Clinical Medical Assistant Schools Palm PA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant School near Palm Pennsylvania

Palm PA medical assistant checking pulse Once you have decided to enter the rewarding field of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Palm PA, it’s time to select a school that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you undertake comparing and evaluating colleges so that you subsequently enroll in the best one? Many prospective students begin by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are closest to their homes and then gravitate toward those that have the lowest tuition. While cost and location are very important, such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are critical factors as well. You may decide to research some online medical assistant programs as an option also (more on that later). The main point is that prior to selecting a college you need to carry out your due diligence and compare all pertinent aspects of the schools you are assessing. And to help you with that process, we have furnished some questions that you need to ask all of the schools on your “maybe” list. But prior to starting that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the type of training and credentials that are offered.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Palm PA nursing home patient The role of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Basically their duty is to make sure that the Palm PA clinics, hospitals and other medical care facilities where they work operate successfully. Depending on the size or type of facility, they may be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are responsible for providing direct assistance to the nurses, doctors and other medical professionals but can also be found working in an office or at the front desk. Some of the possible duties of a medical assistant include:

Completing insurance forms and filing claims
Setting and confirming appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Collecting blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
Preparing instruments and rooms for doctors
Supplying general support during exams and procedures

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

Medical Assistant Training Courses

Compared to many other healthcare professionals, medical assistants are not required to become certified, licensed, or to earn a college degree. However, many Palm PA health care employers choose to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that are certified. There are generally 2 choices available for a formal education. The first and fastest path to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a certificate or diploma. These programs typically take about a year to finish, some as little as six to nine months. They are created to teach the basics of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to obtain an Associate Degree, which are normally two year programs provided at junior and community colleges as well as technical and vocational 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 frequently have a practical component requiring an internship with a local medical practice. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a related field.

Medical Assistant Online Classes

woman attending medical assistant school online in Palm PA There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs available online too. They are a good option for individuals 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 option for students who continue to work full-time while attaining their certificate or degree. As an additional benefit, a number of online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more conventional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental costs such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies can be reduced as well. Just bear in mind that all requirements for clinical training or internships must still be met, but they can usually be carried out in Palm PA area medical care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the rigid structure of attending supervised classes on-campus, then this approach to receiving your training might be the best option for you. With the online lessons and the clinical training, everything necessary to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent option for those who wish to boost their careers. Not only will it help in securing employment after graduation, but it can also help with preliminary salary negotiations. A number of potential Palm PA medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained accredited formal training or certification. Among the most popular and possibly the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to apply for the CMA examination, an applicant must be a graduate or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are offered also, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are provided by the NHA.

Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask Palm PA medical assistant programs Prior to reviewing your medical assistant school options, you need to decide which type of credential you would like to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on campus or online from home. As soon as those choices have been made, you can start the process of researching medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the beginning of this article, a number of potential students restrict their searches to the schools that are nearest to Palm PA with the most affordable tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifications, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional factors that you must examine when evaluating programs. To help you with that task, following are a few questions that you need to 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 good reasons to make sure that the school you select 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 plan on becoming certified, you need to enroll in an accredited program. Two of the approved organizations 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 either of these organizations, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Also, if you plan on obtaining a student loan or financial aid, they are often not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, many potential Palm PA employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the School’s Passing Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools develop their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you must learn which of the certifications the programs you are considering are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for example, then of course you will want to choose a program focused on that certification. Second, find out what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. This is just one of the ways to help evaluate the quality of a school’s program. Obviously schools with lower rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Available? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two paths to getting medical assistant training. You can choose a diploma or certificate program and receive entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is closer to one year. Or you can decide to obtain an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take approximately two years to accomplish in a junior college or vocational school. Whatever program you choose to enroll in, make certain that the schools you are looking at provide the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Available? A large number of medical assistant programs offer internship programs with Palm PA area healthcare providers. They are a great way to get hands-on clinical experience and training. They can also assist students establish relationships within the Palm medical community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Assistance Supplied? Finding that initial job may be a challenging task for medical assistant school graduates unless they receive some help from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are evaluating offer job placement assistance in the Palm PA area and find out what their placement rate is. If a college has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has an excellent reputation within the medical community. It also signifies that it has a large 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 get during your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer increased access to instructors and one-on-one interaction. If possible, try to sit in on a few classes before choosing a program to observe what the teaching environment is like and just how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accessible? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue to work full-time, it’s imperative that the college you choose offers classes that fit your schedule. If you need to go to classes at night or on weekends near Palm PA, make sure that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will still have to schedule all internships or practical training that will be required. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up classes that you may have to miss due to illness, work or family issues.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Palm Pennsylvania?

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

Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. was an American company that specialized in manufacturing personal digital assistants (PDAs) and various other electronics. They were the designer of the PalmPilot,[1] the first PDA successfully marketed worldwide, as well as the Treo 600, one of the first smartphones. Palm developed several versions of Palm OS for PDAs and smartphones. The company was also responsible for the first versions of webOS, the first multitasking operating system for smartphones,[2] and enyo.js, a framework for HTML5 apps.

In July 2010, Palm was purchased by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and in 2011 announced a new range of webOS products. However, after poor sales, HP CEO Léo Apotheker announced in August 2011 that it would end production and support of Palm and webOS devices, marking the end of the Palm brand after 19 years.

In October 2014, HP sold the Palm trademark to a shelf corporation tied to the Chinese electronics firm TCL Corporation. Shortly afterward, TCL confirmed its plans to revive the Palm brand on future, crowdsourced smartphones.[3]

Pick the Best Medical Assistant Training Program Palm PA

Palm PA medical assistant student It’s essential to start your new career on the right foot by picking a medical assistant school that will provide the right training. Whether you’re goal is to begin a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you must acquire the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your decision. There are so many colleges offering training these days that you can make a decision based on your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have covered in this article, verify that the program you decide on is accredited by an acknowledged organization, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly critical if you anticipate taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Clinical Medical Assistant Schools. But regardless of the type of credential that you intend to earn or if you have decided to attend either an online or on-campus school, don’t forget to ask the questions we have supplied so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the right program you can subsequently begin a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Palm PA.