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Questions to Ask Medical Assistant Schools
Before you can start reviewing your medical assistant school alternatives, you must decide which type of credential you want to attain, and if you want to attend classes on campus or online at home. As soon as those decisions have been made, you can start the process of comparing medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some students confine their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Menifee CA with the most affordable tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are by no means the only ones. There are several additional considerations that you should explore when researching schools. To help you with that process, below are some questions that you should ask about each of the programs you are thinking about before making your ultimate choice.
Is the Medical Assistant Program Accredited? There are many good reasons to verify that the program you select is accredited. To start with, accreditation helps guarantee that the education you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you must complete 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 allowed to take the CMA examination. Additionally, if you plan on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. And last, as mentioned previously, a number of prospective Menifee CA employers will not hire a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.
What is the School's Passage Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant schools design their programs to prepare students to pass one or more certification examinations. First, you must determine which of the certifications the programs you are looking at are preparing their students for. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then of course you will want to select a program concentrating on that certification. Second, 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 college's program. Obviously schools with lower rates are ones that you will prefer to avoid.
Which Programs are Offered? As we covered earlier, there are basically two paths to acquiring medical assistant training. You can select a diploma or certificate program and get entry level training in the shortest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, although the average is about one year. Or you can elect to obtain an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take approximately two years to complete in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you choose to pursue, make certain that the colleges you are looking at provide the type of program you are interested in.
Are Internships Provided? Numerous medical assistant schools offer internship programs with Menifee CA area medical care providers. They are a great way to obtain hands-on practical training and experience. They can also assist students develop relationships within the Menifee health care community. And as an added benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews as well.
Is Job Placement Service Supplied? Landing that initial job can be a daunting task for medical assistant school graduates unless they obtain some help from a job placement program. Confirm that the colleges you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Menifee CA area and ask what their placement rate is. If a program has a high job placement rate for its students, it affirms that it has an excellent reputation within the health care community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of contacts to help place students in positions.
How Big are the Classes? Class size might be an indicator of how much individual attention you will get during your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more prone to provide increased access to instructors and one-on-one interaction. If practical, try to sit in on a couple of classes before enrolling in a program to experience what the teaching atmosphere is like and how much attention the students get.
Is Class Scheduling Accommodating? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue working full-time, it's imperative that the school you enroll in offers classes that fit your schedule. If you need to go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Menifee CA, make sure that those times are available. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online school, but you will also need 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 because of work, illness or family responsibilities.