Medical Assistant Colleges Lake Station IN - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Choose a Medical Assistant Program near Lake Station Indiana

Lake Station IN medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have decided to enter the gratifying field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Lake Station IN, it’s time to select a school that will furnish the appropriate training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating colleges so that you ultimately enroll in the ideal one? Most potential students start by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their homes and then lean toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, job assistance and internship programs are important factors also. You might choose to look into some online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more about that later). The main point is that before you select a college you need to complete your due diligence and compare all relevant aspects of the schools you are evaluating. And to help you with that task, we have provided several questions that you need to ask all of the colleges on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s talk a little bit about the role of a medical assistant and the kind of training and credentials that are available.

The Responsibilities of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Lake Station IN nursing home patient The role of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Essentially their role is ensure that the Lake Station IN clinics, hospitals and other healthcare centers where they work run efficiently. Based on the size or type of facility, they can be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller facilities both. They are responsible for providing direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other medical practitioners but can also be found working in an office or at the front desk. A few of the potential functions of a medical assistant include:

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

Although medical assistants may carry out almost any task they are authorized to under Indiana law, some opt to specialize in a particular area and obtain certification. Two of the options 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 Training Courses

In contrast to most other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become licensed, certified, or to obtain a college degree. However, a number of Lake Station IN 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 2 options offered for a formal education. The first and fastest path to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a diploma or a certificate. These programs generally take about a year to finish, a few as little as 6 to 9 months. They are developed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to attain an Associate Degree, which are typically two year programs offered at community and junior colleges as well as trade and vocational schools. They are more comprehensive in nature than the diploma or certificate programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant courses. They frequently have a practical component requiring an internship with a local medical facility. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied to a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a related field.

Medical Assistant Online Courses

woman attending medical assistant school online in Lake Station IN There are many accredited medical assistant programs offered online too. They are an excellent alternative for students who may not have the time to attend classes on campus but could work them in if accessible at home. This is a particularly good solution for students who continue to work full-time while earning their certificate or degree. As an additional benefit, a number of online programs have cheaper tuitions than the more conventional on campus options. Ancillary costs including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies can be lessened also. But keep in mind that any requirements for practical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can typically be performed in Lake Station IN area health care facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this mode of getting your education may be the right 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 stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is a good idea for those who wish to advance their careers. It will not only help in obtaining a job after graduation, but it might also help with preliminary salary negotiations. A number of potential Lake Station IN medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained certification or accredited formal training. The most popular and possibly the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to take the CMA examination, an applicant must have graduated or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are available also, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are provided by the NHA.

Topics to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask Lake Station IN medical assistant programs Before you can start evaluating your medical assistant school alternatives, you need to determine which type of credential you want to attain, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online from home. Once those selections have been made, you can start the process of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, some potential students limit their searches to the schools that are nearest to Lake Station IN 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 examine when researching schools. To assist 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 Program Accredited? There are many good reasons to confirm that the college you choose is accredited. First, accreditation helps ensure that the education you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you intend to become certified, you need to enroll in an accredited program. Two of the accepted agencies for accreditation are the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). If your program is not accredited by either of these agencies, you will not be qualified to take the CMA exam. Also, if you intend on obtaining a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not available for non-accredited programs. And finally, as mentioned previously, a number of potential Lake Station IN employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the Program’s Passage Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To begin with, you must determine which of the certifications the programs you are reviewing 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 focused on that certification. Next, learn what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is one of the means to help evaluate the quality of a school’s program. Obviously schools with low rates are ones that you will prefer to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Offered? As we previously covered, there are basically two paths to obtaining medical assistant training. You can select a certificate or diploma program and get entry level training in the fastest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is about one year. Or you can choose to obtain an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will require approximately two years to finish in a junior college or vocational school. Whichever program you decide to enroll in, make certain that the colleges you are reviewing provide the kind of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Available? Numerous medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Lake Station IN area medical care providers. They are a great method to get hands-on practical training and experience. They may also assist students build relationships within the Lake Station medical community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Assistance Furnished? Getting that initial job may be a challenging undertaking for graduating medical assistant students unless they receive some assistance from a job placement program. Confirm that the colleges you are interviewing offer job placement assistance in the Lake Station IN area and ask what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the healthcare community. It also indicates that it has a large network of employers to help place students in jobs.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size might 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 prone to offer increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If practical, try to sit in on a few classes before choosing a college to observe 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 to work full time, it’s essential that the college you choose provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Lake Station IN, make sure that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in more conveniently with an online program, but you will still need to schedule all clinical training or internships that will be required. Additionally, find out what the policy 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 Lake Station Indiana?

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

Lake Station, Indiana

Initially, the site of modern Lake Station was the starting point of two Amerind trails leading to Fort Dearborn.[7] Later it became an early stagecoach depot stop, as the Fort Dearborn-Detroit Stagecoach Route passed through the site during the wet season.[7] The location became known as Lake Station as far back as 1851 when it began to serve as a depot, the western terminus of the Michigan Central Railroad[7] (on what would later become its Detroit to Chicago line). This was the first train station in Lake County.[7] The Michigan Central Railroad built a park and railroad shops around its two-story depot.[7] A year later, in April 1852, George Earle mapped out and platted a town[7] of about 6,500 acres (26 km2) on the site, continuing its name of Lake Station.

Being a bedroom community, Lake Station welcomed Abraham Lincoln to its Audubon Hotel, perhaps on more than one occasion, according to oral history. But George Pullman, who tried to negotiate for land in Lake Station for his proposed railcar company, never struck a deal and set up shop on the south side of Chicago instead. Prior to its current location in Crown Point, Indiana, the county seat was located on what is now the west end of Lake Station in a section called Liverpool, although it was a separate settlement at the time.

The name of Lake Station was officially changed to East Gary in 1908 in an attempt to lure executives from the nearby US Steel plant in Gary, Indiana into creating a suburban community. With another name change in 1977, primarily to disassociate itself from the urban decay and crime of Gary, the city reverted to its historical designation of Lake Station.

Enroll in the Best Medical Assistant Training Lake Station IN

Lake Station IN medical assistant student It’s imperative to start your new career on the right foot by enrolling in a medical assistant college that will provide the proper training. Whether you’re planning to begin a career in medical care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your life long career, you need to obtain the appropriate info on available programs prior to making your decision. There are so many colleges providing training nowadays that you can make a selection based upon your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have discussed in this article, confirm that the program you select is accredited by an acknowledged agency, 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 Medical Assistant Colleges. But irrespective 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 provided so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the ideal program you can subsequently start a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Lake Station IN.