Get information for the top Online Medical Assistant Schools with free reports from these top ranked schools. Click any school below!
- Ashworth College – Medical Office Assisting
- San Joanquin Valley – Clinical Medical Assisting
- Virginia College – Associates in Medical Office Administration
- Penn Foster Career – Medical Office Assistant
- Herzing University – Associate of Science in Medical Assisting
Welcome to MedicalAssistantSchools.org! Here you’ll find all you need to know about becoming a medical assistant and choosing the right school for you.
Medical assistants have always been critical employees in the health care system, but they are becoming even more important as the industry expands, technology advances, and the population ages. What makes medical assistants so important? Well they are the ones who make sure a patient receives the best possible care from the time he enters a hospital, doctor’s office, or other medical facility to the time he leaves.
For medical assistants, the job can be both professionally and emotionally rewarding and can also serve as a stepping stone to another position in the medical field; with training as a medical assistant, you will have the basic knowledge necessary to begin building a career in the health care field.
Are you ready for the challenge of becoming a medical assistant? Let MedicalAssistantSchools.org help you find the perfect program for you.
What do medical assistants do?
Medical assistants are true team players on the health care team. Their tasks vary greatly, depending on what employers expect from them, but can include both administrative and clinical responsibilities. Some possible job duties of medical assistants include the following:
- Ask patients about their medical histories
- Record vital signs
- Prepare patients for exams, x-rays, etc.
- Prepare rooms for procedures, including the sterilization of equipment
- Help doctors during exams, x-rays, etc.
- Help patients understand doctor recommendations and information
- Give medications
- Remove stitches
- Handle medical files
- Fill out insurance forms
- Schedule patient appointments and procedures at other medical care facilities
- Greet patients and handle phone calls and correspondence
- Keep track of billing and bookkeeping matters
Where do medical assistants work?
If you’re thinking of becoming a medical assistant, you should be comfortable in doctors’ offices, as that is where most medical assistants work; other common places of employment include hospitals, health care clinics, outpatient centers, and other medical offices.
What is the average salary and job outlook for medical assistants?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical assistants should see excellent job growth over the next decade. Medical assistants who have been certified and/or have gained experience will have the best prospects of all.
Medical assistants earned a median annual salary of $28,300 in May 2008, shows BLS information; the middle 50% earned between $23,700 and $33,050 with variations for location, skill level, and experience.
How do I become a medical assistant?
Now that you know all about what being a medical assistant entails, it’s time to learn more about the steps you must take in order to become a medical assistant.
First of all, you should know that certification as a medical assistant is one of the best ways to ensure that you will have the best employment prospects. Indeed, most employers today require that medical assistants are both properly trained and certified, so let’s talk a bit about medical assistant certification.
In order to be eligible for certification, you must complete a program at an accredited school; the two major accreditation bodies are the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES), so the school you choose should be accredited by one of those two organizations.
The certification you are working toward will likely be as a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or the Association of Medical Technologists (AMT).
Now, what kind of training will you need leading up to certification?
There are two basic educational paths for becoming a medical assistant:
Certificate/diploma medical assistant programs are offered at community or career colleges and take between nine months and a year to complete. Required coursework is only in the subjects that will directly prepare you to become a medical assistant; there are no general education requirements. Certificate/diploma programs are less expensive than associate degree programs as they can be completed in about half the time.
Associate’s medical assistant degree programs are also offered at community or career colleges, but take two years of full-time study to complete. In order to earn an associate degree, you will be responsible for general education requirements in addition to those courses necessary to prepare you for a career as a medical assistant.
Of course, the major advantage to earning an associate degree instead of a certificate or diploma is that you may be able to later apply your associate degree credits toward a bachelor’s degree program if you decide to further your education. Be sure to read program descriptions and materials carefully, though, as not all credits from all schools are transferrable. In order to avoid the situation in which you’d have to start all over for a bachelor’s degree even though you already have an associate’s degree, pay attention to this issue sooner rather than later.
If you think you have what it takes to be a medical assistant, you can begin right now. Have a look around MedicalAssistantSchools.org and get started on this exciting career path today! Check out our resources.
