Certified Medical Assistant Professional Medical Office Team Member

Working in the health care field offers a wide range of opportunities and many of these careers do not require years of formal education and training. One of these opportunities is becoming a certified medical assistant. In general, a certified medical assistant requires a high school diploma and then undergoes training to earn a medical assistant diploma. Upon graduation they chose to voluntarily take one of the different offered certification exams to earn credentials that are recognized in the medical assisting discipline, this also includes Registered Medical Assistants (RMA), who are also certified.

Becoming a Certified Medical Assistant

Medical assisting is an excellent career choice for those who truly enjoy helping people with unique concerns. The work is gratifying as well as rewarding that goes beyond words: that's thousands of young and old people from all walks of life that you will be making a difference to, directly and indirectly, including your own. Before getting started as a certified medical assistant, there are some things that need to be considered such as your education, financial responsibilities and most importantly, your ability to work with people of all ages.

The certified medical assistant career encompasses clinical responsibilities and administrative duties in a medical office.  On the clinical side you will perform duties such as taking and recording vital signs, new patient interviews and registration, providing patient education, preparing patients for their exams, assisting physician, EKG's, assisting with X-rays, using CPR when needed and ordering and maintaining supplies.

The administrative skills include front desk duties, answering phones, greeting patients, verifying medical and health insurance coverage, organizing medical and financial records, corresponding with patients and vendors, processing and coding insurance forms, accounting, billing and banking procedures, calling in prescriptions to the pharmacy, communicating with other allied health professionals and providers and being an all around professional medical office team member.

1.) Education: 

Becoming a certified medical assistant will require formal training from a school for medical assistant, either ending with a medical assistant diploma or a 2 year degree in medical assisting (Associates of Science, A.S. in Medical Assisting). Once you have graduated you will then be required to pass one of the national medical assistant certification exams of your choice to earn the certified medical assistant status.

2.) Financial: 

Education costs money and this can be accomplished through your own finances, or obtaining government funded education loans when enrolling in a formal medical assisting program. Normally if you cannot afford to pay tuition costs, most of the time you will qualify. These loans will cover college tuition costs, but will not cover your transportation, food, or simple school supplies. These low interest student loans typically become due 6 months after graduation and you will have to start making monthly payments until they are completely paid off. 

With determination and commitment, becoming a certified medical assistant is an excellent and fulfilling career decision many have already chosen and never regretted it.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Online Job Application and Resume Submission Is A Matchmaking Process

Times have changed and so has the way your medical assistant resume is submitted to potential employers. Where some decades ago application letters and resumes were handwritten on fine paper with a small wallet size photograph similar to a passport photo attached, the typewriter eventually replaced the ink pen.

 Then, resumes were typed on resume paper, often containing linen or cotton fibers with matching envelopes, sent by mail. Today, where most jobs are advertised on the Internet, resumes sent by mail are replaced and outdone by resumes submitted electronically via email. Online application forms have replaced the written resume and often go to the front of the line when properly submitted. Those who are still combing the Sunday Classifieds and faxing, or mailing their resumes to HR departments are no longer reaching recruiters and hiring managers in a timely manner. There are now thousands of job boards and other places where medical assistant jobs are advertised.

With the Internet and easy access to computers and mobile devices, even at the workplace, everything has changed. Online job boards (Monster, DICE, Job.com, Indeed, CareerBuilder, etc.) have replaced the classifieds as the "matchmaker" for candidates and available jobs. Companies that use the job boards have built entire infrastructures around posting jobs and receiving, sorting and sifting resumes. If you use one of these online job boards to submit your resume it may also be cross-posted on their major partner sites to help you get better exposure and a greater response. Also, it allows employers and recruiters to match you to jobs you didn't even know were available. By creating your account through major online job boards you will be able to access and modify your personal information as needed.

Vacant positions for medical assistants advertised will feature information about the position, including employer's expectations, job summary, salary, geographic location, essential qualifications, merit criteria and other important messages. This is your cue. When filling out your application use the wording used in the ad to match your qualifications, skills, expectations and anything else you are bringing to the table as close as possible to the ad; don't hesitate to copy and paste. Many utilize automated word recognition and screening software and if your application doesn't match the job to a "Tee" it will get dropped right into an automated resume database without a recruiter ever looking at it.

Staffing and recruitment specialists work away from the public's eye; you don't know them and they don't know you. To put the odds in your favor state three or more reasons why you should be chosen for an interview. If you are multilingual and have multicultural experience through a job, sports or leisure activity, mention it! Show that you can get along in a community, even under stressful conditions. Show that you are adaptable and can deal with unplanned events in specific, or unexpected situations.

Should you have a personal contact name and email address and you decide to email your resume to a hiring manager then remember:

• carefully choose the subject line for your email 
• send directly to hiring managers and recruiters 
• use your main email address (and don't use a silly name) 
• attach a personal cover letter (MS Word document or PDF)
  

Unless you have carefully read the job description for the position and match your application and resume accordingly efforts are pretty much a numbers game. No matter how qualified you may be, no matter how many hours you spend combing the job boards it won't work unless you know how to make the online job application process work, and work it to your advantage.

Don't be tempted or persuaded to use a so-called resume blaster service; it isn't personal and job specific enough and it gets recognized by receiving email systems as a "blasted" resume and filed in the bin for later use (if that much). You can pay $69, $99, $129, or more for these services but do not provide the edge you sought. Your resume is just lost in the pack of hundreds of indistinguishable other candidates.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Medical Assistants Stating their Name

Without a single doubt, it is good practice and courtesy for a medical assistant to state his, or her full name when greeting and checking in patients. Properly stating a name establishes identity and builds trust and rapport with patients. Simply stating a first name, while also wearing a name tag with the full name and credentials visibly printed is sufficient, and many medical offices now require it.

A typical greeting, when a patient is called in from the waiting area would be:"Hello, my name is Judy and I am your medical assistant." If a patient asks for a full name it would be improper to withhold this information and certainly will not go over well with the patient, nor the doctor under which the medical assistant works. Refusal implies lack of cooperation, empathy and courtesy and comes across as unprofessional in a health care setting.

Equally unprofessional is when the medical assistant habitually omits stating his/her name when addressing or calling a patient in. Unfortunately, this happens all too often, where the medical assistant routinely calls in patient after patient with a simple:"Hello, how are you, please follow me," and shuffles the patient along the corridor toward the scales to chart a weight. It would be so simple to properly greet a patient and giving a name so the patient can feel welcomed and keep track of who said, or did what for future reference.

