Quick Medical Assistant Programs Sterling VA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant School Program near Sterling Virginia

Sterling VA 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 Sterling VA, it’s time to choose a school that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating schools so that you subsequently enroll in the best one? Many future students start by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are closest to their homes and then gravitate toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors also. You may decide to look into several online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more about that later). The bottom line is that before you select a program you need to carry out your due diligence and compare all pertinent qualifications of the schools you are evaluating. And to help you with that task, we have provided 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 role of a medical assistant and the type of training and credentials that are offered.

The Duties of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Sterling VA nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be varied as well as demanding. Primarily their duty is ensure that the Sterling VA hospitals, clinics and other medical care facilities where they work run efficiently. Depending on the type or size 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 health professionals but can also be found performing duties at the front desk or in an office. Some of the potential duties of a medical assistant include:

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

Even though medical assistants can perform almost any task they are qualified to under Virginia law, some choose to specialize in a particular area and attain certification. Two of the options offered are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) provided 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 obtain a college degree. However, many Sterling VA health care employers would rather hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are essentially two options offered for a formal education. The first and quickest path to becoming a medical assistant is to attain 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 fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to attain an Associate Degree, which are typically 2 year programs available at community and junior colleges as well as vocational and technical schools. They are more comprehensive in design than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They often have a practical component involving an internship with a local medical practice. Associate Degrees are routinely 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 Sterling VA There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are an excellent option for those who may not have the time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if attended at home. This is an especially good solution for students who continue to work full time while pursuing their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, many online programs have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Ancillary costs including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies can be minimized also. But bear in mind that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can typically be carried out in Sterling VA area medical facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this approach to receiving your education might be the right option for you. With the online lessons and the practical training, everything necessary to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As earlier stated, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent choice for graduates who wish to boost their careers. It will not only help in getting a job after graduation, but it might also enhance initial salary negotiations. A number of potential Sterling VA medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained certification or accredited formal training. One of the most popular and possibly the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to apply for the CMA examination, an applicant must be a graduate or will graduate within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are offered as well, including the CMAA and the CCMA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

What to Ask Medical Assistant Programs

Questions to ask Sterling VA medical assistant programs Prior to assessing your medical assistant school options, you have to decide which type of credential you would like to attain, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online from home. After those decisions have been made, you can begin the procedure of comparing medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some prospective students confine their searches to the schools that are closest to Sterling VA with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are important qualifications, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional considerations that you must look at when evaluating programs. To help you with that process, following are some questions that you should ask about each of the schools you are considering before making your ultimate choice.

Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are a number of great reasons to ensure that the school you select is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps ensure that the instruction you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you intend to become certified, you need to complete an accredited program. Two of the approved agencies 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 allowed to take the CMA examination. Additionally, if you plan on obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of prospective Sterling VA employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the Program’s Passing Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges design their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. To begin with, you must find out which of the certifications the schools you are reviewing are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will want to enroll in 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. Obviously programs with low rates are those that you will want to avoid.

Which Credentials are Offered? As we previously covered, there are generally two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can select a diploma or certificate program and receive 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 choose to acquire an Associate Degree and receive a broader education that will require about 2 years to accomplish in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you elect to pursue, verify that the colleges you are considering offer the type of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? Many medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with Sterling VA area medical care providers. They are a great way to get hands-on practical experience and training. They can also help students build relationships within the Sterling healthcare community. And as an additional perk, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Help Provided? Landing that first job can be a challenging task for medical assistant school graduates unless they have some help from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are interviewing provide job placement assistance in the Sterling VA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a school has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has an excellent reputation within the health care community. It also suggests that it has a large network of employers to help place students in jobs.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size can be an indication of how much personal instruction you will get 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 convenient, try to monitor a few classes before enrolling in a program to observe what the teaching environment is like and just how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue working on a full time basis, it’s imperative that the college you select offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to attend classes at night or on weekends near Sterling VA, make certain that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will still have to schedule any clinical training or internships that will be required. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss because of illness, work or family responsibilities.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Sterling Virginia?

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

Sterling, Virginia

Sterling, Virginia is a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 United States Census was 27,822.[1] It is located northwest of Herndon, east of Ashburn, and west of Great Falls, and includes part of Washington Dulles International Airport and the former AOL corporate headquarters. Sterling is also home to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office LWX (serving the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area), as well as the Sterling Field Support Center, the National Weather Service test, research, and evaluation center for weather instruments.

In the beginning of 1962, large farms made up the 1,762 acres (713 ha) of what today is called Sterling Park. Route 7, also known as Leesburg Pike, bordered what used to be Jesse Hughes's dairy farm. Hughes arrived in Loudoun County in the early 20th century and was a longtime head of the county's Democrats. Fred Franklin Tavenner, who was somewhat related to Benjamin Franklin, operated vast stretches of Sterling Farm at the southwest fringes of Sterling Park. Tavenner had purchased land from Albert Shaw, Jr., who had inherited it from his father Albert B. Shaw, editor and publisher of the American Review of Reviews. One of Shaw's spreads, totaling 1,640 acres (660 ha), was called "The Experimental Farm" because it was one of the first area farms to receive a U.S. grant for applying "scientific methods", as Tavenner called them. According to Tavenner, refugees from the Soviet Union ran the farm while Shaw remained in New York City.[2]

Dulles International Airport and the extension of water and sewer lines to the airport began to change the landscape when construction started in 1959. Land prices rose from an average $125 per acre ($310/ha) to $500 per acre ($1,200/ha). During the same year, Marvin T. Broyhill, Jr., and his father made plans to develop land in the airport area under the company M.T. Broyhill & Sons Corporation. In late 1961, they decided to buy and incorporated Sterling Park Development Corporation with his son Marvin T. Broyhill, president, and a cousin, Thomas J. Broyhill, as vice president. Between April 28, and December 29, 1961 of that year, they purchased 1,762 acres (713 ha) in 14 parcels for $2,115,784. For the 226-acre (91 ha) Hughes farm along Route 7, they paid $1,700 per acre ($4,200/ha).[2]

Choose the Ideal Medical Assistant College Sterling VA

Sterling VA medical assistant student It’s essential to start your new career on the right foot by choosing a medical assistant program that will provide the right training. Regardless if you’re planning to launch a career in healthcare starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your lifetime career, you need to obtain the appropriate info on available programs prior to making your decision. There are so many schools providing 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, make certain that the program you pick is accredited by an acknowledged organization, 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 Quick Medical Assistant Programs. But regardless of the type of credential that you plan to earn or if you have made a decision 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 picking the ideal program you can subsequently start a fulfilling career as a medical assistant in Sterling VA.