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Concerns to Ask Medical Assistant Colleges
Prior to evaluating your medical assistant school options, you have to decide which kind of credential you would like to earn, and if you would prefer attending classes on campus or online at home. After those choices have been made, you can begin the process of evaluating medical assistant schools. As we covered at the opening of this article, some students restrict their searches to the colleges that are closest to Waco TX with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are significant qualifiers, they are not the only ones. There are a number of additional considerations that you should explore when researching schools. To help you with that task, following are a few questions that you need to ask about each of the programs you are considering before making your final selection.
Is the Medical Assistant School Accredited? There are several good reasons to make sure that the program you select is accredited. To begin with, accreditation helps guarantee that the training you receive will be both comprehensive and of the highest quality. Second, if you intend to become certified, you need to enroll in 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 program is not accredited by either of these organizations, you will not be allowed to take the CMA exam. Additionally, if you intend on applying for a student loan or financial assistance, they are normally not offered for non-accredited programs. And finally, as mentioned previously, a number of potential Waco TX employers will not employ a medical assistant who has not graduated from an accredited college.
What is the School's Passing Rate? The majority of accredited medical assistant colleges develop their programs to ready students to pass one or more certification exams. To begin with, you must learn which of the certifications the programs you are reviewing are preparing their students to take. If you are interested in taking the CMA for example, then of course you will want to enroll in a program targeting that certification. Second, ask what the program's passage rate is for the certification and compare it to the national average. Doing this is just one of the methods to help evaluate the quality of a college's program. Obviously schools with lower rates are those that you will want to avoid.
Which Credentials are Provided? As we covered earlier, there are generally two paths to getting medical assistant training. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program and receive entry level training in the fastest amount of time, starting at just 6 months, although the average is about 1 year. Or you can elect to obtain an Associate Degree and get a more comprehensive education that will take approximately 2 years to complete in a junior college or trade school. Whatever program you decide to pursue, make sure that the schools you are looking at provide the type of program you are interested in.
Are Internships Available? Numerous medical assistant colleges sponsor internship programs with Waco TX area medical providers. They are an excellent way to obtain hands-on clinical training and experience. They may also help students build relationships within the Waco health care community. And as an additional benefit, they are an advantage on resumes and for job interviews as well.
Is Job Placement Help Offered? Getting that first job may be a daunting undertaking for medical assistant school graduates unless they receive a little assistance from a job placement program. Confirm that the colleges you are researching offer job placement assistance in the Waco TX area and ask what their placement rate is. If a college has a higher job placement rate for its students, it indicates that it has an excellent reputation within the health care community. It also signifies that it has a broad network of employers to help place students in jobs.
How Big are the Classes? Class size might be an indicator of how much personal 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 teachers and face to face interaction. If practical, try to attend a few classes before choosing a school to witness what the teaching atmosphere is like and just how much attention the students receive.
Is Class Scheduling Convenient? If you plan on attending a medical assistant college while you continue working on a full time basis, it's important that the program you choose offers classes that accommodate your schedule. If you have to attend classes at night or on weekends near Waco TX, verify that those times are offered. You may be able to fit your classes in more easily with an online school, but you will also need to schedule any internships or clinical training that might be required. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up classes that you might have to miss due to work, illness or family responsibilities.