Colleges That Offer Medical Assistant Degrees Waukesha WI - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Choose a Medical Assistant School near Waukesha Wisconsin

Waukesha WI medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have decided to enter the gratifying field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Waukesha WI, it’s time to choose a college that will furnish the right training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating colleges so that you subsequently pick the best one? Most potential students start by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are closest to their residences and then lean toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While cost and location are very important, such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are critical factors as well. You might want to take a look at some online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more about that later). The main point is that prior to selecting a college you must finish your due diligence and compare all relevant aspects of the schools you are assessing. And to assist you with that task, we have included several questions that you should ask each 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 available.

The Responsibilities of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Waukesha WI nursing home patient The responsibilities of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Basically their role is to make sure that the Waukesha WI hospitals, clinics and other healthcare centers where they work operate 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 responsible for giving 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 many duties of a medical assistant include:

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

Even though medical assistants may perform almost any task they are authorized to under Wisconsin 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) offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Education

Unlike most other medical practitioners, medical assistants are not mandated to become licensed, certified, or to obtain a college degree. However, a number of Waukesha WI health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are generally 2 choices available for a formal education. The first and fastest way to becoming a medical assistant is to obtain a diploma or a certificate. These programs normally 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 alternative is to attain an Associate Degree, which are typically 2 year programs offered at community and junior colleges as well as vocational and technical schools. They are more expansive in nature than the certificate or diploma programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant courses. They usually have a practical element 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.

Medical Assistant Online Classes

woman attending medical assistant school online in Waukesha WI There are many accredited medical assistant programs offered online also. They are an excellent alternative for students who might not have time to go to classes on campus but could work them in if accessible at home. This is a particularly good option for students who continue to work full time while earning their degree or certificate. As an extra benefit, some online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more conventional on-campus options. Ancillary expenses including those for commuting, textbooks 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 often be carried out in Waukesha WI area medical facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on campus, then this mode of receiving your education might be the right choice for you. With the online classes and the clinical training, everything needed to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, certification is not a legal requirement, but is a good option for those who want to advance their careers. Not only will it help in getting a position after graduation, but it might also enhance initial salary negotiations. Some potential Waukesha WI medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not obtained certification or accredited formal training. Among the most popular and perhaps the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to take the CMA examination, an applicant must be a graduate or will be graduating within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available also, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Programs

Questions to ask Waukesha WI medical assistant programs Prior to reviewing your medical assistant school options, you must choose which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online at home. Once those choices 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 colleges that are nearest to Waukesha WI with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are a number of additional factors that you need to explore when evaluating programs. To assist you with that task, below are some questions that you need to ask about each of the schools you are considering before making your ultimate selection.

Is the Medical Assistant College Accredited? There are several great reasons to ensure that the program you enroll in is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps ensure that the training you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you must enroll in 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 one of these agencies, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you intend on obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, many potential Waukesha WI employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the School’s Passage Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant schools create their programs to prep students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you need to determine which of the certifications the schools you are reviewing are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then of course you will need to select a program targeting that certification. Second, find out what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. Doing this is one of the methods to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Naturally schools with low rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.

Which Programs are Available? As we previously covered, there are generally two routes to obtaining medical assistant training. You can choose a certificate or diploma program and get entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can opt to earn an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will take approximately 2 years to finish in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you elect to enroll in, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer the kind of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Sponsored? Numerous medical assistant schools offer internship programs with Waukesha WI area medical care providers. They are a great way to get hands-on practical training and experience. They may also assist students build relationships within the Waukesha medical community. And as an added benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Help Offered? 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 interviewing offer job placement assistance in the Waukesha WI area and ask what their placement rate is. If a program has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has an excellent reputation within the health care community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of employers to help place students in positions.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size may be an indication of how much individual instruction you will get throughout your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide greater access to instructors and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to attend a few classes before selecting a program to experience what the teaching environment is like and how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you plan on attending a medical assistant program while you continue working on a full time basis, it’s important that the college you select provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to go to classes at night or on weekends near Waukesha WI, make certain that those times are available. You may be able to fit your classes in easier with an online school, but you will still have to schedule all internships or clinical training that may be required. Additionally, find out what the policy is for making up classes that you may have to miss because of illness, work or family issues.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Waukesha Wisconsin?

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

Waukesha, Wisconsin

Waukesha (/ˈwɔːkɪʃɔː/) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 70,718 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to the Town of Waukesha.

The area that Waukesha now encompasses was first settled by European-Americans in 1834, with Morris D. Cutler as its first settler.[citation needed] When the first settlers arrived, there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. The settlers laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes.[4]

The original founders of Waukesha consisted entirely of settlers from New England, particularly Connecticut, rural Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well some from upstate New York who were born to parents who had migrated to that region from New England shortly after the American Revolution. These people were "Yankee" settlers, that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. They were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the Northwest Territory during the early 1800s. Most of them arrived as a result of the completion of the Erie Canal as well as the end of the Black Hawk War. When they arrived in what is now Waukesha County there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie, the New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their Yankee New England values, such as a passion for education, establishing many schools as well as staunch support for abolitionism. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church though some were Episcopalian. Due to the second Great Awakening some of them had converted to Methodism and some had become Baptists before moving to what is now Waukesha County.[5] Waukesha, like much of Wisconsin, would be culturally very continuous with early New England culture for most of its early history.[6][7][8]

Select the Right Medical Assistant School Waukesha WI

Waukesha WI medical assistant student It’s essential to begin your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant program that will furnish the right training. Whether you’re objective 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 appropriate info on available programs prior to making your selection. There are so many colleges offering training these days that you can make a selection based upon your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have discussed in this article, verify that the program you decide on is accredited by a recognized organization, such as the CAAHEP. This is especially critical if you intend on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Colleges That Offer Medical Assistant Degrees. 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, don’t forget to ask the questions we have supplied in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by selecting the best program you can subsequently start a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Waukesha WI.