Clinical Medical Assistant Kernersville NC - Find Medical Assistant Programs Near You

How to Find the Right Medical Assistant Training School near Kernersville North Carolina

Kernersville NC medical assistant checking pulse Once you have decided to enter the gratifying field of health care and enroll in a medical assistant school near Kernersville NC, it’s time to select a college that will furnish the proper training. But just how do you approach evaluating and comparing colleges so that you ultimately enroll in the ideal one? Most potential students start by evaluating the medical assistant schools that are closest to their residences and then lean toward those that have the lowest tuition. While cost and location are extremely important such things as accreditation, internship programs and job assistance are important issues as well. You may want to take a look at some online medical assistant programs as an alternative as well (more on that later). The main point is that before you select a college you need to complete your due diligence and compare all important aspects of the colleges you are examining. And to help you with that task, we have furnished some questions that you should ask all of the schools 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 training and credentials that are available.

The Duties of Medical Assistants

medical assistant with Kernersville NC nursing home patient The role of a medical assistant can be varied as well as challenging. Basically their duty is ensure that the Kernersville NC clinics, hospitals and other medical care institutions where they work run efficiently. Based on the type or size of facility, they can be more of a clinical assistant, an administrative assistant, or in smaller facilities both. They are responsible for giving direct support to the physicians, nurses and other medical practitioners but may also be found performing duties in an office or at the front desk. A few of the potential functions of a medical assistant include:

Completing insurance forms and filing claims
Scheduling and confirming appointments
Taking vital signs and weighing patients
Taking blood and other tissue and fluid specimens
Preparing rooms and instruments for physicians
Supplying basic support during examinations and procedures

Although medical assistants can perform almost any task they are authorized to under North Carolina law, some prefer to specialize in a specific area and earn certification. Two of the options offered are for the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Medical Assistant Education

Compared to many other medical professionals, medical assistants are not required to become certified, licensed, or to earn a college degree. However, many Kernersville NC health care employers choose to hire graduates of an accredited medical assistant training program (we’ll cover accreditation later ) that have earned certification. There are basically 2 options offered for a formal education. The first and shortest way to becoming a medical assistant is to attain a certificate or diploma. These programs normally take about 1 year to complete, a few as little as 6 to 9 months. They are designed to teach the basics of medical assisting and prepare graduates for entry level positions. The second option is to attain an Associate Degree, which are normally 2 year programs available at community and junior colleges as well as vocational and technical schools. They are more expansive in nature than the certificate or diploma programs, and include general education courses in addition to the medical assistant training. They usually have a practical element requiring an internship with a local medical facility. Associate Degrees are routinely a pre-requisite for and credits can be transferred to a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Assistant Studies or a similar field.

Medical Assistant Online Programs

woman attending medical assistant school online in Kernersville NC There are many accredited medical assistant programs accessible online too. They are a good choice for students who may not have the time to go to classes on campus but could fit them in if accessible at home. This is a particularly good alternative for students who continue working full-time while earning their certificate or degree. As an added benefit, some online programs have lower tuitions than the more traditional on campus options. Supplemental costs such as for commuting, textbooks and school supplies may be minimized also. Just keep in mind that any requirements for practical training or internships must still be satisfied, but they can typically be completed in Kernersville NC area medical care facilities. If you can earn a degree without the rigid structure of attending supervised classes on campus, then this mode of getting your education might be the ideal option for you. With the online courses and the clinical training, everything needed to attain proficiency to perform as a medical assistant is furnished.

Certification Programs for Medical Assistants

As previously mentioned, becoming certified is not a legal requirement, but is a good idea for graduates who want to advance their careers. Not only will it help in getting a job after graduation, but it may also enhance preliminary salary negotiations. Some potential Kernersville NC medical employers simply will not employ a medical assistant that has not obtained accredited formal training or certification. The most popular and possibly the most highly regarded certification is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) provided by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). To qualify to apply for the CMA examination, an applicant must have graduated or will graduate within 30 days from an accredited medical assistant program. Other certifications are offered also, for instance the CCMA and the CMAA that we discussed earlier which are provided by the NHA.

