Medical Assistant Programs Gordonsville VA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Choose a Medical Assistant Training School near Gordonsville Virginia

Gordonsville VA medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have decided to join the rewarding field of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Gordonsville VA, it’s time to choose a school that will furnish the appropriate training. But just how do you approach evaluating and comparing colleges so that you ultimately pick the right one? Many future students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences and then lean toward those that have the lowest tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important issues also. You might choose to look into several online medical assistant programs as an option also (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a college you need to finish your due diligence and compare all important aspects of the schools you are examining. And to help you with that process, we have provided some questions that you should ask each of the colleges on your short list. But before we start that review, let’s talk a little bit about the function of a medical assistant and the kind of credentials and training that are offered.

The Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Gordonsville VA nursing home patient The job of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Basically their job is ensure that the Gordonsville VA hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities where they work run efficiently. Based 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 responsible for providing direct support to the nurses, doctors and other medical professionals but may also be found performing duties in an office or at the front desk. Some of the possible responsibilities of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and submitting claims
Scheduling and verifying appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Taking blood and other tissue and fluid samples
Preparing instruments and rooms for physicians
Supplying basic support during examinations and procedures

Even though medical assistants may perform almost any task they are authorized to under Virginia law, some opt to specialize in a specific area and earn certification. Two of the choices offered 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

In contrast to many other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not mandated to become licensed, certified, or to earn a college degree. However, a number of Gordonsville VA health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are essentially two options available for a formal education. The first and fastest route to becoming a medical assistant is to attain a certificate or diploma. These programs normally take about 1 year to complete, some as little as 6 to 9 months. They are developed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to earn an Associate Degree, which are usually two year programs offered at junior and community colleges as well as technical and vocational schools. They are more expansive in design than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They frequently have a clinical component involving an internship with a local healthcare facility. Associate Degrees are commonly a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied 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 Gordonsville VA There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs available online as well. They are a good option for students who may not have time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if attended at home. This is an especially good choice for students who continue to work full-time while earning their certificate or degree. As an extra benefit, many online schools have lower tuitions than the more conventional on campus options. Supplemental expenses including those for commuting, textbooks and school supplies may be lessened also. But keep in mind that all requirements for clinical training or internships must still be met, but they can typically be performed in Gordonsville VA area medical facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of going to supervised classes on campus, then this approach to receiving your education might be the right choice for you. With the online lessons and the practical training, everything needed to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As previously mentioned, certification is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent option for those who wish to boost their careers. It will not only help in getting employment after graduation, but it may also help with initial salary negotiations. A number of potential Gordonsville VA medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained accredited formal training or certification. One of the most popular and arguably the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to take the CMA exam, an applicant must have graduated or will graduate within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are available also, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Gordonsville VA medical assistant programs Before you can start examining your medical assistant school options, you have to determine which type of credential you would like to attain, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online at home. As soon as those decisions have been made, you can start the procedure of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some students confine their searches to the schools that are nearest to Gordonsville VA with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are important qualifications, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional issues that you must examine when evaluating programs. To help you with that process, following are some questions that you should ask about all of the schools you are considering before making your final choice.

Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are many good reasons to verify that the college you choose is accredited. To start 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 Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). If your program is not accredited by either of these organizations, you will not be qualified to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you plan on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are often not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, a number of prospective Gordonsville VA employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the Program’s Passing Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools create their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, you must determine which of the certifications the schools you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will want to select a program concentrating on that certification. Second, ask what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. Doing this is one of the means to help evaluate the quality of a school’s program. Naturally schools with lower rates are those that you will prefer to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Available? As we previously covered, there are essentially two routes to obtaining medical assistant training. You can enroll in a diploma or certificate program and get entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 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 take approximately 2 years to complete in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you choose to pursue, confirm that the colleges you are reviewing offer the type of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? Many medical assistant programs sponsor internship programs with Gordonsville VA area health care providers. They are a great way to receive hands-on practical training and experience. They may also assist students develop relationships within the Gordonsville healthcare community. And as an additional perk, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Help Provided? Landing that initial job can be a daunting task for medical assistant school graduates unless they have some assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the colleges you are evaluating offer job placement assistance in the Gordonsville VA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its students, it indicates that it has an excellent reputation within the medical community. It also suggests that it has a broad network of contacts to help place students in jobs.

How Large are the Classes? Class size can be an indicator of how much personal attention you will receive throughout your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer increased access to instructors and face to face interaction. If possible, try to sit in on a couple of classes before selecting a program to witness what the teaching environment is like and just how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you plan on attending a medical assistant school while you continue to work on a full time basis, it’s imperative that the college you select offers classes that fit your schedule. If you have to go to classes at night or on weekends near Gordonsville VA, make sure that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will also need to schedule any internships or practical training that may be required. Additionally, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Gordonsville Virginia?

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

Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville is a town in Orange County[3] in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Located about 19 miles northeast of Charlottesville and 65 miles northwest of Richmond, the population was 1,496 at the 2010 census.[4]

The town celebrated its bicentennial in 2013, two hundred years after local innkeeper Nathaniel Gordon was appointed the area's first postmaster, thus officially creating the area known as Gordonsville. It was strategically important during the Civil War, due to its location on the Virginia Central Railroad.[5]

In 1794, or perhaps earlier, Gordon applied for and was granted a license to operate a tavern there, which, as was typical of the time, was used as a place to eat, lodge and discuss local matters. It sat at the intersection of two highways: "The Fredericksburgh Great Road," a stage route from Charlottesville, through Orange, to Fredericksburg; and "The Richmond Road," which led from the Virginia capital, through Louisa, west over the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley. President Thomas Jefferson described the tavern in 1802 as a "good house" when recommending the best route south to Charlottesville from the recently established national capital on the Potomac. The building was known as Gordon's Tavern, Gordon Tavern and later as Gordon Inn. The commemorative marker at the site lists prominent Americans as guests at the tavern: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, James & Philip Pendleton Barbour, James Waddel, William Wirt and Henry Clay. Another famous visitor was Major General the Marquis de Lafayette.

Enroll in the Ideal Medical Assistant Training Gordonsville VA

Gordonsville VA medical assistant student It’s imperative to start your new career on the right foot by choosing a medical assistant college that will provide the appropriate training. Regardless if you’re goal is to begin a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your lifetime career, you need to obtain the right info on available programs before making your selection. There are such a large number of schools offering training nowadays that you can make a selection based on your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have discussed in this article, verify that the program you select is accredited by an acknowledged organization, 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. But regardless of the kind of credential that you plan to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an on-campus or online school, be 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 start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Gordonsville VA.