It Takes Just a Few Minutes to Start Your Medical Assistant Career Below!
What to Ask Medical Assistant Schools
Before you can start evaluating your medical assistant school options, you have to choose which type of credential you would like to attain, and if you would prefer attending classes on campus or online at home. Once those decisions have been made, you can start the process of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some students confine their searches to the colleges that are nearest to Pocono PA with the lowest tuition. Although location and cost are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are several additional issues that you must explore when researching schools. To assist you with that task, below are some questions that you need to ask about each of the schools you are considering before making your final choice.
Is the Medical Assistant Course Accredited? There are several 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. Second, if you plan on becoming certified, you must complete an accredited program. Two of the accepted 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 agencies, you will not be allowed to take the CMA exam. Also, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial aid, they are often not offered for non-accredited programs. And last, as previously mentioned, a number of potential Pocono PA employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited program.
What is the School's Passage Rate? Most of the accredited medical assistant colleges create their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification examinations. To begin with, you need to learn which of the certifications the schools you are looking at are preparing their students to take. If you are planning on taking the CMA for instance, then obviously you will want to enroll in a program targeting that certification. Next, ask what the program's passage rate is for the certification and contrast it to the national average. This is one of the means to help assess the quality of a college's program. Obviously programs with lower rates are ones that you will want to eliminate.
Which Credentials are Provided? As we previously covered, there are basically two routes to acquiring medical assistant training. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program and get entry level training in the shortest amount of time, from as little as 6 months, although the average is about 1 year. Or you can decide to acquire an Associate Degree and get a broader education that will take about two years to complete in a community college or trade school. Whichever program you choose to pursue, make sure that the schools you are considering offer the type of program you have an interest in.
Are Internships Offered? Many medical assistant colleges offer internship programs with Pocono PA area medical providers. They are a great means to obtain hands-on practical training and experience. They can also assist students develop relationships within the Pocono health care community. And as an additional benefit, they are an asset on resumes and for job interviews too.
Is Job Placement Help Furnished? Finding that first job may be a difficult undertaking for medical assistant school graduates unless they have a little help from a job placement program. Confirm that the schools you are evaluating provide job placement assistance in the Pocono PA area and find out what their placement rate is. If a college has a higher job placement rate for its graduates, it affirms that it has an excellent reputation within the medical community. It also indicates that it has a wide network of employers to help place students in positions.
How Large are the Classrooms? Class size might be an indicator of how much individual attention you will receive throughout your training. Small classes and classes with a higher teacher to student ratio are more likely to provide increased access to teachers and one-on-one interaction. If convenient, try to sit in on a few classes before enrolling in a school to experience what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students get.
Is Class Scheduling Convenient? If you anticipate attending a medical assistant school while you continue to work full-time, it's imperative that the college you select provides classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to attend classes at night or on weekends near Pocono PA, verify that those times are available. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online program, but you will still need to schedule any clinical training or internships that might be required. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss because of work, illness or family emergencies.