Medical Assistant Colleges Valley AL - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Pick a Medical Assistant Program near Valley Alabama

Valley AL medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to enter the rewarding field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Valley AL, it’s time to choose a school that will furnish the appropriate training. But just how do you undertake evaluating and comparing schools so that you ultimately pick the right one? Many potential students start by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are closest to their residences and then gravitate toward those that have the lowest tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors as well. You might want to take a look at some 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 important qualifications of the colleges you are assessing. And to assist you with that process, we have included several questions that you need to ask all of the schools on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the type of credentials and training that are offered.

The Duties of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Valley AL nursing home patient The duties of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Primarily their role is ensure that the Valley AL 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 practices both. They are tasked with providing direct support to the nurses, doctors and other health practitioners but can also be found performing duties in an office or at the front desk. Some of the possible duties of a medical assistant include:

Filling out insurance forms and submitting claims
Scheduling and confirming appointments
Taking vital signs and weighing patients
Collecting blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
Preparing rooms and instruments for doctors
Giving basic support during examinations and procedures

Although medical assistants may perform almost any activity they are qualified to under Alabama law, some choose 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) provided by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Training

Unlike many other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become certified, licensed, or to have a college degree. However, a number of Valley AL health care employers would rather hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that are certified. There are basically 2 options offered for a formal education. The first and quickest way to becoming a medical assistant is to attain a certificate or diploma. These programs generally take about one year to finish, some as little as six to nine months. They are developed to teach the basics of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to earn an Associate Degree, which are normally two year programs available at junior and community colleges in addition to technical and vocational schools. They are more extensive in nature than the diploma or certificate programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They usually have a practical element requiring an internship with a local medical 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 similar field.

Medical Assistant Online Schools

woman attending medical assistant school online in Valley AL There are many accredited medical assistant programs accessible online also. They are an excellent alternative for those 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 earning their degree or certificate. As an added benefit, many online schools have lower tuitions than the more conventional on campus alternatives. Ancillary expenses including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be reduced also. Just remember that any requirements for practical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can usually be completed in Valley AL area medical facilities. If you can earn a degree without the rigid structure of going to supervised classes on-campus, then this approach to getting your education may be the ideal option for you. With the online lessons and the clinical training, everything needed to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As previously mentioned, certification is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent option for individuals who want to advance their careers. Not only will it help in getting employment after graduation, but it may also help with initial salary negotiations. Some potential Valley AL medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not obtained accredited formal training or certification. One of the most popular and perhaps the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to apply for the CMA exam, a candidate must be a graduate or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are offered as well, including the CMAA and the CCMA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.

Points to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Valley AL medical assistant programs Prior to assessing your medical assistant school options, you must decide which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you would prefer attending classes on campus or online at home. Once those selections have been made, you can start the procedure of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, a number of students limit their searches to the colleges that are closest to Valley AL with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are important qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are a number of additional issues that you should examine when researching schools. 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 several great reasons to make certain that the college you select is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps guarantee that the instruction you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you intend to become certified, you must complete an accredited program. Two of the accepted 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 program is not accredited by one of these organizations, you will not be qualified to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you anticipate obtaining a student loan or financial aid, they are often not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, many prospective Valley AL employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.

What is the School’s Passing Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools create their programs to prep students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you must determine which of the certifications the schools you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then of course you will want to choose a program concentrating on that certification. Next, ask what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is just one of the means to help evaluate the quality of a college’s program. Naturally programs with low rates are those that you will prefer to eliminate.

Which Programs are Offered? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two paths to getting medical assistant training. You can choose a diploma or certificate program and get entry level training in the fastest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can elect to acquire an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will take approximately two years to accomplish in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you elect to pursue, verify that the schools you are considering provide the type of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? A large number of medical assistant schools sponsor internship programs with Valley AL area health care providers. They are a great method to obtain hands-on clinical experience and training. They may also help students establish relationships within the Valley healthcare community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Help Provided? Getting that very first job may be a daunting task for medical assistant school graduates unless they receive a little help from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Valley AL area and find out what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its students, it affirms that it has an excellent reputation within the medical 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 indicator of how much personal instruction you will receive during your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer increased access to teachers and face to face interaction. If possible, try to attend a few classes before selecting a school to witness what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Convenient? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant college while you continue working full-time, it’s imperative that the school you enroll in provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to go to classes at night or on weekends near Valley AL, make certain that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in more conveniently with an online school, but you will still need to schedule any internships or practical training that may be required. Also, ask 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 Valley Alabama?

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

Wadi El Hitan

Wadi Al-Hitan, (Arabic: وادي الحيتان‎, "Whale Valley") is a paleontological site in the Faiyum Governorate of Egypt, some 150 km southwest of Cairo.[1] It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site[2] in July 2005[3] for its hundreds of fossils of some of the earliest forms of whale, the archaeoceti (a now extinct sub-order of whales). The site reveals evidence for the explanation of one of the greatest mysteries of the evolution of whales: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. No other place in the world yields the number, concentration and quality of such fossils, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape.[4] This is why it was added by the UNESCO to the list of protected World Heritage sites.[5]

The fossils found at the site may not be the oldest but their great concentration in the area and the degree of their preservation is to the extent that even some stomach contents are intact. The presence of fossils of other early animals such as sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and rays found at Wadi El-Hitan makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time, adding to its justification to be cited as a Heritage site.

The first fossil skeletons of whales were discovered in the winter of 1902-3.[1] For the next 80 years they attracted relatively little interest, largely due to the difficulty of reaching the area. In the 1980s interest in the site resumed as four wheel drive vehicles became more readily available. Continuing interest coincided with the site being visited by fossil collectors, and many bones were removed, prompting calls for the site to be conserved. The remains display the typical streamlined body form of modern whales, yet retaining some of the primitive aspects of skull and tooth structure. The largest skeleton found reached up to 21 m in length,[6] with well-developed five-fingered flippers on the forelimbs and the unexpected presence of hind legs, feet, and toes, not known previously in any archaeoceti. Their form was serpentine and they were carnivorous. A few of these skeletal remains are exposed but most are shallowly buried in sediments, slowly uncovered by erosion. Wadi El-Hitan provides evidences of millions of years of coastal marine life.

Select the Right Medical Assistant Training Valley AL

Valley AL medical assistant student It’s important to start your new career on the right foot by choosing a medical assistant school that will furnish the right training. Whether you’re objective is to begin a career in healthcare starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your lifetime career, you must acquire the appropriate info on available programs before making your decision. There are such a large number of schools offering training nowadays that you can make a selection based upon your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have addressed in this article, make sure that the program you choose is accredited by a recognized agency, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly critical if you intend on taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Medical Assistant Colleges. But irrespective of the type of credential that you plan to earn or if you have decided to attend either an on-campus or online school, make sure to ask the questions we have provided so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the ideal program you can subsequently start a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Valley AL.