Best School For Medical Assistant Harriman NY - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Find the Right Medical Assistant Training School near Harriman New York

Harriman NY medical assistant checking pulse Once you have decided to enter the rewarding field of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Harriman NY, it’s time to choose a college that will furnish the right training. But just how do you approach comparing and evaluating schools so that you ultimately pick the ideal one? A number of potential students begin by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are nearest to their residences and then lean toward those that have the cheapest tuition. While location and cost are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are critical issues as well. You may choose to research some online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more about that later). The main point is that prior to selecting a college you need to finish your due diligence and compare all relevant aspects of the colleges you are reviewing. And to assist you with that process, we have furnished several questions that you need to ask all of the schools on your short list. But prior to starting that review, let’s talk a little bit about the role of a medical assistant and the type of credentials and training that are available.

The Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant

medical assistant with Harriman NY nursing home patient The function of a medical assistant can be varied as well as demanding. Essentially their duty is to make sure that the Harriman NY clinics, hospitals and other healthcare facilities where they work run successfully. Based on the size or type of facility, they can be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller practices both. They are tasked with giving direct assistance to the physicians, nurses and other health professionals but may also be found working in an office or at the front desk. Some of the possible duties of a medical assistant include:

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

Although medical assistants may carry out almost any duty they are authorized to under New York law, some choose to specialize in a particular area and attain certification. Two of the options 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 Courses

Compared to most other healthcare practitioners, medical assistants are not required to become licensed, certified, or to have a college degree. However, a number of Harriman NY health care employers prefer to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (more on accreditation later ) that are certified. There are basically 2 choices offered for a formal education. The first and shortest route to becoming a medical assistant is to acquire a diploma or a certificate. These programs normally take about 1 year to finish, a few as little as six to nine months. They are developed to teach the basics of medical assisting and ready graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to obtain an Associate Degree, which are usually 2 year programs available at community and junior colleges together with vocational and technical schools. They are more comprehensive in design than the certificate or diploma programs, and include liberal arts courses in addition to the medical assistant classes. They often have a practical element involving an internship with a local medical practice. Associate Degrees are often a pre-requisite for and credits can be applied to a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.

Medical Assistant Online Schools

woman attending medical assistant school online in Harriman NY There are many accredited medical assistant programs accessible online also. They are an excellent option for individuals who might not have time to attend classes on campus but could fit them in if accessible at home. This is a particularly good choice for students who continue to work full time while pursuing their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, many online programs have lower tuitions than the more conventional on-campus options. Supplemental costs including those for commuting, textbooks and school supplies can be minimized also. But bear in mind that all requirements for clinical training or internships must still be fulfilled, but they can often be performed in Harriman NY area healthcare facilities. If you can learn without the rigid structure of participating in supervised classes on-campus, then this mode of getting your training may be the best option for you. Between the online classes and the practical training, everything necessary to attain proficiency to work as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Options for Medical Assistants

As earlier stated, certification is not a legal requirement, but is an excellent option for those who want to advance their careers. It will not only help in securing a position after graduation, but it can also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. A number of possible Harriman NY medical employers simply will not hire a medical assistant that has not received certification or accredited formal training. The most popular and arguably 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 have graduated or will be graduating within thirty days from an accredited medical assistant program. Additional certifications are offered also, including the CCMA and the CMAA that we previously mentioned which are offered by the NHA.

Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Programs

Questions to ask Harriman NY medical assistant programs Prior to examining your medical assistant school options, you must decide which type of credential you would like to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on-campus or online at home. After those decisions have been made, you can begin the procedure of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, many potential students limit their searches to the schools that are closest to Harriman NY with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you should explore when researching schools. To help you with that task, below are a few questions that you should ask about each of the schools you are thinking about before making your ultimate choice.