Points to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges

Questions to ask Kernersville NC medical assistant programs Prior to examining your medical assistant school options, you need to decide which kind of credential you would like to attain, and if you want to attend classes on-campus or online at home. After those decisions have been made, you can begin the process of comparing medical assistant schools. As we covered at the beginning of this article, a number of prospective students restrict their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Kernersville NC with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are important qualifications, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional considerations that you need to explore when assessing schools. To help you with that process, following are some questions that you need to ask about all of the programs you are thinking about before making your final selection.

Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are several great reasons to make certain that the program you enroll in is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps ensure that the education you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you need to complete 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 school is not accredited by one of these agencies, you will not be qualified to take the CMA exam. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of prospective Kernersville NC employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.

What is the Program’s Passing Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant schools design their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification exams. To begin with, you need to learn which of the certifications the schools you are reviewing are preparing their students for. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then naturally you will want to choose a program targeting that certification. Next, ask what the program’s passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is one of the means to help assess the quality of a school’s program. Naturally programs with low rates are ones that you will prefer to avoid.

Which Credentials are Available? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can select a certificate or diploma program and receive entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, however the average is closer to one year. Or you can elect to earn an Associate Degree and receive a more comprehensive education that will take approximately 2 years to finish in a junior college or vocational school. Whatever program you elect to pursue, make certain that the schools you are reviewing provide the kind of program you are interested in.

Are Internships Sponsored? Many medical assistant programs sponsor internship programs with Kernersville NC area medical providers. They are an excellent means to get hands-on practical experience and training. They can also assist students build relationships within the Kernersville healthcare community. And as an additional benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews too.

Is Job Placement Support Provided? Finding that very first job may be a daunting undertaking for graduating medical assistant students unless they receive some help from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Kernersville NC area and ask what their placement rate is. If a college has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it indicates that it has an excellent reputation within the healthcare community. It also signifies that it has a broad network of employers to help place students in positions.

How Large are the Classes? Class size can 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 practical, try to monitor a few classes before selecting a school to observe what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students receive.

Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant program while you continue working full-time, it’s essential that the college you enroll in offers classes that fit your schedule. If you need to attend classes at night or on weekends near Kernersville NC, verify that those times are available. You might be able to fit your classes in more conveniently with an online program, but you will still have to schedule any internships or clinical training that might be required. Additionally, ask what the policy 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 Kernersville North Carolina?

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

Kernersville, North Carolina

Kernersville is a town in Forsyth County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. A small portion of the town is also in Guilford County. The population was 23,123 at the 2010 census,[5] up from 17,126 at the 2000 census. Kernersville is located at the center of the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area, between Greensboro to the east, High Point to the south, and Winston-Salem to the west. Some of the rural farmland surrounding the town has been sold and turned into large middle-to-upper-class housing developments, and numerous large shopping centers have been built in the town over the past few years. Flue-cured tobacco was the major crop grown in the area and is still grown in some areas today. While Kernersville went through a growth spurt in the first decade of the 21st century, it has leveled off and farms are doing well for the most part in an attempt to revitalize the agricultural community.[citation needed]

Kernersville is located 10 miles (16 km) east of Winston-Salem and 17 miles (27 km) west of Greensboro. U.S. Route 421 is a four-lane freeway through the town, following the prior routing of Interstate 40 before that highway was moved to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45.1 km2), of which 17.3 square miles (44.9 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.63%, is water.[5]

Pick the Ideal Medical Assistant Training Program Kernersville NC

Kernersville NC medical assistant student It’s essential to begin your new career on the right foot by enrolling in a medical assistant program 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 lifetime career, you need to acquire the right info on available programs before making your selection. There are such a large number of colleges offering training these days 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 choose is accredited by a recognized organization, such as the CAAHEP. This is particularly important if you plan on taking the CMA certification exam. You came to this site initially because you had an interest in Clinical 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, make sure to ask the questions we have supplied so you can compare programs and make an informed decision. And by selecting the ideal program you can subsequently begin a gratifying career as a medical assistant in Kernersville NC.