How to Pick a Medical Assistant Training Program near Kents Hill Maine
Now that you have made a decision to enter the gratifying profession of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Kents Hill ME, it’s time to choose a college that will furnish the right training. But just how do you go about evaluating and comparing colleges so that you ultimately enroll in the best one? Many prospective students begin by checking out the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences 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 choose to research several online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a college you must finish your due diligence and compare all pertinent aspects of the schools you are evaluating. And to help you with that task, we have included a few questions that you need to ask all of the colleges on your “maybe” list. But prior to starting that review, let’s talk a little bit about the responsibilities of a medical assistant and the type of credentials and training that are available.
The Duties of Medical Assistants
The function of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Essentially their role is ensure that the Kents Hill ME hospitals, clinics and other medical care centers where they work operate efficiently. Based on the type or size of facility, they may be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are responsible for giving direct support to the nurses, doctors and other medical professionals but can also be found performing duties at the front desk or in an office. Some of the many responsibilities of a medical assistant include:
- Completing insurance forms and filing claims
- Setting and confirming appointments
- Taking vital signs and weighing patients
- Collecting blood and other fluid and tissue samples
- Preparing rooms and instruments for doctors
- Supplying general support during examinations and procedures
While medical assistants can carry out almost any activity they are authorized to under Maine law, some prefer to specialize in a particular area and attain certification. Two of the choices offered are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).
Medical Assistant Courses
In contrast to most other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not mandated to become certified, licensed, or to have a college degree. However, many Kents Hill ME health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are essentially two choices provided for a formal education. The first and shortest way to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a certificate or diploma. These programs usually take about 1 year to finish, a few as little as six to nine months. They are developed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to acquire an Associate Degree, which are typically two year programs provided at junior and community colleges as well as technical and vocational schools. They are more expansive in design than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They frequently have a practical component requiring an internship with a local healthcare facility. Associate Degrees are often a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.
Online Medical Assistant Colleges
There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs offered online also. They are an excellent choice for individuals who may not have the time to go to classes on campus but could fit them in if attended at home. This is an especially good choice for students who continue to work full time while attaining their degree or certificate. As an additional benefit, many online programs have cheaper tuitions than the more conventional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental costs including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be minimized also. Just keep in mind that all requirements for clinical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can typically be carried out in Kents Hill ME area healthcare facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of attending supervised classes on campus, then this mode of getting your training may be the ideal option for you. With the online classes and the practical training, everything necessary to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.
Certification Options for Medical Assistants
As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is a good option for those who want to advance their careers. It will not only help in getting a position after graduation, but it might also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. Many potential Kents Hill ME medical employers simply will not employ a medical assistant that has not obtained 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). In order to take the CMA exam, an applicant must be a graduate or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are offered also, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are provided by the NHA.
Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Schools
Prior to reviewing your medical assistant school options, you have to choose which kind of credential you would like to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online from home. Once those decisions have been made, you can start the procedure of comparing medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, a number of students restrict their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Kents Hill ME with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional factors that you must examine when evaluating schools. To help you with that task, below are a few questions that you need to ask about each of the schools you are thinking about before making your ultimate choice.
Is the Medical Assistant College Accredited? There are a number of great reasons to make sure that the college you choose is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps guarantee that the training you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you need to complete an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged organizations 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 organizations, you will not be eligible to take the CMA examination. Additionally, if you anticipate applying for a student loan or financial aid, they are often not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, many potential Kents Hill ME employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.
What is the Program’s Passage Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, 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 naturally you will need to choose a program concentrating on that certification. Next, learn 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 evaluate the quality of a school’s program. Of course programs with lower rates are those that you will prefer to eliminate.
Which Programs are Provided? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can choose a diploma or certificate program and receive 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 opt to obtain an Associate Degree and get a broader education that will require approximately 2 years to finish in a junior college or vocational school. Whichever program you decide to pursue, make sure that the colleges you are considering offer the type of program you are interested in.
