Accredited Medical Assistant Programs Concord MA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Pick a Medical Assistant School near Concord Massachusetts

Concord MA medical assistant checking pulse Once you have decided to become a part of the rewarding profession of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Concord MA, it’s time to choose a college that will provide the right training. But just how do you go about evaluating and comparing schools so that you ultimately pick the right one? A number of prospective students begin by checking out the medical assistant schools that are closest to their residences and then gravitate toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While cost and location are very important, such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important issues also. You might choose to research some online medical assistant programs as an option also (more about that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a program you must carry out your due diligence and compare all important qualifications of the schools you are evaluating. And to help you with that process, we have furnished several questions that you need to ask all of the colleges on your “maybe” list. But before we start that review, let’s briefly talk about the function of a medical assistant and the type of credentials and training that are available.

The Duties of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Concord MA nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be varied as well as challenging. Primarily their job is ensure that the Concord MA hospitals, clinics and other medical care facilities where they work run successfully. Depending on the type or size of facility, they can be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are tasked with giving direct assistance 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 duties of a medical assistant include:

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

While medical assistants may carry out almost any task they are qualified to under Massachusetts law, some elect to specialize in a specific area and attain certification. Two of the choices offered are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) made available by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Education

In contrast to many other healthcare professionals, medical assistants are not required to become licensed, certified, or to obtain a college degree. However, many Concord MA health care employers choose to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that are certified. There are basically two choices available for a formal education. The first and fastest way to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a diploma or a certificate. These programs normally take about 1 year to finish, some as little as 6 to 9 months. They are designed to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to earn an Associate Degree, which are normally 2 year programs provided at junior and community colleges in addition to vocational and technical schools. They are more expansive in design than the diploma or certificate programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They often have a practical element requiring an internship with a local medical practice. 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.

Online Medical Assistant Classes

woman attending medical assistant school online in Concord MA There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are an excellent choice for individuals who might not have 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 working full-time while earning their degree or certificate. As an added benefit, many online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental costs including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies may be lessened also. But keep in mind that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be met, but they can usually be performed in Concord MA area health care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this mode of getting your training might be the right choice for you. With the online lessons and the clinical training, everything needed to attain 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 graduates who wish to boost their careers. It will not only help in obtaining a position after graduation, but it may also help with preliminary salary negotiations. A number of potential Concord MA medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not obtained accredited formal training or certification. The most popular and arguably 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 exam, an applicant must be a graduate or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Alternative certifications are offered also, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Concord MA medical assistant programs Prior to evaluating your medical assistant school alternatives, you must determine which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online at home. After those decisions have been made, you can start the process of researching medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, a number of prospective students restrict their searches to the schools that are closest to Concord MA with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifications, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you should look at when researching schools. To assist you with that task, below are some questions that you should ask about each of the schools you are thinking about before making your final selection.

Is the Medical Assistant School Accredited? There are many good reasons to verify that the program you enroll in is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps ensure that the instruction you receive will be both comprehensive 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 program is not accredited by either of these organizations, you will not be qualified to take the CMA exam. Also, if you anticipate obtaining a student loan or financial aid, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, many potential Concord MA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the Program’s Passage Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant schools develop their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you need to determine which of the certifications the programs you are considering are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then obviously you will need to choose a program focused on that certification. Next, ask what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is just one of the ways to help assess the quality of a college’s program. Naturally programs with low rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Available? As we previously covered, there are generally two routes to getting medical assistant training. You can enroll in a diploma or certificate program and receive entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is about 1 year. Or you can elect to acquire an Associate Degree and get a broader education that will take about 2 years to accomplish in a junior college or vocational school. Whatever program you decide to pursue, make certain that the colleges you are looking at provide the type of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Provided? Many medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with Concord MA area healthcare providers. They are an excellent means to obtain hands-on practical training and experience. They can also assist students develop relationships within the Concord healthcare community. And as an additional perk, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Service Furnished? Landing that very first job can be a difficult task for graduating medical assistant students unless they obtain some assistance from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are researching provide job placement assistance in the Concord MA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a school has a high job placement rate for its students, it affirms that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also signifies that it has a wide network of employers to help place students in jobs.

How Big are the Classes? Class size can be an indication of how much individual instruction you will get during your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to monitor a couple of classes before choosing a college to witness what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant college while you continue working on a full time basis, it’s important that the college you select provides classes that fit your schedule. If you have to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Concord MA, make certain that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online program, but you will still have to schedule all clinical training or internships that may be required. Also, ask what the policy is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to work, illness or family issues.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Concord Massachusetts?

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

Concord, Massachusetts

Concord (/ˈkɒŋkərd/) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668.[1] The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is located near where the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet rivers forms the Concord River.

The area that became the town of Concord was originally known as Musketaquid, an Algonquian word for "grassy plain." Concord was established in 1635 by a handful of British settlers; by 1775, the population had grown to 1,400.[2] As dissension between colonists in North America and the British crown intensified, 700 troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord on April 19, 1775.[3][4] The ensuing conflict, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, was the final inciting incident (the shot heard round the world) that triggered the American Revolutionary War.

A rich literary community developed in Concord during the mid-nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's circle included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. Major works written in Concord during this period include Alcott's novel Little Women, Emerson's essay Self-Reliance, and Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience. In this era, the now-ubiquitous Concord grape was developed in Concord by Ephraim Wales Bull.

Pick the Best Medical Assistant Training Concord MA

Concord MA 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 proper training. Whether you’re planning to launch a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you must obtain the appropriate info on available programs prior to making your decision. There are so many schools offering training these days that you can make a selection based on your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have discussed in this article, verify that the program you choose is accredited by an acknowledged agency, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly critical if you plan on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Accredited Medical Assistant Programs. But regardless of the type of credential that you intend to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an on-campus or online school, be sure to ask the questions we have supplied in order to evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the ideal program you can ultimately begin a fulfilling career as a medical assistant in Concord MA.