The easiest way to apply to medical assistant schools that everyone is talking about
() Are you interested in pursuing a career as a medical assistant but find it challenging to attend classes on a college campus? Consider enrolling in an online medical assistant program, the perfect solution for your busy lifestyle. With online medical assistant courses, you can obtain the necessary education without disrupting your current routine. Are you ready to embark on a fulfilling and financially rewarding career with an online medical assistant program?
Simplify your school selection process with our carefully curated list of institutions offering online medical assistant programs tailored to your needs. We’ve taken care of the research, saving you valuable time and effort.
Top Online Medical Assistant Programs of 2023
Here is a list of the best online schools for medical assistants, all of which are fully accredited:
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Herzing University
Herzing University offers an associate of science in medical assisting services that you could use to jump start your career. Most students are able to complete the diploma version of the program within 12 to 20 months, and the associate’s degree lasts 16 to 24 months. Both degrees prepare for certification exams issued through the American Medical Technologists Association. Herzing’s online medical assistant courses are accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools, a nationally recognized accreditation institution. In addition to the online medical assistant programs this school has to offer, students may choose to enroll on campus in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wyoming.
It sounded so official the first time I signed my name in a patient’s chart. It’s been five years since I’ve been officially certified as a medical assistant and I don’t regret one single day of my medical assisting career! – Emerita Tula-
Keiser University
Keiser University is a fully online college that offers an associate of arts in health services administration. You can use a degree like this to become a medical assistant, and you can get through the program in as little as two years with summer school. The staff here works with students before, during, and after graduation to ensure they find jobs as quickly as possible. The degrees here are accredited by the SACSCOC. -
Liberty University
Liberty University offers an associate of applied science in medical office assisting. The program is designed to prepare prospective students for a career as a medical assistant in various health care related positions such as hospitals and clinics. The courses include Intro to Health Professions, Medical Office Billing and Bookeeping, Medical Office Systems and Procedures, and much more. -
Ultimate Medical Academy
Ultimate Medical Academy offers an associate of science in medical administrative assisting. This degree involves 60 credit units of courses that take between 61 and 96 weeks to complete. The medical assistant classes at UMA are unique in that they are all five weeks long. Rather than taking four courses at a time for a third of the year, you take one or two courses at a time for five weeks each. This allows you to get through your degree faster, and it gives you a chance to focus more on each of the classes you take. There are breaks throughout the year that you can utilize, but most students charge through the classes as quickly as possible. You could be a medical assistant in a little over a year if you planned your schedule correctly.
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Harrison College
Harrison College is one of the premier universities for medical assistant studies, and it now has a degree program online. It was founded in 1902 and has over 5,000 students under its name. The associate of applied science in medical assisting here is a 96 credit program that lasts approximately two years. Through the courses in this medical assistant program, you will learn about administering medications, running laboratory tests, handling office procedures, checking vital signs, and managing other tasks related to medical assistance. As long as you get through your class work, you should be able to find a job shortly after graduation.
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San Joaquin Valley College
San Joaquin Valley College offers two programs for medical assistants. One is an associate of science in medical assisting, and the other is a certificate of medical assisting. Both options can allow you to work as a medical assistant, but the associate’s degree is a little more involved. This would give you a better chance of finding work in the future, but either educational path will do. SJVC has some of the lowest tuition rates around, and that’s why its degrees are considered among the best medical assistant programs online.
What Everybody Should Know About Medical Assistants?
Becoming a certified medical assistant opens doors to a rewarding career in the healthcare field, where you’ll play a vital role in handling both administrative and clinical responsibilities essential for the efficient functioning of medical facilities. The daily tasks of a certified medical assistant encompass a range of duties, including scheduling patient appointments, maintaining comprehensive medical records, and recording vital patient information like height, weight, and symptoms, which serves as valuable data for doctors during patient assessments. Additionally, certified medical assistants are trained to administer injections and prepare blood work for laboratory analysis. The specific duties you’ll undertake in this role can vary based on whether you work in a doctor’s office or a hospital. For a firsthand look at the daily experiences of certified medical assistants, consider reaching out to professionals in your area or exploring a reputable medical assistant program.
Why Become a Medical Assistant?
The demand for medical assistants is soaring nationwide, making it a promising healthcare career choice. In just a few years of dedicated training through a reputable medical assistant program, you can secure a rewarding position. Many individuals who embark on the journey to become certified medical assistants find various opportunities awaiting them, including pathways to become nurses, lab technicians, and more within the healthcare field. Whether you aspire to further your education or are content with your role as a medical assistant, achieving your career goals becomes feasible through medical assistant certification and the right education and training program. No matter what your goals are, you can achieve them as you learn how to become a medical assistant.