Is the Medical Assistant College Accredited? There are many good reasons to verify that the college you choose is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps guarantee that the training you receive will be both extensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you need to complete an accredited program. Two of the acknowledged agencies for accreditation are the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). If your school is not accredited by one of these organizations, you will not be allowed to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you plan on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are often not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of potential Harriman NY employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the School’s Passage Percentage? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. To start with, you need to determine which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then naturally you will want to select a program targeting that certification. Second, learn what the school’s passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is just one of the means to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Of course schools with low rates are those that you will want to avoid.

Which Credentials are Available? As we previously covered, there are basically two routes to getting medical assistant training. You can choose a certificate or diploma program and obtain entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, however the average is closer to 1 year. Or you can decide to earn an Associate Degree and receive a broader education that will require approximately two years to complete in a junior college or vocational school. Whatever program you decide to pursue, confirm that the schools you are looking at provide the type of program you have an interest in.

Are Internships Available? A large number of medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with Harriman NY area medical providers. They are an excellent means to get hands-on clinical experience and training. They can also help students develop relationships within the Harriman health care community. And as an added perk, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.

Is Job Placement Help Furnished? Getting that first job may be a challenging task for medical assistant school graduates unless they receive a little help from a job placement program. Verify that the colleges you are researching offer job placement assistance in the Harriman NY area and find out what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its students, it indicates that it has a good reputation within the medical community. It also indicates that it has a broad network of contacts to help place students in positions.

How Big are the Classes? Class size might be an indication of how much individual instruction you will get throughout your training. Smaller classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to furnish increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If practical, try to sit in on a couple of classes before enrolling in a program to observe what the teaching environment is like and just how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Accessible? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue to work full time, it’s essential that the school you enroll in provides classes that fit your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Harriman NY, make certain that those times are offered. You might be able to fit your classes in easier with an online college, but you will also need to schedule all internships or clinical training that will be required. Additionally, find out what the policy is for making up classes that you may have to miss because of illness, work or family emergencies.

Enrolling in a Medical Assistant Program near Harriman New York?

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

Harriman, New York

Harriman is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,424 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

Edward Henry Harriman attended school in New York and New Jersey, but dropped out when he was 14 years old and took on the job of Wall Street message boy. He swiftly became a managing clerk, and then at the age of 22 he became a stockbroker with a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. He married Mary Williamson Averell and by 1881 his career as a rebuilder of bankrupt tracks began on the Lake Ontario Southern railroad which Harriman fixed up and sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad for an outstanding profit. He became one of the most powerful men in America from owning various railroads with aspirations of owning all of them. Harriman went on a voyage which became known as the Harriman Alaska Expedition. In 1899, Harriman along with a superior group of scientists, photographers, artists, and naturalists set out to explore the coast of Alaska. This was a two-month expedition traveling from Seattle to Siberia, and then back again. He visited and documented several different places along the Alaskan coast with various discoveries he brought back to Seattle at the end of the voyage on July 30. E.H. Harriman died September 9, at his home at age 62.

As of the census of 2010, there was total population of 2,424 people consisting of 1,177 males making up 48.6% and 1,247 females at 51.4%. There was a 7.6% increase in total population from a decade ago. The median resident age was 37.1 years old. The estimated median household income in 2009 was $68,731 with an estimated capita income of 37,795.

Pick the Best Medical Assistant Training Program Harriman NY

Harriman NY medical assistant student It’s essential to start your new career on the right foot by picking a medical assistant college that will provide the appropriate training. Regardless if you’re objective is to begin a career in medical care starting out as a medical assistant or to practice medical assistance as your life long career, you must get the appropriate info on available programs before making your selection. There are such a large number of schools providing training nowadays that you can make a decision based upon your personal preferences and individual circumstances. And as we have discussed in this article, confirm that the program you select is accredited by an acknowledged agency, such as the CAAHEP. This is especially important if you plan on taking the CMA certification examination. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Best School 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, don’t forget to ask the questions we have provided in order to evaluate programs and make an informed decision. And by picking the right program you can subsequently start a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Harriman NY.