Medical Assistant Overview Sudbury MA - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant Training School near Sudbury Massachusetts

Sudbury MA medical assistant checking pulse Once you have decided to enter the gratifying field of healthcare and enroll in a medical assistant school near Sudbury MA, it’s time to select a school that will provide the proper training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating schools so that you ultimately enroll in the ideal one? Many potential students start by researching the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their homes and then lean toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors also. You might decide to research a few online medical assistant programs as an option also (more on that later). The bottom line is that prior to selecting a college you need to finish your due diligence and compare all pertinent aspects of the colleges you are assessing. And to assist you with that task, we have furnished some questions that you should ask all of the colleges on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s talk a little bit about the function of a medical assistant and the type of credentials and training that are available.

The Role of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Sudbury MA nursing home patient The role of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Essentially their role is to make sure that the Sudbury MA clinics, hospitals and other healthcare facilities where they work operate efficiently. Based on the size or type of facility, they may be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller facilities both. They are responsible for providing direct support to the physicians, nurses and other medical professionals but can also be found working at the front desk or in an office. Some of the potential duties of a medical assistant include:

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

Even though medical assistants may carry out almost any duty they are qualified to under Massachusetts law, some elect 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) provided by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Training Courses

Compared to many other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become licensed, certified, or to obtain a college degree. However, many Sudbury MA 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 shortest route to becoming a medical assistant is to obtain a diploma or a certificate. These programs generally take about one year to complete, a few 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 attain an Associate Degree, which are normally 2 year programs available at junior and community colleges in addition to vocational and technical schools. They are more extensive in nature than the diploma or certificate programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant courses. They usually have a clinical component requiring an internship with a local medical practice. Associate Degrees are commonly a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a related field.

Online Medical Assistant Programs

woman attending medical assistant school online in Sudbury MA There are a number of accredited medical assistant programs available online also. They are an excellent option for students who may not have 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 to work full-time while earning their degree or certificate. As an extra benefit, a number of online schools have cheaper tuitions than the more traditional on-campus alternatives. Supplemental expenses such as for textbooks, commuting and school supplies might be reduced as well. But keep in mind that all requirements for practical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can often be carried out in Sudbury MA area medical facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of participating in supervised classes on campus, then this mode of receiving your training might be the best choice for you. With the online classes and the clinical training, everything needed to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal mandate, but is an excellent option for individuals who wish to advance their careers. It will not only help in obtaining a job after graduation, but it can also help with initial salary negotiations. Some possible Sudbury MA medical employers just will not employ a medical assistant that has not obtained certification or accredited formal training. One of the most popular and possibly the most respected certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). In order to sit for the CMA examination, an applicant must be a graduate or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available as well, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Schools

Questions to ask Sudbury MA medical assistant programs Before you can start evaluating your medical assistant school alternatives, you have to decide which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online at home. Once those choices have been made, you can start the process of researching medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, many students restrict their searches to the schools that are nearest to Sudbury MA with the cheapest tuition. Although cost and location are important qualifications, they are not the only ones. There are several additional factors that you must examine when evaluating programs. To help you with that task, below are a few questions that you need to ask about all of the programs you are thinking about before making your ultimate selection.

Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are a number of good reasons to ensure that the program you choose is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps guarantee that the instruction you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Next, if you intend to become certified, you must enroll in an accredited program. Two of the accepted 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 one of these organizations, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you plan on obtaining a student loan or financial aid, they are often not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of potential Sudbury MA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the Program’s Passing Percentage? The majority of accredited medical assistant schools design their programs to prep students to pass one or more certification exams. First, you must learn which of the certifications the colleges you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then naturally you will need to choose a program focused on that certification. Next, ask what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is just one of the ways to help evaluate the quality of a college’s program. Of course programs with low rates are those that you will prefer to eliminate.

Which Credentials are Offered? As we covered earlier, there are basically two paths to obtaining medical assistant training. You can choose a diploma or certificate program and get entry level training in the fastest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, however the average is about 1 year. Or you can choose to earn an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will require approximately 2 years to accomplish in a community college or vocational school. Whichever program you choose to enroll in, confirm that the schools you are considering provide the kind of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Provided? Numerous medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Sudbury MA area medical care providers. They are an excellent way to obtain hands-on practical experience and training. They can also assist students build relationships within the Sudbury healthcare community. And as an additional perk, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Support Offered? Landing that first job may be a daunting undertaking for medical assistant school graduates unless they obtain some assistance from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are researching provide job placement assistance in the Sudbury MA area and find out what their placement rate is. If a college has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also signifies that it has a wide network of contacts to help place students in positions.

How Large are the Classes? Class size can be an indication of how much personal instruction you will receive throughout your training. Small 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 possible, try to monitor a few classes before enrolling in a program to witness what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue working full time, it’s important that the program you select offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Sudbury MA, make sure that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online school, but you will still need to schedule any internships or practical training that will be required. Also, ask what the policy is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to illness, work or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Sudbury Massachusetts?

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

Sudbury, Massachusetts

The town was incorporated in 1639. At that time, the boundaries of Sudbury included (by 1653) all what is now of Wayland (which split off in 1780), and parts of Framingham, Marlborough, Stow and Maynard (Maynard split off 1871).[2][3]

Sudbury also contributed the most militia during King Philip's War and was the site of the well-known attack on Sudbury.[4]Ephraim Curtis was a successful leader of the militia of West Sudbury and would lend his name to the town's junior high school.[5][6]:24–75 Sudbury militia participated in the Battle of Lexington and Concord, in 1775, where Sudbury members sniped on British Red Coats returning to Boston.

One of Sudbury's historic landmarks, the Wayside Inn, claims to be the country's oldest operating inn, built and run by the Howe family for many generations. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote Tales of a Wayside Inn, a book of poems published in 1863. In the book, the poem The Landlord's Tale was the source of the immortal phrase "listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." Henry Ford bought the inn in 1923, restored it and donated it to a charitable foundation which continues to run it as an operating inn to this day. Ford also built a boys' school on the property, as well as a grist mill, and the Martha–Mary Chapel. He brought in the Redstone Schoolhouse from Sterling, which was reputed to be the school in Sarah Josepha Hale's nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.[7][8] However, Giuseppi Cavicchio's refusal to sell his water rights scuttled Henry Ford's plans to build an auto parts factory at the site of Charles O. Parmenter's mill in South Sudbury.[9] The Sudbury Center Historic District has changed little since 1800.

Choose the Ideal Medical Assistant School Sudbury MA

Sudbury 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 appropriate training. Whether you’re objective is to begin a career in health care starting out as a medical assistant or to pursue medical assistance as your life long career, you must acquire the right information on available programs before making your decision. There are so many colleges offering training nowadays that you can make a decision based on your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have discussed in this article, verify that the program you decide on is accredited by a recognized agency, such as 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 Medical Assistant Overview. But regardless of the kind of credential that you plan to earn or if you have made a decision to attend either an on-campus or online school, don’t forget to ask the questions we have supplied in order to compare programs and make an informed decision. And by choosing the right program you can ultimately begin a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Sudbury MA.