Last, but not least, a medical assistant stating his/her name, title and credentials would prevent any misunderstandings as to whether the patient is dealing with a medical assistant, or nurse. There is a big difference between the two professions and their scope of practice and medical assistants should NEVER tolerate, imply, or leave any questions as to their identity, credentials and role. 

Subject: Medical Assistant Training Through ROP

Someone has just posted a new comment in our Medical Assistant NET forum about joining Regional Occupation Program (ROP) for vocational training in California, where high school students are eligible to take appropriate ROP classes, including medical assisting. The discussion thread in our forum is rather extensive with lots of feedback, discussion and advice. The latest message was posted by Kat (from the ip address 66.27.143.33).

Message: Health Care Student

Hi everyone, I appreciate reading the post by "Teach" and providing her insight since I am looking into an ROP MA program (CA) to start medical assistant training in the next six weeks and will help me and my family tremendously. I need to work, have children and I know how to make sure I get the medication labels straight. I understand Lori's concerns in that discussion thread and they are valid yet, RNs are sued, doctors are sued, and MAs need to be competent too. This comes with common sense, an ability prior to walking into the classroom. I had to pass an exam prior to my registration date. EMT's have less training than MAs. I have an MBA, and taken my RN prerequisites yet, moving to California where the clinicals are at 6:00 AM, I can not do that with children who start school at 8:00 AM. MA is my plan B to actually work in my field, and thanks again Lori for your post, and helping me understand the benefits about the MA ROP program. Affordable, fast, and efficient (for those who work hard and want to pass the exams) :). ~ Kat, SMA

ROP typically offers classes on a trimester basis, with many new courses starting throughout the year for California high school graduates and eligible adults. Job training opportunities offered are phlebotomy courses, clinical and administrative medical assisting, dental assisting, various other medical career programs, citizenship courses, High School diploma and GED courses, and more, depending on available resources and faculty at various institutions across California.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Role of the Medical Assistant - Essential to Medical Offices Everywhere

Anonymous said today...

CMAs are not nurses. They are not LPNs or RNs. CMAs cannot work independently. You don't have a license. You can't pass meds. As an LPN I do a full med pass (IM/SQ injections, PO meds, inhalers, etc...) treatments (wound tx, creams, etc). Neuro assessments, skin assessments, pain assessments, behavioral assessments... put phys orders in, change orders, order UAs based on MY assessments (MD can sign later). Deal with trachs, feeding tubes, ostomys, pressure ulcers, diabetics, PICC lines, post-op pts. you name it. And all of this is with a doctor not present. More responsibility = more pay and more respect and more knowledge. As far as vitals? Shit my STNAs do those. Do people really think getting vitals is a skill??? And when I'm working with crappy STNAs I also will wash and toilet my patients (all 26 of them). I bust my ass and I don't count it done unless I see a STNA do it or I do it myself. I'm sick of CMAs who walk a pt to a room, get a set of vitals, ask some questions and leave-acting like they have any idea what LPNs do. You dont even pass meds. Seriously. Know your role. LOL.

Just A Medical Assistant said:

Let's not belittle medical assistants and marginalize their role! Medical assistants are ESSENTIAL to the modern single-doctor or group medical practice within ANY medical specialty. Let me tell you, and other LPNs and nurses, who often are just as confused as to what medical assistants can and cannot do,  as you seem to be.

This is the SHORT summary of medical assistant duties:

Medical assistants are essential to the medical office. For every nurse in the medical office you now find at least 2 medical assistants, one in the front office, and one in the back. Medical assistants typically build strong, long lasting relationships with the doctor, their colleagues, nursing staff and patients. At the end of the day, they return home knowing they have made a difference in many people's lives in their community. If a mother has a sick child the administrative medical assistant will fit them into the doctor's schedule to be seen, if blood, or any other specimens need to be collected, such as a throat or wound swab for a bacterial culture, the clinical medical assistant will take care of that. Chances are the clinical medical assistant is fully trained and qualified to take the administrative medical assistant's chair up front, and the administrative medical assistant can slip into the role of the medical assist in the back handling clinical tasks under the supervision of the doctor.

If the doctor prescribes crutches, a walker, or cane, then it will be the medical assistant's responsibility to make sure the patient returns home knowing how to safely use these devices. The medical assistant's role is to make sure that adequate care and attention is given to each and every patient who arrives and leaves from their doctor's appointment, young or old, and of course, appropriately handle any unforeseen situations, including medical emergencies, promptly notifying the doctor of any such critical events.

Aside from "just" taking vital signs and "only" escorting a patient to the examination room medical assistants know how to use the latest Electronic Medical Records databases and software, explain treatment procedures, prepare, position and drape patients for examinations (yes, they do know what Trendelenburg is, distal, lateral, medial and supine, etc.), give injections, pulmonary function test, EKG, Holter monitor, splints, bandages, eye and ear lavage and assist the physician when asked during an exam, or a procedure.

They also respond to patient's concerns in a courteous and professional manner, route their messages to the intended person, and respond back with an answer if so requested, help patients obtain their prescriptions, show them how to correctly take medications, draw blood, monitor patients and make them feel comfortable during the entire visit.

Furthermore, the medical assistant keeps the doctor on schedule in a succinct manner, patients informed and comfortable, waiting and examination rooms clean, reception area and clinical floors on track and the office workflow running smoothly. And no matter how busy the office gets, from time to time they have to show new medical assistant hirees and medical assistant students on externship the ropes so they can learn the necessary routines. All in all, a medical assistant is an important contributor to the doctor's medical practice and business.

In Conclusion: I don't know what a STNA is; furthermore I have to add that many of the LPN skills listed in the above post truly fall under the classical nursing duties that is essential to in-patient, in-hospital, or nursing home care. Medical assistants do not wash patients, we don't toilet patients, and rarely do you attend or monitor patients with trachs, feeding tubes, ostomys, pressure ulcers, diabetics, PICC lines, or post-op patients in an ambulatory setting. With all due respect to the nursing profession, I do believe this LPN is working in a nursing home (where she is well within her element) and is mistaking medical assistants with nursing assistants, or, at least, not fully aware of the medical assistant's role and scope of practice. I hope this article and posted link helps.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Phlebotomist

Phlebotomists are worthy of our continual never ending thanks, respect and admiration. Not only do they perform dozens of venipunctures per day with great exactness, they are also required to juggle many other jobs.

