Best Colleges For Medical Assistant Concord NH - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Select a Medical Assistant Training Program near Concord New Hampshire

Concord NH medical assistant checking pulse Now that you have made a decision to enter the rewarding profession of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Concord NH, it’s time to choose a school that will provide the proper training. But just how do you approach evaluating and comparing schools so that you subsequently enroll in the ideal one? Many potential students start by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are closest to their homes and then gravitate toward those that have the most affordable tuition. While location and cost are very important, such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important factors also. You might decide to take a look at several online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more on that later). The bottom line is that before you select a program you need to carry out your due diligence and compare all important aspects of the schools you are examining. And to assist you with that task, we have provided a few questions that you need to ask each of the schools on your “maybe” list. But before we start that review, let’s talk a little bit about the function of a medical assistant and the kind of training and credentials that are offered.

The Job of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Concord NH nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be diverse as well as challenging. Primarily their duty is ensure that the Concord NH clinics, hospitals and other healthcare centers where they work run efficiently. Depending on the size or type of facility, they may be more of an administrative assistant, a clinical assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are responsible for giving direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other health professionals but may also be found working at the front desk or in an office. Some of the possible responsibilities of a medical assistant include:

Completing insurance forms and filing claims
Setting and confirming appointments
Taking vital signs and weighing patients
Taking blood and other fluid and tissue samples
Preparing rooms and instruments for physicians
Providing general support during examinations and procedures

Even though medical assistants can carry out almost any activity they are qualified to under New Hampshire law, some choose to specialize in a specific area and attain certification. Two of the options available 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 Training Courses

In contrast to most other healthcare professionals, medical assistants are not mandated to become licensed, certified, or to obtain a college degree. However, a number of Concord NH health care employers would rather hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training school (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are generally 2 choices provided for a formal education. The first and fastest way to becoming a medical assistant is to acquire a diploma or a certificate. These programs normally take about 1 year to complete, a few as little as 6 to 9 months. They are created to teach the fundamentals of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to attain an Associate Degree, which are usually 2 year programs offered at junior and community colleges together with vocational and technical schools. They are more comprehensive in nature than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They usually have a practical component 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 related field.

Medical Assistant Online Schools

woman attending medical assistant school online in Concord NH There are numerous accredited medical assistant programs offered online as well. They are a good alternative for those who may not have the time to attend classes on campus but could work them in if accessible at home. This is a particularly good solution for students who continue to work full time while pursuing their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, some online programs have lower tuitions than the more conventional on-campus options. Ancillary expenses including those for textbooks, commuting and school supplies can be reduced as well. But remember that any requirements for clinical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can usually be completed in Concord NH area medical facilities. If you can learn without the formal structure of attending supervised classes on-campus, then this method of receiving your training may be the best option for you. With the online classes and the clinical training, everything necessary to attain proficiency to perform as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As stated previously, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is a good choice for graduates who wish to boost their careers. Not only will it help in attaining a job after graduation, but it may also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. Some potential Concord NH medical employers just will not hire a medical assistant that has not attained certification or accredited formal training. The most popular and possibly 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 exam, a candidate must be a graduate or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are available also, such as the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are offered by the NHA.

Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Concord NH medical assistant programs Prior to assessing your medical assistant school options, you have to choose which type of credential you want to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online from home. Once those selections have been made, you can start the process of researching medical assistant schools. As we discussed at the beginning of this article, some prospective students confine their searches to the schools that are nearest to Concord NH with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you need to explore when researching programs. To assist you with that task, following are a few questions that you should ask about all of the schools you are thinking about before making your final choice.

Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are many great reasons to make sure that the school you enroll in is accredited. First, accreditation helps ensure that the training you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you intend to become certified, you must enroll in an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged 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 one of these organizations, you will not be eligible to take the CMA exam. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial aid, they are often not available for non-accredited programs. And finally, as mentioned previously, many prospective Concord NH employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.

What is the School’s Passage Percentage? The majority of accredited medical assistant schools design their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification exams. To begin with, you must determine which of the certifications the colleges you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then of course you will want to enroll in a program targeting that certification. Next, ask what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is one of the ways to help assess the quality of a college’s program. Obviously programs with lower rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.

Which Programs are Provided? As we covered earlier, there are generally two routes to obtaining medical assistant training. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program and obtain entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can decide to obtain an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take approximately two years to complete in a junior college or vocational school. Whichever program you elect to pursue, make certain that the colleges you are reviewing provide the type of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Provided? A large number of medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Concord NH area healthcare providers. They are a great way to obtain hands-on clinical experience and training. They may also help students develop relationships within the Concord health care community. And as an added benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Service Furnished? Landing that first job may be a difficult task for graduating medical assistant students unless they have some help from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Concord NH area and find out what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has a good reputation within the health care community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of employers to help place students in jobs.

How Big are the Classrooms? Class size can be an indication of how much personal attention you will get throughout your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide greater access to instructors and face to face interaction. If convenient, try to sit in on a couple of classes before enrolling in a college to observe what the teaching environment is like and how much attention the students get.

Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue to work on a full time basis, it’s essential that the program you choose offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Concord NH, verify that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online program, but you will also have to schedule all internships or clinical training that may be required. Additionally, ask what the protocol is for making up classes that you may have to miss because of illness, work or family responsibilities.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Concord New Hampshire?

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

Concord, New Hampshire

Concord includes the villages of Penacook, East Concord, and West Concord. The city is home to the University of New Hampshire School of Law, New Hampshire's only law school; St. Paul's School, a private preparatory school; NHTI, a two-year community college; and the Granite State Symphony Orchestra. It is the resting place of Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States.

The area that would become Concord was originally settled thousands of years ago by Abenaki Native Americans called the Pennacook.[1]:65 The tribe fished for migrating salmon, sturgeon, and alewives with nets strung across the rapids of the Merrimack River. The stream was also the transportation route for their birch bark canoes, which could travel from Lake Winnipesaukee to the Atlantic Ocean. The broad sweep of the Merrimack River valley floodplain provided good soil for farming beans, gourds, pumpkins, melons and maize.

On January 17, 1725, the Province of Massachusetts Bay, which then claimed territories west of the Merrimack River, granted the Concord area as the Plantation of Penacook.[1]:107 It was settled between 1725 and 1727 by Captain Ebenezer Eastman and others from Haverhill, Massachusetts. On February 9, 1734, the town was incorporated as Rumford,[1]:147 from which Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford would take his title. It was renamed Concord in 1765 by Governor Benning Wentworth following a bitter boundary dispute between Rumford and the town of Bow; the city name was meant to reflect the new concord, or harmony, between the disputant towns.[5] Citizens displaced by the resulting border adjustment were given land elsewhere as compensation. In 1779, New Pennacook Plantation was granted to Timothy Walker, Jr. and his associates at what would be incorporated in 1800 as Rumford, Maine, the site of Pennacook Falls.

Pick the Best Medical Assistant School Concord NH

Concord NH medical assistant student It’s important to start your new career on the right foot by picking a medical assistant college that will furnish the proper training. Regardless if 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 appropriate information on available programs before making your selection. There are so many colleges offering training these days that you can make a selection based on your individual circumstances and personal preferences. And as we have discussed in this article, make sure that the program you select is accredited by an acknowledged organization, for example the CAAHEP. This is especially critical if you plan on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Best Colleges For Medical Assistant. But irrespective of the type of credential that you intend to earn or if you have decided to attend either an on-campus or online school, be sure to ask the questions we have supplied so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the ideal program you can subsequently start a rewarding career as a medical assistant in Concord NH.