How to Find the Right Medical Assistant School near Cambridge Maine
Now that you have decided to become a part of the gratifying field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Cambridge ME, it’s time to select a school that will furnish the appropriate training. But just how do you go about comparing and evaluating colleges so that you subsequently pick the right one? Many future students begin by checking out 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, job assistance and internship programs are critical issues as well. You may want to research some online medical assistant programs as an option also (more on that later). The bottom line is that before you select a college you must carry out your due diligence and compare all important qualifications of the schools you are evaluating. And to assist you with that process, we have furnished several questions that you should ask each of the schools on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s briefly talk about the role of a medical assistant and the kind of training and credentials that are offered.
The Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant
The duties of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Primarily their role is to make sure that the Cambridge ME hospitals, clinics and other healthcare centers where they work run successfully. 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 tasked with providing direct support to the nurses, doctors and other medical practitioners but can also be found working in an office or at the front desk. A few of the potential responsibilities of a medical assistant include:
- Filling out insurance forms and submitting claims
- Setting and confirming appointments
- Weighing and taking patients vital signs
- Taking blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
- Preparing instruments and rooms for physicians
- Giving basic support during examinations and procedures
While medical assistants may carry out almost any activity they are qualified to under Maine law, some choose to specialize in a specific area and obtain 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 Programs
Compared to many other healthcare professionals, medical assistants are not mandated to become certified, licensed, or to earn a college degree. However, many Cambridge ME health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are generally two options available for a formal education. The first and fastest way to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a certificate or diploma. These programs usually take about 1 year to complete, some as little as 6 to 9 months. They are created to teach the basics of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to earn an Associate Degree, which are typically two year programs available at junior and community colleges together with vocational and technical schools. They are more expansive in nature than the diploma or certificate programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They frequently have a practical element requiring an internship with a local healthcare facility. Associate Degrees are often a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied to a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.
Online Medical Assistant Colleges
There are many accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are a good alternative for those who may not have the time to attend classes on campus but could fit them in if attended at home. This is a particularly good option for students who continue working full-time while pursuing their degree or certificate. As an extra benefit, some online schools have lower tuitions than the more traditional on campus options. Ancillary expenses such as for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be minimized also. Just bear in mind that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can usually be carried out in Cambridge ME area medical facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of participating in supervised classes on campus, then this approach to receiving your education might be the ideal option for you. Between the online lessons and the practical training, everything needed to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.
Certification Options for Medical Assistants
As previously mentioned, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent idea for those who want to boost their careers. Not only will it help in securing employment after graduation, but it can also help with preliminary salary negotiations. A number of possible Cambridge ME medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained certification or accredited formal training. One of the most popular and perhaps the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to sit for the CMA examination, a candidate must be a graduate or will be graduating within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are offered also, including the CMAA and the CCMA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.
Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Schools
Before you can start reviewing your medical assistant school options, you need to choose which type of credential you would like to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online from home. As soon as those choices have been made, you can begin the procedure of researching medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the opening of this article, many potential students limit their searches to the schools that are nearest to Cambridge ME with the lowest tuition. Although location and cost are important qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are several additional issues that you must examine when evaluating programs. To assist you with that process, following are a few questions that you need to ask about all of the programs you are thinking about before making your final selection.
Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are several great reasons to verify that the program you enroll in is accredited. First, accreditation helps ensure that the instruction 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 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 school is not accredited by one of these organizations, you will not be qualified to take the CMA examination. Additionally, if you intend on obtaining a student loan or financial aid, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And finally, as mentioned previously, many prospective Cambridge ME employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.
What is the School’s Passing Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification exams. To begin with, you need to find out which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then naturally you will want to choose a program concentrating on that certification. Next, learn what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is one of the methods to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Naturally programs with low rates are ones that you will prefer to avoid.
Which Credentials are Offered? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two paths to acquiring medical assistant training. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program and get entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, however the average is closer to one year. Or you can opt to earn an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take approximately two years to complete in a community college or trade school. Whatever program you choose to enroll in, confirm that the colleges you are reviewing provide the kind of program you are interested in.
Are Internships Offered? A large number of medical assistant schools offer internship programs with Cambridge ME area health care providers. They are a great means to obtain hands-on clinical training and experience. They can also help students build relationships within the Cambridge health care community. And as an additional benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.
Is Job Placement Support Offered? Finding that first job may be a challenging task for graduating medical assistant students unless they have a little assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Cambridge ME area and ask what their placement rate is. If a college has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of contacts to help place students in jobs.
How Large are the Classes? Class size may be an indication of how much personal instruction you will receive throughout your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more prone to furnish greater access to instructors and face to face 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 Accessible? If you plan on attending a medical assistant school while you continue to work on a full time basis, it’s important that the program you choose provides classes that fit your schedule. If you have to go to classes at night or on weekends near Cambridge ME, verify 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 all clinical training or internships that will be required. Additionally, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to illness, work or family issues.
Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Cambridge Maine?
If you are considering attending a medical assistant school in the Cambridge ME area, following is some background information that may be both interesting and useful regarding your future campus location.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge (formally The Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge) is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a Royal Charter by King Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's fourth-oldest surviving university.[9] The university grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople.[10] The two medieval universities share many common features and are often referred to jointly as "Oxbridge". The history and influence of the University of Cambridge has made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.[11]
Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 constituent Colleges and over 100 academic departments organised into six schools. Cambridge University Press, a department of the university, is the world's oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world. The university also operates eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, as well as a botanic garden. Cambridge's libraries hold a total of around 15 million books, eight million of which are in Cambridge University Library, a legal deposit library.
In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2017, the university had a total income of £1.71 billion, of which £458 million was from research grants and contracts.[2] The central university and colleges have a combined endowment of around £4.9 billion, the second largest of any university in the UK.[12] As of May 28 2018 the University's Endowment plus Assets were valued at 4.9 billion pounds. College Endowments plus Net Assets came to 6.9 billion, Guardian Newspaper, "Oxford and Cambridge have 21 billion pounds in assets." The university is closely linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster known as "Silicon Fen". It is a member of numerous associations and forms part of the "golden triangle" of leading English universities and Cambridge University Health Partners, an academic health science centre.
Select the Right Medical Assistant Training Program Cambridge ME
It’s important to begin your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant school that will furnish the right training. Whether you’re objective is to begin a career in medical care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your lifetime career, you must acquire the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your selection. There are such a large number of colleges providing training nowadays that you can make a selection based on your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have discussed in this article, confirm that the program you choose is accredited by a recognized organization, for example the CAAHEP. This is especially important if you plan on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Certified Medical Assistant Classes. But irrespective of the kind of credential that you intend to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an online or on-campus school, don’t forget to ask the questions we have supplied so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the best program you can subsequently start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Cambridge ME.
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