The Phlebotomist work under the direct supervision of a physician, a medical laboratory scientist, or a lead phlebotomy technician in the clinical areas of a small annexed medical office laboratory, or in a hospital, hospital laboratory, freestanding diagnostic lab, or in a blood bank and donation center.

In our lab they perform so many jobs in fact that their official title in our organization is "Patient Service Rep". I wonder how many phlebotomists among us think that this is an appropriate title?

Some phlebotomists travel to given locations to collect blood samples; for example, they may travel from house to house to collect specimens from homebound persons. After the specimen has been collected the phlebotomist labels the collection tubes and gets them ready for transport to the lab. The samples will be analyzed to help diagnose, or monitor illness and deficiencies.
Most blood tests are performed on anticoagulants whole blood, plasma, or serum. Blood specimens must be collected in the proper collection tubes and containers and in the right order of draw. The collection tubes must also be correctly labeled and promptly transported to the laboratory. Needless to say, blood specimens should be refrigerated until placed in the courier box for transport to the laboratory.

Phlebotomists in California are heavily monitored by the state and must be licensed with the California State Medical Board in order to work as part of the allied healthcare professional team.

Phlebotomists in California have several levels of licensing. Those wishing to work in phlebotomy in California must first complete an unpaid 40-hour internship where 50 successful blood draws on patients via venipuncture and 10 finger/heel sticks must be properly performed and logged. All this must be done before entering the phlebotomy career, because California regulation mandates that you cannot work as a phlebotomist without a license. This rule also applies to medical assistants and other allied health professionals with blood drawing responsibilities in the state of California.

Don't Rely On Medical Billing Forums—Documentation Is The Key

All too often we receive questions regarding specific medical billing issues and matching medical codes in our forum; but that's not just our Medical Billing Forum alone, that's ANY medical coding and billing forum on the Internet is packed with questions regarding specific (CPT) codes and urgent requests for help. That way, if something goes wrong they have someone else to blame.

Medical Coding Questions Posted in a Forum

Unfortunately, this tells us that there are medical coders (and medical billers) who, quite frankly, have no clue; they are inadequately trained, or self-trained, and when they hit a wall, they post their question in a forum in hopes to get answers or find someone (anyone!!!) to give them approval of codes they have somehow come up with themselves. This could be a student with a test question, or homework assignment, or a medical coder, or biller already working but that is in over his or her head. One example of such requests posted to our medical billing forum is asking for help with a specific CPT code. It reads:

"I bill for a rheumatologist. I am familiar with most codes that he uses but last week he gave XYZ-medication (*brand name removed - not relevant for this example) to one of his patients who had a severe drug reaction. There was considerable disruption in the office and the direct observation lasted 2 hours. The doctor wants me to bill for his observation services but I am not sure which code to use. I was thinking may be 99058 will fit the bill, but the doctor insists that the code should be time specific since he spent two hours on the patient's care. Can someone please help?"

Medical coding must never be performed without first looking at the original documentation and the final decisions regarding coding issues rest with the provider. It must be clearly understood that a forum is not an official organization, agency, or anything else that provides a final decision regarding coding or billing issues. A forum is not here to code visits, to train a visitor how to code, or to recommend which codes to select. All a forum, its members and/or guests do is provide limited guidance.  Guidance is limited to what is presented by a poster, however, what is presented may, or may not be true, accurate or correct.

The CMS website, specifically at https://www.cms.gov/MLNEdWebGuide/25_EMDOC.asp states:

"Providers are responsible for the correct submission of claims and response to any remittance advice in accordance with current laws, regulations and standards."

The patient's medical record must show detailed entries as to time, who did what, when, for how long, was it the doctor who monitored the patient directly, or was it delegated to a nurse or a medical assistant, what directives were given, was emergency intervention provided, and if so, how much total direct hands on and face-to-face time from the doctor was involved? When it comes to accurate medical coding, any code selected must be:

1. medically necessary
2. documented as being rendered
3. the proper code for the documented services rendered.

Telling a patient to sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes before they can leave after an injection and direct face-to-face attention after an acute reaction can both be described as monitoring, but it doesn't always mean it can be billed it at a higher level.

The Doctor Makes the Final Decision

The provider knows what was done and everything must be coded as it was documented in the patient's records. A medical coder can research a subject, provide suggestions and present supporting documentation from the proper sources to to make a point, however, the final decision rests with the doctor.

Documentation is the key.

Worthless Medical Assistant Certificates and Diplomas

"Is there Really Such a Thing as a Worthless Medical Assistant Certificate, or Diploma?" 

Many might not know that marketing fake and worthless diplomas, certificates and degrees is a billion dollar industry - at least 800 million a year in the U.S. alone. So big is this market that various state offices, consumer protection agencies and educational websites warn people to use caution when it comes to new schools and distance education programs. 

Understand the definition of certified medical assistant and the medical assistant certification process and advantages, know how to locate qualified training to earn medical assistant credentials, and the difference and benefits of various programs offered, otherwise you might wind up with a piece of paper that is not worth your money and time. Realize that fake schools and diploma mills do exist and therefore, do your research.

TSS, a medical assistant school graduate, shared with us:

I'm a real go getter and everyone in my class was really hurt when we found out we were not getting certified... I feel like our school might be "black balled" and it's hurting the good students. We did hear some companies say they would not use our school's grads any longer because of the way they performed, appearance, lack of knowledge and that was with all the programs, not just the medical ones.  ~  by TSS, MA Student

According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) each year hundreds become victims of unrecognized programs and online scams offering certificates and diplomas that are not fulfilling their promise. Any aspiring medical assistant must be well informed and research different forms of formal and non-formal on-the-job medical assistant training programs and then decide for themselves which one will lead to the desired work experience, credentials and degrees they seek.

Choosing the Right Medical Assistant School to Succeed on the Job

Where so many qualified medical assistants are graduating from formal training programs, only to find themselves competing with their peers for available medical assistant jobs, obtaining medical assistant certification takes on a whole new meaning. Many medical assistant schools gear their program and curriculum toward their own preferred certification organization with which they have a contract or agreement, however, what they are not always sufficiently explaining to their student body is that there are additional other well recognized medical assistant certification sponsors offering their services and professional membership opportunities to those medical assistants who qualify.

