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Welcome to MedicalAssistantCertification.com, where you can find out all you need to know about becoming a certified medical assistant.

 

Certified medical assistants are important parts of health care teams as they ensure that patients are well taken care of. While most certified medical assistants work in physicians’ offices, you’ll also find them in other health care practitioners’ offices, hospitals, and outpatient care centers.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can enter this growing profession, read on!

 

Career Outlook for Certified Medical Assistants
 

As the health care industry continues to grow, there is a strong need for well-trained, certified medical assistants; years ago, these positions were obtainable for those with only a high school diploma, but times have changed, and most employers now prefer candidates who have both training and medical assistant certification.

 

Indeed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that medical assistants will see excellent job growth over the next 10 years; medical assistants with the best prospects will be those with certification and/or experience. Technological advances, an aging population, and the need to replace medical assistants leaving the profession mean that this will be a health care job sector that will continue to grow.

 

The BLS also reports that median annual wage of medical assistants in May 2008 was $28,300; the middle 50% earned between $23,700 and $33,050, with earnings varying by location, experience, and skill level.

Job Responsibilities of Certified Medical Assistants

The duties of medical assistants range from administrative to clinical, so you should be prepared to perform any or all of the following tasks:

 
  • Greet patients
  • File and update medical records
  • Fill out insurance forms
  • Schedule services at hospitals and laboratories
  • Answer the phone and handle emails and correspondence
  • Schedule patient appointments
  • Perform various bookkeeping and billing tasks
  • Assist doctors during exams
  • Take patients’ vital signs
  • Record medical histories
  • Provide information to patients regarding diets, treatments, and procedures
  • Prepare patients for x-rays, exams, and other procedures
  • Sterilize and arrange medical equipment
  • Distribute medications
  • Remove stitches
 

Training for Certified Medical Assistants

 

Those interested in becoming a certified medical assistant have two basic educational paths to choose from: certificate/diploma or associate’s degree. Completing either of these paths may qualify you for medical assistant certification, but be sure to read program descriptions carefully to be sure you will be eligible.

 
  • Certificate/diploma medical assistant programs: Offered through community or career colleges, courses in a certificate or diploma program deal with the knowledge and training required to be a certified medical assistant; that is, you will not have extra, more general academic requirements. A certificate/diploma medical assistant program takes between nine months and a year to complete; because this is considerably shorter than an associate’s degree program, these types of programs are also less expensive.
 
  • Associate’s medical assistant degree programs: Offered through community or career colleges, associate degree programs will require general liberal arts courses in addition to those necessary to become a certified medical assistant. These programs take about two years of full-time study to complete and are more expensive than certificate or diploma programs, but there are at least three big advantages: (1) You may be able to apply your credits to a bachelor’s degree program; (2) You will be a more well-rounded job candidate; and (3) You may command a higher starting salary.
 

Upon completion of an accredited medical assistant training program, you will become eligible for medical assistant certification. It is essential that you make sure a program will make you eligible for certification as employers are increasingly accepting only those who are certified. Certification as a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) is offered by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and by the Association of Medical Technologists (AMT), among others.

 

Choosing the Right Medical Assistant Certification Program

 

In order to make sure you’ll be eligible for certification, when choosing your school, you should make sure it is accredited by one of the two major accreditation bodies for medical assistant certification: the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

 

Some other factors you should consider when choosing a medical assistant degree program include the following:

 
  • Your future career aspirations (especially whether you would like to continue your medical studies later)
  • How much time and money you have to devote to your studies
  • Whether you are eligible for financial aid
  • Whether the school will help you find a job and how well they have helped other graduates
 

Are you ready to get started on the path of becoming a certified medical assistant? MedicalAssistantCertification.com can help, and today is the perfect day to begin your journey.