Are Internships Offered? A large number of medical assistant schools sponsor internship programs with Kents Hill ME area health care providers. They are an excellent way to obtain hands-on clinical training and experience. They can also help students develop relationships within the Kents Hill health care community. And as an additional benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.
Is Job Placement Support Provided? Landing that very first job may be a difficult undertaking for medical assistant school graduates unless they have a little help from a job placement program. Verify that the colleges you are researching offer job placement assistance in the Kents Hill ME area and ask what their placement rate is. If a program has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has a good reputation within the health care community. It also signifies that it has a broad network of employers to help place students in jobs.
How Big are the Classes? Class size might be an indicator of how much personal instruction you will get during your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more prone to furnish increased access to instructors and face to face interaction. If practical, try to sit in on a couple of classes before selecting a program to experience what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students get.
Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you plan on attending a medical assistant program while you continue to work on a full time basis, it’s important that the college you enroll in offers classes that fit your schedule. If you have to attend classes at night or on weekends near Kents Hill ME, confirm that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in easier with an online college, but you will still need to schedule any clinical training or internships that might 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 responsibilities.
Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Kents Hill Maine?
If you are considering attending a medical assistant school in the Kents Hill ME area, following is some background information that may be both interesting and useful regarding your future campus location.
Kents Hill School
Kents Hill School (also known as Kents Hill or KHS) is a co-educational, independent college-preparatory school for boarding and day students. Kents Hill is located in Kents Hill, Maine, 12 miles west of the state capital of Augusta. It is the 30th oldest boarding school in the United States and one of the oldest continuously operating co-educational college preparatory schools.[2] One of the three oldest Methodist academies in the United States (with Cazenovia Seminary and Wilbraham Academy), the school is now a member of the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) and accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
Kents Hill was founded in 1824 as the Maine Wesleyan Seminary[3] by Luther Sampson, a Duxbury, Massachusetts native and a veteran of the American Revolution. According to an early publication of the Kents Hill Breeze, a defunct school periodical, Luther "was of the fifth generation in lineal descent from Henry Sampson, one of the Pilgrim band that landed on Plymouth Rock, December 22, 1620."[4] A carpenter[5] who had not had a formal education, Sampson wanted to use the wealth he had earned in his profession and the government-granted assignment of land he earned as a Colonial soldier to benefit society and to glorify God. Sampson, his wife Abigail Ford, and their children lived in Duxbury and, later, Marshfield, before relocating to over two hundred acres in Readfield, Maine, around the turn of the century.[4] In 1821, Sampson incorporated there the "Readfield Religious and Charitable Society", whose original charter contained no mention of a school, but rather laid a plan to support area Methodist belief and practice. Sampson deeded the society over one hundred acres of land on Kents Hill.
Failing financially and seeking a more efficacious means of performing his mission, by 1823 Sampson had begun to explore the possibility of changing the society's identity into one rooted in the education of youths.[4] Together with Elihu Robinson, a carpenter-schoolmaster in the nearby city of Augusta, and his wife, they opened the Seminary in order to better society through education. Boys and girls appeared on the school's roster from the day the school opened.
Choose the Best Medical Assistant Training Kents Hill ME
It’s imperative to begin your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant college that will furnish the right training. Regardless if you’re goal is to launch a career in healthcare starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your life long career, you must get the appropriate information on available programs prior to making your selection. There are so many colleges providing training nowadays that you can make a decision based on your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have addressed in this article, verify that the program you decide on is accredited by an acknowledged agency, for example the CAAHEP. This is especially critical if you anticipate taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Online Medical Assistant Programs. But regardless of the type of credential that you intend to earn or if you have decided to attend either an online or on-campus school, be sure to ask the questions we have provided in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the right program you can ultimately start a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Kents Hill ME.
More Medical Locations in Maine
Business Results 1 - 10 of 2
2 Reviews 
1 Reviews 