Selecting a Better School for Your Vocational Training

"After paying $9,000, I have nothing!" When Silvia Pascu laid out $9,000 to attend the Canadian Aesthetics Academy in 2007 she shared the aspirations of many new looking for a foothold in a promising career. While we have never visited this school and don't know the owner or faculty of this particular school, we know that similar consumer reports, disappointed student's statements and complaints on message boards and forums is on the rise and also happening all over the USA. Unsuspecting students sign up for training at questionable schools assuming they are fully qualified, accredited and affiliated with a real campus school, and then, when they apply for jobs, they realize they were indeed not getting the training that would prepare them for meaningful employment. Considering the magnitude of this problem, this unfortunate situation gets very little media cover.

Matching Your Medical Assistant Job Application and Resume With the Posted Wanted Ad

With so many applying for the same jobs, showing in your medical assistant resume that you have successfully graduated from a medical assistant training program from a reputable community college, or accredited vocational training institution will not only positively influence the time it takes for you to land your very fist  job, but also positively affect the medical assistant salaries employers are willing to offer you.

Remember, that when you fill out your medical assistant job application or submit your resume to make sure to add all your previous and present skills, knowledge and qualifications so that it matches the advertised medical assistant job description as closely as possible, emphasize the type of medical assistant training  and any outstanding achievements you have accomplished and mention that you are confident and a good candidate to handle the medical assistant duties as posted in their ad.

Qualified Medical Assistant Training that Gets You Hired

Where so many qualified medical assistants are graduating from their formal training programs and find themselves competing with their peers for available medical assistant jobs, having medical assistant certification takes on a whole new meaning.

"After paying $9,000, I have nothing!" When Silvia Pascu laid out $9,000 to attend the Canadian Aesthetics Academy in 2007 she shared the aspirations of many new vocational students looking for a fresh start in a promising career. While we don't know any details of this particular school, nor the owner, or its faculty, we do knwo that similar stories are happening all over the USA at questionable cyber schools or sub-standard training facilities who target medical assistant students. It is very important that prospective medical assistant students thoroughly research a school or online course before signing up for anything.

Not all medical assistant vocational training programs are the same and not all vocational program graduates automatically qualify for to sit for medical assistant certification exams that lead to desired credentials that employers want when they hire.

Many medical assistant schools gear their program and curriculum toward their own preferred certification organization with which they have a contract or agreement, however, what they are not always telling their medical assistant student body is that there are additional other well recognized medical assistant certification sponsors offering their services and professional membership opportunities to those who qualify.

Showing in your medical assistant resume that you have successfully graduated from a recognized and respected medical assistant training program will not only positively influence the time it takes for you to land your fist job but also positively affect the salaries potential employers will offer you when you start.

Remember, that when you fill out your job application or submit your resume to make sure to add all your previous and present skills, knowledge and qualifications so that it matches the advertised medical assistant job description as closely as possible, emphasize the type of medical assistant training and any outstanding achievements you have accomplished and mention that you are confident and a good candidate to handle the medical assistant duties as posted in their ad.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Distance Education Online vs. Traditional Classroom Instruction

Many community colleges now offer medical assistant classes that are strictly web based and hybrid courses where all, or most of the required course work and instruction is done online. Our local community college, for example, offers 3-4 credit online courses in accounting, biology, algebra, medical computer applications, word processing, computer sciences, economics, English composition, pharmacology, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, certification exam prep for Health Information Technology and many more online.

The only time you see enrolled distance education students show up on campus is when they take their mid-term and final exams on paper (if required, because even that can be done online). Some schools make provisions for their students to come in once a week for an hour, or two, to review certain skills, especially if they require hands on supervision under the guidance of an instructor, such as, for example a credit hour course in phlebotomy technology, or biology lab.

Do Online Students Fare As Well As Students Who Received Traditional Classroom Instruction? 

Whether students in online or hybrid courses fare better than those in a traditional classroom is debatable. Surely, there can be certain challenges and pitfalls in both; for example, self-discipline, commitment and extra motivation to make sure you learn and understand the material is important in either setting, however, a hidden pitfall could be that you might forget to  turn in all of your assignments on time without the face-to-face reminder from the instructor and without their classroom peers and face-to-face interaction with faculty some students might not have the extra motivation needed to do the independently study as necessary to excel.

Since online programs utilize the Internet and email students must have access to the Internet (which includes a computer, keyboard, browser, mouse, Internet service and electricity), and have a solid understanding of the computer to access the courses.

Possible Pitfalls When Utilizing Online Program Technologies

One form of technology distance education schools use to facilitate their programs online is the Blackboard e-education platform, to name just one of many, a technology where registered students log in with their assigned user name and password.

When taking a quiz or exam online there are a number of factors to consider, such as using a reliable computer and compatible browser, a reliable connection and having plug in programs installed such as Java(tm) software, Adobe Reader(tm), and often, running some sort of word processing program, such as Microsoft Office Word(tm). If the computer is not operating properly, or the connection is suddenly interrupted, all work could be instantly lost without being submitted and the student is locked out of the test. Often, there are time limits imposed and if a student stays on a page too long the session will time out and renders the student unable to submit the exam.

In addition, there could be an issue with accidentally hitting the Enter button, instead of the space bar or tab. This could lead to having an answer being locked in and submitted with no way to go back. Often, the Back button is disabled or causes work to be lost when utilized. When completing the test be sure to click the SUBMIT button to ensure the test is sent to your instructor. Yes, online students often even forget this.

How to Choose the Right Vocational Training Program for You

Being a smart consumer pays off when choosing vocational training programs especially online. Warning signs and program quality check points do exist...  and there are many excellent educational and vocational training programs offered on the Internet. It is the dubious providers of distance and online education that crank out certificates and degrees that are considered worthless on the job market. If you obtain a degree or take a course from a shady non-accredited cyber-school you may find that the paper you receive stamped "Certificate" is not recognized by potential employers, and that the course credits may not transfer to other schools. This is where the term "diploma mill' comes to mind.

Diploma Mills Can Make The Unthinkable Real

It simply blows the mind: doctors, clergymen, police officers, teachers, federal employees, such as White House staffers, National Security Agency employees, FBI agents and a senior State Department officials purchased bogus degrees to seek employment, promotions, higher positions and better pay. Nowadays, almost anybody can become a doctor, or receive college level and advanced degrees, with almost zero effort. Even medical assistants can find gray area online medical assistant programs without any special pre-enrollment conditions, qualification screenings, or passing grade standards... for just a few hundred dollars. Cool??? Not so!

