How To Become A Medical Assistant

Hi there,

Welcome to my website Medical-Assistant-Certifications.com, my name is Ryan and I created this site to help you understand what it takes to become a Medical Assistant. Medical Assisting is considered one of the fastest growing occupations for the 2008-2018 decade. So if you are interested in becoming a Medical Assistant or just became one, then I would like to congratulate you because you belong to one of the best careers to pursue today.

This entire site is constantly updated with various topics and articles regarding Medical Assistant Salary Information, Tips for Finding Medical Assistant Jobs, Information on Medical Assistant Certification, Medical Assistant Training and this topic on How to Choose the Best Medical  Assistant Schools.

The First Step – Becoming a Medical Assistant

Making the Decision to become a Medical Assistant can be quite difficult if you don’t understand what the profession is all about. That is why I would like to commend you for taking the initiative to learn all that you can about Medical Assisting.

Most Medical Assistants work inside a Physician’s clinic.  They develop Administrative and Clinical skills while performing the job. Although Medical Assisting is not a regulated profession, having a formal education and getting credentialed would often land you the best opportunities.

The Second Step – Choosing a Medical Assistant School

When the profession started a few years ago, there was no formal training for Medical assistants. Experience and Skills where enough to land the perfect Medical Assistant job. But since the profession continuously grows at a higher rate than the national average, most employers now require that Medical Assistants complete formal education. Most vocational schools,technical schools, community colleges and Universities offer a Medical Assisting Program that will suite your needs.

Looking for a Medical assistant school should not be a problem. Choose an Institution that will be near where you live so that it would be convenient for you. Don’t be afraid to ask different Medical Assistant Schools about their class schedules, programs and internship. You’ll want to find a school that has a well balanced curriculum with the appropriate amenities.

The Third Step – Getting a Medical Assistant Certification or Registration

After graduating from a 1 year Medical assistant program, or the 2 years Associate degree program, you might want to be credentialed as soon as possible. Being credentialed is what would set you apart from the rest of the Medical Assistants out there.

There are two ways to be credentialed. You can go for Certified Medical Assistant or Registered Medical Assistant.

• These terms are synonymous but actually they are not the same. It will depend on which credentialing body you applied to. If you want to be called a Certified Medical Assistant, you must take the certification from AAMA or the American Association for Medical Assistants. Taking this route would mean that you should have finished a CAAHEP or ABHES Accredited Medical Assisting Program to be eligible for their exam.
• Once you pass their certification exam, you can now append CMA(AAMA) beside your name. You can then use this status when applying for potential jobs and interview.
• It is important to understand that you still need to renew and get continuing education units every 60 months or 5 years to renew your certification. This will help you keep updated with the latest trends and updates in the healthcare field.

If you wanted to have the designation of Registered Medical Assistant instead of Certified Medical Assistant, then you’ll need to register with the Americal Medical Technologist (AMT). If you don’t have any Medical Assisting experience you’ll be required to take a Medical Assisting  course from a CAAHEP or ABHES Accredited program.

But if you have at least 5 years of Medical Assisting experience, enrolling from a Medical Assisting program is waived and you can immediately take the exam and challenge it.

There are actually 4 Certifying bodies in the United States for Medical Assistants. The third Certifying body is the National Healthcareer Association. More than Two Hundred Thousand Health care professionals have been certified by the National Healthcareer Association.

NHA offers certification for 2 different categories:

• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant – they play a bigger role in rendering clinical tasks and patient care
• Certified Medical Administrative Assistant – they are tasked with the Paper works and Documentation within a healthcare setting

The Fourth Step – How To Land The Perfect Medical Assistant Job

Passing your Credentialing Exam is just the beginning of your Medical Assistant Career. You need to prepare yourself in order for you to be hired by a prospective employer.  I would suggest that you prepare a well written and comprehensive Medical Assistant resume that will highlight your achievements and strengths. Remember that the different medical assistant duties require both Clinical and Administrative skills.

You might want to highlight any past experiences that you may have with working in a similar setting. You might also want to highlight any achievements or awards you may have earned in your previous academic years. Working in a healthcare environment would also require that you have interpersonal skills and communications skills. You will be dealing with healthcare professionals and patients a lot, and you’ll need to interact with them on a daily basis.

Here are some Tips on How to Find the Right Medical Assistant Job for you:

• Prepare 1-2 pages of your Curriculum Vitae or Medical assistant Resume. Don’t include more than 2 pages of resume because most people don’t read it to the 3rd page.
• Make sure that you highlight skills and knowledge that might be applicable in the Administrative and Clinical areas of Medical Assisting. If you know how to use a Document Processor and you’re a computer literate, make sure to include that in your resume as additional skills and knowledge.
• Include references from previous employers or school authorities. Inform them firsthand that you will be using their name as references so they won’t be caught off guard when your prospective employer verifies your references.
• Start looking for vacancies in your local newspapers and magazines. Sometimes you’ll find a Physician’s clinic number and if you have the time you can directly call them and ask if they would need a Medical assistant. Because of the increasing number of patients entering Physician’s offices and the increasing demand for healthcare, Medical assistants are needed more than ever.
• Use the internet to search for vacancies and listings online. You can try your local web directory in your area or state. You can also try searching across job platforms on the internet. Just type “Medical Assistant Jobs +STATE” without the quotes to search for any “mentions” of Medical assistant Jobs in your State or Residence.
• Use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Social Media is a great way to look for jobs. Just go to advance Twitter search and enter medical assistant jobs. You’ll find tweets that mention any job listings and you might want to message them back. Using Facebook to find a Job can be quite different with the search engines. Usually you’ll have to message friends or relatives working in a similar setting if they have heard of Job opportunities or openings in the Medical Assisting field. And Lastly LinkedIn can help you be directly connected with prospective employers immediately.
• My last piece of advice is to determine where you would like to work and decide to find a Job in that area. Most Medical assistants have a stable job and you won’t need to move from place to place. So if you are not happy with where you are working it might cause some major stress and problems for you in the long run.

The Outlook for Medical Assistants

Remember that US DoL predicted that Medical Assistants have become one of the fastest growing occupations from 2008 – 2018. Medical Assistants have become one of the best careers to pursue in the next decade.