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What to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges
Prior to reviewing your medical assistant school options, you must choose which kind of credential you want to earn, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online at home. As soon as those selections have been made, you can begin the process of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some prospective students limit their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Yuma AZ with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifications, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional considerations that you must explore when researching programs. To help you with that process, following are a few questions that you need to ask about each of the schools you are considering before making your ultimate choice.
Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are a number of good reasons to ensure that the college you select is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps ensure 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 approved 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 either of these agencies, you will not be qualified to take the CMA examination. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, many potential Yuma AZ employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited school.
What is the School's Passage Percentage? The majority of accredited medical assistant schools create their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification exams. To begin with, you must learn which of the certifications the schools you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will need to choose a program focused on that certification. Second, ask what the school's passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. Doing this is just one of the methods to help assess the quality of a college's program. Of course programs with low rates are those that you will prefer to avoid.
Which Programs are Available? As we covered earlier, there are essentially two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can select a diploma or certificate program and get entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, however the average is closer to one year. Or you can elect to obtain an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take approximately two years to finish in a junior college or vocational school. Whatever program you elect to enroll in, confirm that the colleges you are reviewing offer the kind of program you have an interest in.
Are Internships Provided? A large number of medical assistant schools sponsor internship programs with Yuma AZ area healthcare providers. They are an excellent way to obtain hands-on clinical training and experience. They may also assist students develop relationships within the Yuma medical community. And as an added benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews too.
Is Job Placement Help Offered? Landing that initial job may be a daunting task for graduating medical assistant students unless they obtain a little assistance from a job placement program. Verify that the schools you are researching provide job placement assistance in the Yuma AZ 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 an excellent reputation within the health care community. It also signifies that it has a large network of contacts to help place students in positions.
How Big are the Classes? Class size might be an indicator of how much personal instruction you will receive during your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide greater access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to sit in on a few classes before selecting a program to see what the teaching environment is like and just how much attention the students receive.
Is Class Scheduling Practical? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue working on a full time basis, it's imperative that the school you enroll in offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Yuma AZ, make certain that those times are available. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online college, but you will still have to schedule any clinical training or internships that may be required. Additionally, find out what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to illness, work or family emergencies.