Make The Doctor See that YOU are the Best Candidate for The Job

Medical assistant, phlebotomy and laboratory technician, medical billing and coding certifications are reaching a new level of recognition with employers. While taking an allied health professional certification exam remains largely voluntary here in the USA, there is definitely a big trend among employers who specifically stipulate in their job ads that a medical office position which needs to be filled requires certified credentials.

Rarely do you see medical assistants being hired without experience and trained directly on the job anymore. Doctors expect more these days. These doctors and medical facilities clearly see the benefits of hiring someone with certified credentials; they want someone who has the knowledge necessary to work side by side with health and medical staff to run their medical office or health care facility efficiently and safely. Hiring competent and well trained medical assisting staff gives them a certain amount of confidence and assurance.

An example of such a job advertisement is this one randomly picked from the Indeed.com jobs bank today:

XYZ Physician Associates, LLC currently has a full time medical assistant position available working in a very fast paced environment. Requirements: Candidates must have six months to one year related experience in a medical office or similar clinical setting. Candidates must also be highly organized, pay attention to detail and be able to multi-task. Computer skills required. Phlebotomy experience preferred. Graduate of a Medical Assisting Program. Certification preferred.

Medical assistant training institutions and community colleges know this and are heeding the call by offering medical assistant training programs that lead to desired diplomas and qualifies their graduates to sit for recognized medical assistant certification exams. Funding and financial assistance for such training programs is readily available for those who qualify, much of it completely free and must never be paid back if you are, for example, presently unemployed and qualify for educational grants and employment rehab programs.

There are a number of different medical assistant and other allied health occupations certification sponsors, each having their own unique certification requirements. Their certification exams serve as a valid means of assessing an individual’s specific knowledge and competence in the medical assistant occupation. Passing any one of the various offered certification exams adds credibility and credentials to your name by having earned recognized designations in a specific discipline. Once you have earned your credentials they are portable to all places you may work now and in the future. This is important because in today’s economy people may have to move to a different location or across boarders to a different state to go where the jobs, or better jobs are.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Get Epocrates Online On Your Hand-Held PC Tablet iPhone Thing

What Doctors Want...

A Medical assistant must know a wide variety of skills pertaining to medical office administration routines and clinical tasks revolving around patient intake procedures, patient record management, medical history taking, setting up EKGs, spirometry, immunizations, blood draws, charting, measuring orthopedic fittings and such. Some situations may involve biohazard risks where Universal Standard Precautions must be practiced. Also, doctors WANT their medical assistants carry a mobile smart phone to be used under certain circumstances to benefit the medical practice and patients.

And Medical Assistant Schools Don't Know!

Written by a practicing physician!

by M.D. on Jun 24, 2009 - 12:49AM
M.D., a doctor who posted on the medical assistant forum, tells us:

"One overall thing I have a gripe about as a practicing physician, which is that the medical assistant schools are not teaching what I want."

1. Do I want you doing my billing? In all honesty, no/zero. I do not want someone with only a high school education keeping track of my billing, reports & posting deposits, that had 2 months of training in it. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this a 2 (nearly non-important). MA schools don't know this.
2. Do I want you to be able to work computer appointments, or know manual appointment methods? Yes, in a pinch, but that is, in my opinion, the job of the front office person.
3. Do I want you to know and understand medical terminology & abbreviations? Yes, absolutely.
4. Would I *love* to have you be knowledgeable enough to know how to get Epocrates Online on your hand-held PC tablet iPhone type thing (that you should be having)? Yes, absolutely. You should know how to use apps like this when looking up & giving meds. By the time a book is published, it is out of date. So forget those hard copy nursing drug manuals - ancient history. (MA schools don't know this either).

Room a patient? Yes, clean up the room from the last pt, get the chart, take VS, hgt, wgt, etc.!
Know what is sterile? And what is not (& how to clean it up)? Yes absolutely, or we both get in trouble (financially or morally).

Give injections? Yes. Know sites for various injections/ age group; IM, SQ, needle sites, gauge, syringe size.

Know math? Absolutely. Don't kill my patients with a wrong dose EVER.
Draw blood? Not super important as most offices send patients out to a lab. On a scale of 1-10 this is a 3. (MA schools don't know this).

Phone triage? Yes. Know what is an emergency & what is not, and let me know right away.
In-house small tests (ie: Accucheck, Urine dip, PT, do an ECG)? Absolutely, & know to alert me STAT if any of these tests are really, in dangerous levels. Assist me with minor office surgeries/ procedures? Yes, if just to be there, be sterile, & hand me things, or put your finger over a bleeder. (Again, MA schools don't know this).

Loyalty? Yes. Don't trick me and I won't treat you badly either. We are a team.
5. Most of all, I would LOVE to have someone who keeps track of labs (ie: whether the pt went & got them. If so, on my desk promptly. AND let me know if 3-7 days has passed & I don't have the labs/ x-rays etc.! Then we need to get after the patient/ lab company/ hospital & find out what is going on).

6. To have someone who gets the discharge summary & orders from the hospital when a patient of mine comes back to the office (before they suddenly show up under my shingle). This they don't teach you in MA school. This test follow-up is one of my biggest gripes about MA schools. And, they don't even mention it, but that is far more important to me than your even doing a blood pressure (which I can do myself, if push comes to shove).

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I have called these medical assistant schools to find out what they are about education-wise (West Coast). Unfortunately, they do not even have 1 MD/DO on staff for clinical guidance. This is a BIG mistake because people with Masters in Education are the program directors, & really, they can only guess what clinical practice involves - they have never experienced it.

"Formal" talking/ meetings to ascertain what is necessary, with several M.D.s etc isn't going to cut it with what I want. You need to have been there. A nurse can't teach you really, what a physician needs either. So they do not make a good program directors. Lots of nurses *think* they know, but don't (unfortunately, some won't admit it to themselves).

What would I pay? $15 to $20/hr to start. A good MA is nearly priceless & guaranteed a job for life, IMHO. Be my "right Hand Man", so to speak, and I will reward you accordingly.
Thanks for reading.

by M.D. Jun 24, 2009 - 12:49AM

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Microsoft Technology for Mobile Devices to Access Medical Information

Using mobile devices to access medical information is nothing new. Contrary to popular belief, use of mobile devices in a medical office, or health care facility did not make its first debut with the recent invention of the G4 iPhone, Blackberry, or other smartphones, although they certainly have spurred the popularity of mobile devices in the medical office even further. Microsoft elaborated on this concept as early as 2003 when they wrote:

You can use Microsoft Windows Mobile technology and Microsoft Office System programs running on portable devices, such as Tablet PCs, to access and record patient information and perform many other healthcare-related tasks. And when you do have time to access your PC in your office, you can synchronize Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 — running on a mobile device — with your PC.

