Medical Assistant Classes Marlborough MA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Enroll In a Medical Assistant Program near Marlborough Massachusetts

Marlborough MA medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have decided to become a part of the gratifying profession of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Marlborough MA, it’s time to select a school that will provide the appropriate training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating colleges so that you ultimately enroll in the best one? A number of prospective students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their homes and then lean toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While cost and location are very important, such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors also. You might choose to take a look at a few online medical assistant programs as an alternative also (more on that later). The main point is that before you select a program you must finish your due diligence and compare all relevant qualifications of the schools you are reviewing. And to help you with that process, we have furnished some 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 offered.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Marlborough MA nursing home patient The responsibilities of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as demanding. Basically their function is ensure that the Marlborough MA clinics, hospitals and other healthcare centers where they work run efficiently. Depending 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 nurses, doctors and other medical practitioners but can also be found working at the front desk or in an office. Some of the possible duties of a medical assistant include:

Completing insurance forms and submitting claims
Setting and verifying appointments
Weighing and taking patients vital signs
Collecting blood and other tissue and fluid samples
Preparing rooms and instruments for doctors
Providing general support during examinations and procedures

While medical assistants may carry out almost any duty they are authorized to under Massachusetts law, some opt to specialize in a specific area and attain certification. Two of the options 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 Programs

Compared to many other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become certified, licensed, or to earn a college degree. However, many Marlborough MA health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are generally 2 choices available for a formal education. The first and quickest path to becoming a medical assistant is to earn a certificate or diploma. These programs typically take about a year to finish, a few as little as six to nine months. They are created to teach the basics of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second alternative is to attain an Associate Degree, which are usually two year programs provided at community and junior 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 classes. They frequently have a practical component requiring an internship with a local medical practice. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a related field.

Medical Assistant Online Programs

woman attending medical assistant school online in Marlborough MA There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs offered online too. They are a good choice for students who might not have the time to attend classes on campus but could fit them in if attended at home. This is an especially good alternative for students who continue working full time while pursuing their degree or certificate. As an extra benefit, some online programs have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Ancillary costs such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies may be minimized also. Just keep in mind that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can usually be performed in Marlborough MA area health care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the formal structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this approach to receiving your training may be the right option for you. Between the online classes and the practical training, everything needed to achieve proficiency to work as a medical assistant is provided.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As earlier stated, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is a good option for graduates who wish to advance their careers. Not only will it help in securing employment after graduation, but it may also help with initial salary negotiations. Many potential Marlborough MA medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained certification or accredited formal training. The most popular and perhaps the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to sit for the CMA examination, a candidate must be a graduate or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available also, for instance the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.

Topics to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask Marlborough MA medical assistant programs Before you can start reviewing your medical assistant school options, you must decide which type of credential you would like to attain, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online from home. Once those choices have been made, you can start the procedure of researching medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some students limit their searches to the schools that are nearest to Marlborough MA with the cheapest tuition. Although cost and location are important qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are several additional issues that you should look at when assessing schools. To assist you with that process, following are some questions that you need to ask about each of the programs you are considering before making your final selection.

Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are many good reasons to confirm that the school you choose is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps guarantee that the education you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you intend to become certified, you must complete an accredited program. Two of the approved organizations 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 agencies, you will not be allowed to take the CMA exam. Also, if you anticipate applying for a student loan or financial aid, they are normally not offered for non-accredited programs. And finally, as previously mentioned, a number of potential Marlborough MA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.

What is the Program’s Passage Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant colleges create their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification exams. To begin with, you need to find out which of the certifications the colleges you are considering are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then of course you will want to choose a program concentrating on that certification. Second, learn what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is one of the ways to help evaluate the quality of a school’s program. Obviously programs with low rates are those that you will prefer to avoid.

Which Programs are Provided? As we covered earlier, 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 shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is closer to one year. Or you can opt to obtain an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will take about 2 years to accomplish in a junior college or trade school. Whichever program you elect to pursue, make certain that the colleges you are looking at provide the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Available? Many medical assistant programs sponsor internship programs with Marlborough MA area healthcare providers. They are a great means to get hands-on practical training and experience. They can also help students build relationships within the Marlborough medical community. And as an added benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Service Offered? Finding that first job can be a challenging task for graduating medical assistant students unless they receive a little help from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are interviewing provide job placement assistance in the Marlborough MA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a school has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has a good reputation within the healthcare community. It also indicates that it has a broad network of contacts to help place students in positions.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size may be an indication of how much individual instruction you will receive throughout your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to offer greater access to instructors and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to attend a few classes before selecting a college to see what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accessible? If you plan on attending a medical assistant program while you continue to work full-time, it’s important that the college you enroll in provides classes that fit your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Marlborough MA, make certain that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in more conveniently with an online school, but you will still have to schedule all internships or clinical training that will 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 Marlborough Massachusetts?

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

Marlborough, Massachusetts

Marlborough (often spelled Marlboro) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Christopher Allen was recorded as marshal of Marlborough in 1638 and married to Mary Wetherbee. John Howe, Jr. in 1656 was a fur trader and built a house at the intersection of two Indian trails, Nashua Trail and Connecticut path.[4] He could speak the language of the Algonquian Indians though the local tribe referred to themselves as the Pennacooks. The settlers were welcomed by the Indians because they protected them from other tribes they were at war with. In the 1650s, several families left the nearby town of Sudbury, 18 miles west of Boston, to start a new town. The village was named after Marlborough, the market town in Wiltshire, England. It was first settled in 1657 by 14 men led by Edmund Rice, John Ruddock and John Howe; in 1656 Rice and his colleagues petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to create the town of Marlborough and it was officially incorporated in 1660. Rice was elected a selectman at Marlborough in 1657. Sumner Chilton Powell wrote, in Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town, "Not only did Rice become the largest individual landholder in Sudbury, but he represented his new town in the Massachusetts legislature for five years and devoted at least eleven of his last fifteen years to serving as selectman and judge of small causes."[5]

Marlborough was one of the seven "Praying Indian Towns" because they were converted to Christianity by the Rev. John Eliot of Roxbury. In 1674 a deed was drawn up dividing the land between the settlers and the natives. This is the only record of names of the natives.

Choose the Ideal Medical Assistant College Marlborough MA

Marlborough MA medical assistant student It’s imperative to start your new career on the right foot by selecting a medical assistant program that will provide the proper training. Regardless if you’re goal is to launch a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you need to obtain the right information on available programs before making your decision. 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 covered in this article, make certain that the program you decide on is accredited by an acknowledged organization, for example the CAAHEP. This is particularly important if you plan on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Medical Assistant Classes. But irrespective of the kind 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 supplied so you can evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the ideal program you can subsequently begin a fulfilling career as a medical assistant in Marlborough MA.