Accelerated certified medical assistant training programs that take 6-10 weeks are only available at some schools, and are not available in all areas of the U.S. Most commonly available medical assistant training programs take between 3-9 months to complete. Associate’s degrees in medical assisting commonly take 2 years.
Students who earn an associate’s degree normally make more money when they start working, so it’s worth considering. Medical assisting is a job with good growth potential and starting income, plus medical assistants have a high job satisfaction rate.
Are Online Medical Assisting Programs a Good Choice?
Online medical assisting programs are definitely legitimate. One word of caution, however: Before you hand over your money for enrollment, make sure the program is properly accredited by the American Association of Medical Assistants. Otherwise, you’ll have wasted cash and time. Your “certificate” won’t get you very far.
There are schedule advantages in taking an accredited online medical assistant program, the amount of flexibility leaves you with room for life. You can work AND go to school because your hours are your own. Just get the work done and assignments in on their due dates. Many programs allow for different types of financing, so cost shouldn’t ever stop you from entering this medical career.
Where Can I Find a Program?
It’s not too difficult to find an accredited medical assistant school. You can find programs through trade schools and community colleges nationwide. You don’t have to live in the State your online program is based out of as long as they are accredited in your State.
Use the search application to search medical assisting programs near you.
What to Expect from an Online Program
The medical assisting online programs are similar in structure to other online programs. You’ll have streaming lectures, videos, discussions in forums, slideshows, and assignments. It doesn’t matter if you’re going full time or less, you’ll always be able to easily locate your weekly lectures and assignments. One thing to keep in mind, there will still be clinicals you’ll need to fulfill, but convenient healthcare facilities will allow you to get your for-credit, hands-on experience.
You’ll take classes such as:
- Medical terminology
- Anatomy and physiology
- Office procedures
- Billing and coding
Even if your area does not have a college with accelerated online training available, certificate programs are generally only about 3 months long at a local community college. Finally, for the second or third time because it’s important, all college programs should be accredited but especially those in the medical field.
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