Microsoft's article introduces physicians and their medical office staff to advances in mobile and wireless technology so they can make the most of their valuable time. It shares information how busy doctors and medical assistants can effectively use a mobile device to deliver fast, high-quality healthcare without it interfering with the patient flow and other daily medical routines. As a matter of fact, Microsoft says that use of a mobile device can help deliver fast, high-quality healthcare.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Free Medical Assistant Job Training

Where so many are looking for a better job to build a better life, money for education and training can quickly become part of the concerns. While everybody would like to pave the way for a better future, not everybody can afford to go back to school unless they have the necessary funding for vocational training institutions or community college; however money for vocational education IS readily available for those who qualify. US Department of Labor and Workforce Development Career Centers offer services free of charge to help people develop the skills needed to succeed in a meaningful work environment, either at an approved job training site, or in a qualified medical assistant job training program.

Completely FREE Job Training Opportunities

Even better, many can get their medical assistant training COMPLETELY free by getting trained right on the job under the direction of a doctor, or almost free by enrolling into completely free state and government sponsored vocational training programs such as Job Corps, regional programs such as ROP, or vocational rehab programs for the unemployed.

Medical Assistant Work Environment

Most medical assistants work as part of a patient-service team in close contact with doctors, dentists, nurses, and physical therapists, others specialize in providing emergency medical treatment, operating diagnostic tools such as x-ray and ultrasound equipment, laboratory testing of tissue and blood samples, maintaining pharmacy supplies or patients' records, constructing and repairing medical or office equipment and many other clinical and administrative healthcare tasks.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Medical assistants are sought for full-time, permanent, and per diem, part time positions everywhere. Per diem is just another word for as needed. Medical offices and other facilities offer per diem positions to fill in staffing gaps and  cover for shortfalls when one, or several of their full time personnel are suddenly sick or absent for other reasons. In this case, a per diem position opens for temporary work, where work hours are scheduled as needed.

Medical assistants who work per diem pretty much do the same thing the permanent medical assistant would do, which includes prepare patients for office visits, take their weight and height, vital signs, blood glucose check, medication list and document information in patient's chart.

The per diem medical assistant might be asked to man the front office and reception area where they must process incoming and outgoing patient telephone calls and patient-related correspondence and manage the appointment schedule.

Medical Assistant Job Description

We recently spotted a typical medical assistant job description in a medical assistant job ad on our affiliate partner site Indeed.com. It included a list of expected duites, qualifications and benefits:

POSITION OVERVIEW
The Medical Assistant is a key member of the Physician Practice and provides clinical expertise to ensure all patients receive high quality, efficient care.

DUTIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
·         Provide overall support for Physicians and office operations.
·         Prepares patients for examination and treatment.
·         Takes patient histories and vital signs.
·         Prepares exam and treatment rooms with necessary instruments.
·         Gives injections and assists with lab testing and phlebotomy.
·         Prepares and maintains supplies and equipment for treatments, including sterilization.
·         Assists physicians in preparing for minor surgeries and physicals.
·         Assists with scheduling of tests and treatments.
·         Screens telephone calls for referral to physician.

EDUCATION
·         A high school diploma or GED is required.
·         Graduation from a Medical Assisting training program is highly preferred.

This example is typical for most medical assistant job announcements. Most doctors and facilities expect a certain amount of job experience before they are willing to hire someone new. Medical assistant job applicants should add into their application and cover letter that they are able to schedule appointments, accurately take and record vital signs in patient’s chart, explain policies and procedures and any medical office management software skills you have, such as MediTech experience. Also add in that you are highly organized, able to pay attention to detail, and very good at multi-tasking and computer skills.

If you are trained in drawing blood, point out your phlebotomy experience. Highlight your knowledge in customer services and care of patients, patient flow and properly taking and routing telephone messages. These are all important medical assistant skills doctors value and expect since these are areas where things can quickly go wrong and become a headache for the rest of the staff. So, again, make sure this is clearly marked in your medical assistant job application and medical assistant cover letter and resume.

Special Prerequisites and Requirements

Don't be surprised if a potential employer asks whether you have certified medical assistant credentials and many many also expect you have current CPR certification. If not, some doctors will stipulate that you obtain it within 3 months of hire. Furthermore, potential employers might ask you to take a pre-employment physical, and sometimes a breath alcohol and DOT drug screening test before or within 6 months of hire. Yes, they do have the right to do that. Most medical assistants who land the job, whether full-time permanent, or part-time per diem, can expect excellent benefits packages, competitive salaries and growth opportunities.

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More at Medical Assistant NET website.

Medical Assistant Job Description and Application Process

Medical assistants are sought for full-time, permanent, and per diem, part time positions everywhere. Per diem is just another word for as needed. Medical offices and other facilities offer per diem positions to fill in staffing gaps and  cover for shortfalls when one, or several of their full time personnel are suddenly sick or absent for other reasons. In this case, a per diem position opens for temporary work, where work hours are scheduled as needed.

Medical assistants who work per diem pretty much do the same thing the permanent medical assistant would do, which includes prepare patients for office visits, take their weight and height, vital signs, blood glucose check, medication list and document information in patient's chart. The per diem medical assistant might be asked to man the front office and reception area where they must process incoming and outgoing patient telephone calls and patient-related correspondence and manage the appointment schedule.

Medical Assistant Job Description

We recently spotted a typical medical assisant job ad on our affiliate partner site Indeed.com. It included a list of expected duites, qualifications and benefits:

POSITION OVERVIEW
The Medical Assistant is a key member of the Physician Practice and provides clinical expertise to ensure all patients receive high quality, efficient care.

DUTIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
·         Provide overall support for Physicians and office operations.
·         Prepares patients for examination and treatment.
·         Takes patient histories and vital signs.
·         Prepares exam and treatment rooms with necessary instruments.
·         Gives injections and assists with lab testing and Phlebotomy.
·         Prepares and maintains supplies and equipment for treatments, including sterilization.
·         Assists physicians in preparing for minor surgeries and physicals.
·         Assists with scheduling of tests and treatments.
·         Screens telephone calls for referral to physician.

EDUCATION
·         A high school diploma or GED is required.
·         Graduation from a Medical Assisting training program is highly preferred.

