Here are the steps you can take to become a certified medical assistant.
1. Complete Required Training
Before taking your certification exam, you must first finish training through a recognized school, which might be challenging to find.
Look for programs the Commission has approved on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.
The medical assistant certification procedure usually takes around a year or less.
You should consider how you want your medical profession to progress to select the appropriate type of medical assistant training.
For example, if you eventually want to work in another healthcare field, you might wish to get an associate’s or bachelor’s degree before taking your exam.
This lays the groundwork for future research.
However, if you want to enter the workforce quickly, you might pick a different type of certificate program that is more streamlined.
Certificates can be obtained at technical or vocational schools and online.
There are even hybrid programs that combine classroom and online learning.
Consider the types of courses available as well – while most medical assistants perform a wide range of jobs, some programs allow you to specialize in a single area, such as administration or patient care.
The administrative specialty will involve medical billing, insurance, and general customer service coursework, whereas a patient care field of study will stress skills such as medical terminology, EKG, anatomy, and phlebotomy.
You can also choose to specialize in a specific discipline, such as ophthalmology, obstetrics, or podiatry.
To gain clinical experience, most training programs will involve some form of training or externship.
If you can take the burden, you might also look for an entry-level position to help you gain clinical experience while you study.
Look for jobs in doctor’s offices, clinics, and hospitals.