this area that would later become majority Pennsylvania German, the first and second waves of settlers were almost entirely English speakers and included the Kirks, Rankins, Huttons, Garetsons, Nebingers, Eppleys, Starrs, Fosters, Clines, Stromingers, Moores, Frankelbergers, Suttons, Wickershams, Prowells, Millers, and Hammonds. While most were Quakers, a significant minority were Anglicans. The Quaker meeting house at the intersection of Old Quaker and Lewisberry roads (PA 382) is the original Quaker meeting house in the area.

The borough's founder, Eli Lewis, was born nearby in 1750, the son of one of the original settlers, Ellis Lewis. On the eve of the American Revolution, Eli opened a store on the site of the current borough. Lewis and members of other prominent families in the area served in the Pennsylvania militia, and Eli rose to the rank of major. Over the course of the war, the town became known for producing guns, and the Committee of Safety for York County contracted with area gunsmiths to supply the Continental Army; guns made in Lewisberry were in use by the US Army as late as the Siege of Veracruz during the Mexican–American War of 1846. Following the Revolutionary War, Lewis' fortune grew (and he eventually owned 850 acres in the area) and his store was the center of commerce in the Redland Valley. In 1798, Issac Kirk surveyed twelve acres of land and laid out lots for Lewis, who wanted a town to exist on the site. While all of the lots were not immediately sold, many were, and the town began a modest growth. Between 1790 and 1798, Major Lewis had lived in Harrisburg, where he took up printing and published the first Harrisburg newspaper, The Advertiser, which was then sold to John Wyeth, who renamed it The Oracle of Dauphin. While living in Harrisburg, Lewis also published the popular poem, "St. Clair's Defeat," which described the defeat of Arthur St. Clair by the tribes of the Western Confederacy during the Battle of the Wabash.

Lewisberry was not incorporated until 1832, fifty years later, and the first census figures of 1840 show a population of 220. In 1800, Henry Ensminger opened a large tannery just south of town that was later owned and operated by Samuel Grove. More significant for the town's growth was John Herman, who built a large flour mill on the west side of the borough. But the town's most successful operator was Andrew Cline, who ran a large and successful milling business during the second half of the 19th century. The mill and house are still standing just outside the borough beside Silver Lake, which was created to power the mill. One of Lewisberry's most important small industries during the 19th and early 20th centuries was the manufacture of block brimstone matches, and the families of Lyman Lewis, Herman Kirk, Moses Magrew, Rt. Starr, and Lyman Shettle became prosperous through this industry.

Enroll in the Ideal Medical Assistant School Lewisberry PA

Lewisberry PA medical assistant student It’s imperative to begin your new career on the right foot by choosing a medical assistant school that will furnish the appropriate training. Regardless if you’re objective is to begin a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your lifetime career, you need to acquire the right info on available programs before making your selection. There are so many schools offering training these days that you can make a selection based upon your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have covered in this article, verify that the program you pick is accredited by an acknowledged 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 Certified Medical Assistant Career. But regardless of the kind of credential that you plan to earn or if you have decided to attend either an on-campus or online school, don’t forget to ask the questions we have supplied so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by selecting the right program you can subsequently start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Lewisberry PA.