This example is typical for most medical assistant job announcements. Most doctors and facilities expect a certain amount of job experience before they are willing to hire someone new. Medical assistant job applicants should add into their application and cover letter that they are able to schedule appointments, accurately take and record vital signs in patient’s chart, explain policies and procedures and any medical office management software skills you have, such as MediTech experience. Also add in that you are highly organized, able to pay attention to detail, and very good at multi-tasking and computer skills.

If you are trained in drawing blood, point out your phlebotomy experience. Highlight your knowledge in customer services and care of patients, patient flow and properly taking and routing telephone messages. These are all important medical assistant skills doctors value and expect since these are areas where things can quickly go wrong and become a headache for the rest of the staff. So, again, make sure this is clearly marked in your medical assistant job application and medical assistant cover letter and resume.

Special Prerequisites and Requirements

Don't be surprised if a potential employer asks whether you have certified medical assistant credentials and many many also expect you have current CPR certification. If not, some doctors will stipulate that you obtain it within 3 months of hire. Furthermore, potential employers might ask you to take a pre-employment physical, and sometimes a breath alcohol and DOT drug screening test before or within 6 months of hire. Yes, they do have the right to do that.

Most medical assistants who land the job, whether full-time permanent, or part-time per diem, can expect excellent benefits packages, competitive salaries and growth opportunities.

Your Massive Gold Nugget Can Be As Simple As A Job You Love

I just read an amazing article about someone finding a humongous 10 pound gold nugget with a simple metal detector while hiking in the Sierra Nevada. When I read how this person stumbled upon a hunk of gold in the desert, I immediately thought, oh, wow! What are the chances of that? To find around $130,000.00 in gold under some rocks. While I realize that this is a once in a lifetime discovery, I am keenly aware that golden opportunities exist for each and every one of us if we put our mind to it.

The Gold Nugget is Within You!
While you may not own a metal detector, nor hike in the Sierra Nevada, you too can find a hunk of gold, right where you are—within yourself. Just like a piece of gold, which is beautiful, has value and never wears out, so are your talents and skills. Your gold nugget is you, your family, your talents, compassion and skills. Your metal detector is a golden opportunity that comes along, especially for those with a solid education and the strong desire to build a career path where one can grow as a person and professional. Do this, and you will have golden days ahead.

Jobs in the Healthcare Industry

In today's tough economy, many are gravitating toward a career in the medical and healthcare field to find their own gold nuggets. The healthcare and medical industry is booming and holds countless job opportunities, of which many require as "little as" a high school diploma and the will to succeed. Kindness, caring and being well organized with a keen eye for details are your best traits to do well in an allied health career.

Healthcare workers are well educated, highly trained and well compensated for normal work hours and hours outside their normal schedule, which includes for pre- and post shift duties, travel time during scheduled work hours from site to site and work related travel to meetings and training. They are also well protected by labor laws.

Healthcare Worker's Wages, Pay, Bonuses and Exemptions

Non-exempt employees receive time and one-half the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a 7-day workweek. Regular rate includes all compensation, such as non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials. In nursing homes and residential living facilities, employers may pay overtime after 8 hours in any one day and 80 hours in a 14-day pay period.

Anyone wishing to find out details about healthcare personnel employment rules, regulations and pay, such as, for example whether salaried managerial and professional employees in healthcare facilities are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime regulations in their state, should contact their state's Labor Department. Often it depends on whether they have met specific salary, duty, or educational requirements.

Examples of a healthcare facility constantly in need of healthcare staff and personnel include hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics and group medical practices, comprehensive rehabilitation hospitals, residential health care facilities, residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities, adult day health care facilities, assisted living residences, comprehensive personal care homes, home health care agencies, hospice care agencies, maternal and child health consortia and health care service firms.  They also often seek

• volunteers to work overtime
• on-call employees
• per diem staff to compensate for short-falls
• personnel from a contracted temporary agency

My golden rule is to make the best out of the day, every day. Do something every day that you like. It is your choice! Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?

I if you want to get some more golden Career Path Development tips, click the link. This website has some really down to earth, common sense tips and expert insights for people who have to make career choices and the tough decisions that go hand in hand with the process. If you just want to read more about the story about the person who found a gold nugget, go here.

"I Just Graduated from a Medical Assistant Program—Am I Certified Now?"

"I Just Graduated from a Medical Assistant Program—Am I Certified Now?"

No, just graduating from a medical assistant school, or medical assistant distance education program doesn't make you a certified professional! Certification is NOT automatic just because you graduated. You may have your medical assisting diploma, but to get certified you must apply to sit for a medical assistant certification exam and pass it. Only then will you receive your designation and can call yourself a certified professional.

Some well respected professional certification sponsors also make their exams available to those who did NOT receive formal vocational training from a medical assistant school, but instead have several years of continuous experience working in the discipline, or have received their medical and healthcare training in the Military.

Tough Decisions: Online Medical Assistant Program or Campus Based?

No one can tell you which type of medical assistant program is right for you. Ultimately, you are the one who must choose which path to take to learn your medical assistant skills. Part of your decision will be based on how FAST you want to be done and finished with your training, the cost and how quickly you hope to land your first real medical assistant job.

Rule of thumb is that self-paced online medical assistant courses can be finished the fastest if you apply yourself, however, on the flip side, doctors may not be easily persuaded or convinced to hire you without having direct experience and hands on practice which you would have gotten in a campus based training program. All too many former medical assistant online students have learned a painful lesson.

Things You MUST Ask Before Signing Up for Anything...

As with any kind of education, there are things to be aware of and different programs have their pros and cons. Making a wise choice and informed decisions puts you into a position where you won't have to regret it later. Should you decide that going with a web based program better fits your schedule, budget and personality than bear in mind that no matter which online school you choose you have to ask certain questions BEFORE signing up for anything. We have put a very detailed list of questions to ask before enrolling in any medical assistant program.

First and foremost check out the fees that the online medical assistant school charges for their courses and find out about their refund policy. It is common practice of all reputable online vocational training schools to be up-front with their fees, since they realize it is important to new students to know how much they will be paying for the course. Putting forth a sincere effort to discuss all fees person-to-person over the phone helps to build trust in the school.

You will need to check out the course requirements before signing up for anything.  Each school has different requirements that must be met before entering their program. Almost all online medical assistant programs require a high school diploma while a few want you to have specific course studies from other schools. Some online medical assistant programs, especially those approved by the Department of Education, require competency in complex clinical and technical skills to earn their degree, which can only taught under the direct supervision of a qualified instructor or professional in the field who is familiar with a wide range of medical assistant duties.

