In today’s society, several industries and sectors seem to being growing more than others are, one of those being healthcare. Because of that, you would have tremendous opportunity for a wide variety of different careers. Among all healthcare options, those involving medical assistants rank high. For one thing, medical assistant jobs are exciting, challenging, they pay well, people have the opportunity to work with patients while supporting doctors, and for those interested, this type of job provides growth potential.
Although demand for qualified medical assistances is high, a lot of confusion is still circulating around educational requirements. One reason for this is that to be a medical assistant, you could earn a medical assistant certification and then stop there. With the certification, you would be able to work in a number of environments but the type of medical assistant jobs would be somewhat limited and pay would not be at full potential. For this reason, most people prefer to complete a two-year Associate’s degree, which expands options.
We wanted to provide a brief overview of what medical assistant schools offer in the form of certification for medical assistant jobs versus requirements connected to a two-year Associate’s degree. That way, you would have information needed to make an informed decision regarding the one that would align best with your life and goals. Some people are perfectly content working as an administrative medical assistant while others want clinical responsibilities as well or perhaps avenues for moving deeper into the healthcare system.
With the certification in hand, you would have the skill required to perform your job with expertise. Curriculum specific to medical assistant certification includes the following:
• Clinical and Diagnostic Procedures
• First Aid
• Human Anatomy
• Keyboarding and Computer Applications
• Medical Billing
• Insurance Coding
• Medical Law and Ethics
• Medical Terminology
• Office Practices
• Patient Relations
• Record Keeping and Accounting
To help you see the difference of what an Associate’s degree would involve compared to medical assistant certification, the following is a good example of curriculum. You will notice that for a certification, the focus is more on the administrative aspect of medical assistant jobs whereas those listed below for the degree include many clinical studies.
• Professional Issue – 3 credit hours
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) – 1 credit hour
• Basic Medical Coding – 2 credit hours
• Medical Assisting I – 3 credit hours
• Administrative Aspects I – 3 credit hours
• Phlebotomy Essentials – 3 credit hours
• Medical Terminology – 3 credit hours
• Basic EKG Interpretation – 3 credit hours
• Medical Assisting II – 6 credit hours
• Clinical Laboratory Procedures – 5 credit hours
• Introduction to Pharmacology – 3 credit hours
• Clinical Medical Assisting Application – 6 credit hours
As you can see, once you have completed an Associate’s degree in Applied Science, you would possess the required training and skills for a wide variety of medical assistant jobs. The process is involved and designed so you can offer doctors with excellent support and patients with outstanding care. In both the certification program and Associate’s degree, you would be on your way to an exciting and well-paying medical assistant career.
Most importantly, regardless of the medical assistant schools you consider be sure they are accredited and approved by the General Education Committee or through one of several government agencies for education. Just a few of the many schools that have great medical assistant programs for certification and degrees include those listed below. While some medical assistant schools offer on-campus classes others have both traditional and online options.
• Everest College – This educational institute has a solid reputation for the medical assistant courses offered. In addition to curriculum meeting healthcare and government standards, classes are also designed based on what doctors and patients need.
• Brown Mackie College – Another one of the top medical assistant schools, Brown Mackie College is accredited and dedicated to preparing students for successful careers.
• Kaplan University – One of the better know options, Kaplan has been preparing students for years to be highly competent medical assistants. The way coursework is designed, students feel 100% confident in ability whether working with certification or an Associate’s degree.