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The average medical assistant in America earns $14-20/hour.The average hourly wage for a medical assistant in the United States typically falls in the range of $14 to $20 per hour, depending on factors such as location, experience, and the specific healthcare facility or practice. This figure can vary significantly from one state or region to another. For instance, medical assistants in metropolitan areas or states with a higher cost of living may command higher wages, while those in rural areas may earn slightly lower wages. Additionally, medical assistants with more experience and advanced certifications may have the potential to earn higher salaries within the profession. It’s essential to research local salary trends to get a more accurate estimate for a specific area.
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 31% growth rate for medical assistant jobs between 2010 and 2020. This is much faster than the national average.What does this mean for you? More jobs than you could ever apply for! There were 527,600 medical assistant jobs in 2010, and that number is expected to jump to 690,500 by 2020. Finding work as a medical assistant should not be a problem at all. If you’re looking for job security, this is the way to get it.
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Career Opportunities
Perhaps the best reason of all to become a medical assistant is the fact that you may be able to transition your education to other jobs in the future. For instance, you might become an office manager for a doctor’s office, or you might go back to school to become a nurse or nurse’s aid.
You will already have knowledge of medical forms and terminology, which will give you a head start over the competition. You could become a nurse practitioner or even a doctor if you want to, as long as you keep earning the degrees you need.
What to Expect from an Online Medical Assistant Program
Online medical assistant programs closely mirror their traditional campus counterparts in terms of curriculum and duration. The key distinction lies in the mode of learning and submission of assignments, offering the convenience of studying from your computer.
Typically, these programs span around 9 months, although some may extend to 2 years. Upon program completion, you’ll either attain an associate of science degree in medical assistance or the opportunity to pursue a clinical medical assistant certification. Certification is pivotal for securing immediate employment post-graduation. In fact, many students find employment while completing their education, given the high likelihood of passing certification exams.
It’s worth noting that you can embark on a medical assistant career straight out of high school if you secure an employer willing to provide on-the-job training. Achieving certification typically requires five years of experience as a non-educated medical assistant, though pursuing a structured medical assistant training program can significantly expedite this process from the outset.
Potential courses you will take in school
- Bookkeeping
- Customer Service
- Doctor/Patient Confidentiality
- Medical Ethics
- Medical Law
- Medical Terminology
- Organization
- Patient Record Keeping
- Typing
You will learn about the paperwork and filing systems used regularly in the medical field so you can provide assistance to other professionals.
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The great thing about going to school online is the fact that you get to set your own schedule. No matter how busy you may be right now, you can find time to work your classes into your life. This could be during a lunch break at work, late at night before bed, early in the morning before your shift starts, etc. As long as you have access to the internet, you can schedule your classes for any time.
Note that a lot of online medical assisting programs are not set up like traditional degrees. Rather than having a spring, summer, and fall semester, you may have one or two classes that you take for a month straight. After completing that course, you move on to another one. This will ultimately help you get through your degree quicker so you can start looking for a job.
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School Supplies and Costs
You will need textbooks for online medical assisting classes just like you would regular ones. Some schools may ask you to purchase e-books instead of regular textbooks, just to save a little money. You shouldn’t need a ton of notebook paper or anything along those lines because you can type notes for video lectures on your computer. Just make sure you have a strong connection to the internet.
The tuition rates for online medical assisting programs vary from school to school. For the most part, you can expect to spend less than $300 a credit hour. Online schools have the ability to offer low tuition rates because they do not carry the same overhead that other schools have. You can use this to your advantage. If you don’t have the means to pay for school out of pocket, don’t worry. You can still benefit from scholarships, grants, and other sources of financial aid.
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To increase your chances of getting work when you get out of school, you need to become a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant. You can take an exam for this through the National Healthcare Association and the American Association of Medical Assistants. Some states will also offer certification exams on their own, which is something you should look into while applying for jobs. If your employer expects you to have a specific certification, make sure you take the test before you apply.
Here is a Method That is Helping Hundreds of Students Get Matched to the Best Online Medical Assistant Schools
We’ve listed the best online medical assistant schools for you here, but you still have to decide which one you want to go through. One of the easiest ways to do this is by deciding what kind of degree you want to have. Do you want to go through an entire associate’s degree, or would you rather stick with a diploma? Do you have plans on enrolling in other degrees in the future? You need to find a school that is going to offer the education you’re looking for so you don’t have to find yet another school down the road.
You also need to think about whether or not the school is accredited. This will make a big difference in your employment options and transfer credits (if you decide to do more later on). If your degree is not accredited, you are essentially completing courses that don’t mean anything. The training in them might be legitimate, but it isn’t monitored. Thus your employers and other schools you may look into won’t know how much you really know.
Compare the costs, timeframes, admissions requirements, and other factors for each school you’re thinking of attending. You may want to read reviews of the schools or talk to former students if you truly want to go the extra mile with your research. Once you find a medical assistant program online, all you have to do is enroll and start attending.
* https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-assistants.htm
†2023 median annual wages, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov)