There are countless medical assistant students who have told us that finding  their own clinical internship site was EXTREMELY challenging and frustrating and some of them gave up, never earning their medical assistant diploma or degree. Therefore this is probably the most important part of evaluating a prospective online medical assistant school.

Certain online programs operate on the same premise of standard schools and might require that their students complete a minimum number of hours in class room study to be eligible to graduate; so, make sure to ask whether a program is entirely web based, or partially web based. All that is required should be listed in the course description and should be discussed in person during the review process.

Academic degrees is another area where one should put fourth some effort in research before signing up for anything. If the online program does not offer the degree that you need to get the job you want, then it is useless to you as a school. Don't be discouraged, most of the online medical assistant schools, and nursing schools for that matter, allow you to achieve the type of degree that you want.

Worth Your Consideration When Making Career Choices: Phlebotomist

The phlebotomist, the person who draws blood samples from patients arms or finger tips, is a highly specialized, valuable member of the medical and healthcare team as a whole. Without the phlebotomist's skills and services many diagnoses and health assessments could not be as reliably performed.

Most phlebotomists have a high school education, others have an academic degree in medical technology, some received their training directly on the job under the supervision of a doctor, nurse or experienced phlebotomist, others took a phlebotomy course offered through the American Red Cross, or a community college, others while serving in the military as a combat medic or hospital corpsman role.

A skilled phlebotomist deserves high praise, yet, they are usually paid the least amount of wages on the allied health professional's pay scale, probably because their training is not as extensive as, let's say, an EKG and x-ray technician, or medical assistant. In a way, that is unfair, because there is tremendous value in their services that can never be repaid in money. Phlebotomists draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research and explain the procedure to patients who ask.

They must know the circulatory system anatomy and composition of blood along with the medical terminology that goes with it, be able to access a vein, or artery, or capillary blood bed of all kinds of people from young, to old, to obese, to emaciated, to those with veins that roll, to those who easily faint, or are deadly afraid of needles.

They need to understand different venipuncture techniques and the equipment to be used to draw and preserve the blood sample. Additionally, they must know how to read laboratory requisition slips, follow doctor's orders, work safely with patients, handle blood and other potentially hazardous body fluids and know how to clean up blood spills safely and dispose them in accordance with OSHA regulations. If any of this is not approached with great care and handled properly, it can result in severe injury, if not death.

Worth Your Consideration When Making Career Choices: Medical Coding and Billing

Doctors, Medical Office Managers and Hospital Administration Departments Rely on Their Medical Coders and Billers

Successful medical coders and coding consultants pride themselves on being personally involved and connected with each and every client and exceeding clients expectations. Wherever there are doctors you find medical coders, some work in house as employees of the facility, others are independent consultants, some specialize in areas such as billing and collection, others become medical coding instructors, or speakers at conferences and seminars; some work long hours, others work part-time telecommuting from home, others start their own business. There are so many variations, opportunities and specialty fields.

CODING SPECIALTIES:

Medical coding professionals can specialize in focus areas such as:

• Family Practice & Internal Medicine

• Ambulatory & General Surgery

• Anesthesia & Pain Management

• Emergency Medicine

• Dermatology 

• Gastroenterology

• Neurology & Neurosurgery

• Oncology & Hematology

• Mental Health

• Podiatry

• Ophthalmology

• Dentistry

• Physical rehab

… to name just a few. There are many more.

Healthcare Industry Job Market Outlook

The allied healthcare industry employs expertly educated professionals that often require many years of training beyond high and graduate school. One estimate by the U.S. Labor Department reported allied health professionals make up 60 percent of the total health workforce and healthcare experts anticipate that health services employment will continue to grow. Jobs in the healthcare industry virtually open and close daily...

Are you ready to enter into one of the largest industries where new job offers virtually open and close daily?

 So far, United States Department of Labor reports show an economy that is growing, but slowly, and hiring increased with higher wages. Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs.

Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in October (+32,000) and has grown by 562,000 over the past 12 months. Health care employment continued to expand in October 2011 (+12,000), following a gain of 45,000 in September. Offices of physicians added 8,000 jobs in October. Over the past 12 months, health care has added 313,000 jobs.

Private employers added 110,000 new jobs and according to the government's unemployment claims report weekly applications for unemployment benefits finally dropped this fall. The outlook is for about 120,000 new jobs a month for the next year, said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, the consulting firm that runs ADP's survey.

In addition various healthcare reforms are presently under consideration which may also affect the number of people being treated by healthcare providers. If you ever considered, or were ever interested in starting an allied health career, then now is the time.

Where will the jobs be? 

In healthcare!!!! See the full list of The 50 Best Careers of 2011.

Looking for Medical Assistant Training?

Are you looking for vocational training providers or on the job training to become a medical assistant, or get a job, a better job, or improve your position in your current workplace? 

Finding the right medical assistant program remains difficult if you do not have a clear goal and don't know where to look. The vocational and post-secondary education system for high school graduates and working adults consists of countless campuses across the United States and Canada. Additionally there is a plethora of vocational self-study online programs to choose from online. Without a certain amount of help, finding the right school, or program can quickly become a daunting task.

The quickest and easiest way to find medical assistant schools and explore medical assistant programs near you is via our medical assistant schools by ZIP code search on Medical Assistant Net... our recommended vocational education and training programs provide qualified training and teach you the skills you need to land medical office and healthcare jobs. The Medical Assistant NET website is ready for all mobile devices. Visit us on your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android tablet, or PDA.

For tips on how to become a medical assistant and how to find a program that's right for you visit the  Medical Assistant NET website at medicalassistant.net

Taking the Medical Assistant Certification Exam?

If you are a medical assistant preparing for the medical assistant certification exam here are some insights and tips:

Most medical assistants with formal training and recognized medical assistant credentials behind their name wind up doing quite well upon graduation. Many land jobs that they would probably not have gotten otherwise. The competition on today's job market is high... everybody wants to land a better job. There are many affordable certification exams offered, which cover a broad range of medical assisting areas of knowledge to assure proficiency and competency in different areas of medical assisting.

These medical assistant certification exams usually test knowledge on many areas of clinical and administrative skills, which also includes medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, clinical lab procedures, pharmacology, document processing and management, healthcare law and ethics, and medical coding and billing questions, to name just a few. Here are some REAL live medical assistant certification exam study tips, strategies, and example questions for those preparing for the medical assistant certification exam.

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