Best Medical Assisting Certification Programs

The difference between a certificate and a degree in medical assisting is that a certificate program takes less times to compete. There can be as little as 17 weeks to complete the certificate program for a full-time student, while it might take two years to complete the associate degree. The degree in medical assisting will also require students to take additional coursework, including mathematics, writing, and humanities, as well as become involved in clinical work. Another large different between the two types of programs in medical assisting is that certificate programs are usually offered at community colleges while a degree in this field is offered at colleges or universities.

Completing a certificate program in medical assisting allows graduates to be exposed to a number of opportunities, including working in a number of healthcare facilities such as clinics, hospitals, labs, medical centers, or pediatric offices. With the expected growth in this field to occur in the following years, it will allow graduates from the medical assisting program to experience growth once they are in a career. Benefits to obtaining a certificate in medical assisting, as opposed to acquiring a degree, are the smaller costs and less time involved. A certificate program in medical assisting also prepares students to gain experience in phlebotomy or drawing blood from patients until they are successful. This would be necessary for those who find employment that requires such tasks. Other skills acquired in the program may involve providing patients with electrocardiogram (EKG) tests as well as performing administrative duties such as maintaining their medical records and their insurance and claim forms.

After completing a certificate program in medical assisting, graduates obtain a lot of skills and knowledge in anatomy and physiology, including performing clinical and laboratory tests and administrative duties. Many career opportunities become available after graduation from the program as a medical assistant in various healthcare settings. Career information exists for certification as well as for the degree path for the medical assisting program. Becoming a medical assistant qualifies graduates from the program to be specifically employed at the entry level as a medical secretary, insurance processor, clinical medical assistant, administrative medical assistant, and specialized medical assistant. The clinical medical assistant assists doctors and RNs by taking a patient's vital signs and preparing medical tests. Administrative medical assistants perform duties that are under a healthcare facility, such as maintaining a patient's records and scheduling their appointments. Specialized medical assistants provide the patients with medical care including supporting radiation therapy and any imaging tests.

Medical Assistant

Upon completion of a certificate program in medical assisting, graduates are ready to become employed in the healthcare industry as a medical assistant, or more specifically physician's assistant. They enter the field after the award of the certificate, or they can be employed after obtaining their high school diploma. However, preference is given to those who have completed a certificate program. It is expected that the medical assistant profession will grow between 2020 and 2030 by 18%. The median salary during 2020 was $35,850 per year, which is included in the occupational outlook for such a career in assisting doctors.

Medical Secretary

Acquiring a certificate in medical assisting can allow graduates to become employed as a medical secretary. A medical secretary performs specific tasks such as scheduling patients' appointments and maintaining their medical reports and documents. The industries with the highest employment for this profession are offices of physicians, followed by hospitals and outpatient care centers. The mean annual salary for a medical secretary was $39,000 as of 2020.

Insurance Processor

Graduates with a certificate in medical assisting have also found positions as insurance processors. With the skills gained during the certificate program, including various office administrative skills, those employed as an insurance processor will have tasks to maintain claim forms and process new insurance policies. Insurance processors will also verify the accuracy of these forms. Industries with the highest amount of employment are insurance carriers and agencies followed by offices of physicians. The mean annual salary of an insurance processor for 2020 was $45,070.

The curriculum of a certificate program in medical assisting prepares students with the required skills and knowledge to be successful as medical assistants in various healthcare facilities and ensure that they run efficiently. They gain knowledge in fundamental courses on topics such as anatomy, pharmacology, physiology as well as becoming familiar with various medical terminology, clinical exams and office administration. Typical coursework titles during enrollment of a certificate program includes medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology, fundamental of medical assisting, introduction to psychology, and essential pharmacology. In some instances, students may be required to take courses in clinical studies and training in phlebotomy to safely collect blood from patients.

Medical Terminology

Students in the medical terminology course will learn about the medical language used to describe procedures and diseases of the human body. The course will enable students to understand prefixes, suffixes, and spellings of different word combinations as well as become familiar with abbreviations of these terms. Correct pronunciation of these words will also be taught in this course.

Human Anatomy and Physiology

Students in this course will learn about the fundamentals of human anatomy in terms of organ structure and function and pathology. They also learn about different systems of the human body, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, urinary, and reproductive systems. In some cases, there is a laboratory part of this course that involves dissecting an animal to fully understand these topics.

The time it takes to complete a certificate program in medical assisting is generally within a year, but there are some schools where the program lasts under a year, from 17 to 36 weeks for full-time students. Of course, it will take longer if students work during their enrollment and take available part-time classes. In order to complete the program there needs to be a minimum grade obtained from certain courses. In some cases, schools may require an internship or clinical work, which will add more time to the program. Within the time it takes to complete the program, students will learn in the classroom as well as gain experience from practical applications, such as learning about administration, assisting with EKGs, and training in phlebotomy.

In order to choose a certificate program in medical assisting, there are many factors to consider including, cost, location, type of program format, and program length. It would be wise for future applicants to consider how important each one of these factors may affect their financial plans, as well as their availability and time commitment. Working full-time would add time to complete the program as well as being limited to how far they would be willing to travel for their on-campus courses. As most programs in medical assisting require hands-on exercises or clinical work, they cannot be fully online. Thus, a hybrid format would be most beneficial for those who work either full- or part-time. Because of the hybrid format, it would limit students to living close to the institution that they will attend. More specifically, it is wise to choose a program that fits your interests as well. For instance, most programs prepare students to work as a clinical medical assistant or administrative medical assistant, but some schools allow students to specialize within this field offering training in radiation therapy or diagnostic imaging. Lastly, it is important for applicants to also consider if the program offers certificate exams with certain requirements, such as the RMA, CMS, NCCT, or EKG NCCT

In order to get into a medical assisting certificate program applicants generally must be 18 years of age and have graduated or will graduate with a high school diploma during the time of enrollment from an approved high school or hold a GED. In case applicants have previous college credits, a GPA minimum of 2.0 must be held. An online application must then be filled out along with scheduling a campus visit in order to learn more about what the school offers in terms of the program. Official transcripts should also be sent to the school. If applicants are successful, then the school will further perform criminal background checks and child abuse clearances as well as a complete drug screening. A complete physical is also required along with coverage of a health plan. This is required because the students will be working directly with patients and they will need to maintain a high standard of health.

The cost of a certificate program in medical assisting can range widely, from around $2,500-$10,000. Added costs are applied to those students who need to take certification exams that would not be offered at the school. Textbooks and other additional items will need to be purchased before the start of the program including a computer to carry out any work that may be involved during coursework along with relevant word processing software.

Financial Aid and Scholarship Resources for Medical Assisting Certificate Programs

Financial aid and scholarships for certificate programs in medical assisting are available. The first aid that students can apply for is the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It has a deadline usually at the end of June of any particular year, however, it is wise to check with the school as they may have its own deadline. Eligibility for this aid is to those who are a U.S. citizen, have a valid Social Security number, and show need for this aid. A scholarship that is reserved for medical assistant students is also available called the American Medical Technologists with a deadline in April and an award of $500 for one year. They must also show evidence of financial need with a study related to medical assisting or medical technology and is only used to cover tuition costs. In order to apply the applicant must provide two reference letters and a 500-word minimum essay on why they have chosen this career.