Medical Assistant Programs Near Me

Medical Assistant Classes Near Me

If you are searching for ‘medical assistant classes near me’ then use the links below to find a list of medical assistant programs near you. Click on your state for a list of schools offering medical assistant classes nearby in your region with additional information such as contact information for the program directors.

There are hundreds of accredited medical assistant programs offered throughout the United States locally and online that meet minimum program requirements. Use the map below, or the list of states below the map, to find medical assisting schools in your area.

ABHES & CAAHEP Accredited Medical Assistant Schools

The table below contains 233 ABHES accredited medical assistant programs and 358 CAAHEP accredited programs. You can search, sort and filter the table for medical assistant programs near me or anywhere in the United States. Try it out by entering either your city, zip code or two digit state code in the search box to see a list of schools nearby.

Medical Assistant Training Requirements

The minimum requirement to become a Medical Assistant is a high school diploma but it also depends on one of the many specialty allied health jobs you may ultimately decide on such as a Phlebotomist or Molecular Diagnostic Assistant. Regardless, to be competitive in the job market, you typically need a certificate or degree from a community college, vocational school, or technical school, and most programs take about 1-2 years to complete.

Now, let’s discuss certified or registered medical assistant training requirements. All individual states and territories may have particular requirements for becoming a certified medical assistant in that particular state but most of them are very similar.

The AMT or American Medical Technologist is a non-profit organization that provides the medical assistant training requirements to become a registered medical assistant after you complete your medical assistant program. Meanwhile, the AAMA is the organization offering requirements to become a certified medical assistant.

Let’s go over the medical assistant training requirements to become registered by the AMT.

AMT requirements: To become eligible for the AMT exam needed to become a certified medical assistant, candidates must complete one of the following:

1. An accredited medical assistant training program consisting of 720 training hours and 160 internship hours also called a clinical externship
2. A military medical services training program
3. Five years of qualifying work experience in the past seven years
4. Five years of medical assistant instructor experience

Alternatively, you can choose to become certified by the AAMA. You can view the table below to compare the processes of becoming registered by the AMT or certified by the AAMA.

6 Medical Assistant Training Steps

Medical assistant training can be broken down into the following 6 steps.

Medical Assistant Programs: Education and Degrees

Most community colleges and trade schools offer a degree program certified by CAAHEP and ABHES that may require a few prerequisite courses.

A typical school certification program for an RMA is about a 6-12 month time commitment or about 20-40 hours a week.

Tuition costs will vary at different schools depending on factors such as living in-state or out of state, public or private school and how long it takes you to finish. One sample state community college estimated tuition to be $7,643. As you can see below, program completion of the following sample curriculum will leave you prepared to begin your career as a medical assistant.

A sample curriculum for a General Studies in Pre-Health Sciences to get an Associates Degree

If you are undecided on a specific career as a Medical Assistant and may want to take on increasing responsibilities in your career, consider getting your Associates Degree.  Most community colleges have various degrees of opportunities in the Allied Health field such as Medical Assisting, Vocational Nursing, Sonography, Dental Hygiene, and many others. It will take about 60 – 64 credit hours.

In addition to the courses in the curriculum students will need to complete their clinical practice requirements. The are a variety of medical settings and healthcare facilities where you can get your clinical practice. During your clinical practice, you will work on a healthcare team with patients for examination, provide patient care, run basic laboratory tests, perform administrative duties, collect laboratory specimens, complete outpatient insurance forms, and get more hands-on training.

Best Medical Assistant Programs

There are a number of websites that rank the best medical assistant programs and schools by a number of factors such as affordability, online courses, number of campuses, graduation rate and more.

So, when searching for the best medical assistant programs you need to decide which criteria are the most important for you.

When our team reviewed rankings of the best medical assistant schools we found the following programs and schools showed up the most frequently.

• Keiser University
• Globe University
• Kaplan College
• Pima Medical Institute
• Bryant & Stratton College
• Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

The reasons that these schools showed up on the top medical assistant schools lists so often is due mostly to the following factors.

• Number of locations
• Affordability
• Graduation rate
• Program offering(s)

Once you determine which criteria are the most important for you, then you will be able to decide which is the best medical assistant program for you by comparing schools on those specific criteria.

Choosing a medical assisting program requires some serious thought. There are a few things to consider that will help you choose a program that meets your needs. It can be helpful to create “T charts” when comparing the following criteria between medical assisting programs.

The most important things to consider when comparing college programs are the quality of the faculty, the size of the student population and campus, the location of your classes, and the cost of tuition as well as any available financial aid. You may also want to consider student pass rates and the ability of the career services department to place you in a clinical externship. These are all things you can ask a representative of the school admissions team before applying, you may also want to ask about any prerequisite courses or other admission requirements and discuss your educational goals to being academic planning.

Accreditation for the Best Medical Assistant Programs

It is important to attend an accredited school if you want the medical assistant degree or certificate program to be worth the most value. Schools can be regionally or nationally accredited. Regionally accredited institutions are considered of the highest quality, but those meeting lower standards can still obtain national accreditation.

Accreditation is a very important thing. It will make sure you qualify for federal financial aid for eligible students, transfer your credits across institutions easily, and enter advanced degree programs and postgraduate certification opportunities. Accreditation will also make sure you have good job and education opportunities. Accredited medical assistant programs can provide you with a certificate of completion to assure the quality of your education standards.

Industry accreditation can affect the value of certifications, so it’s important to consider which ones are right for your career. CAAHEP has set the industry standards for medical assistant programs.

Earning a credential from a CAAHEP-accredited medical assisting program can open doors to greater career opportunities. When comparing the best medical assistant programs, take not of the ones that are CAAHEP accredited.

How Much Does Medical Assistant School Cost?

Depending on whether you go for a certificate, diploma or associate degree will determine how much medical assistant school costs you.

• A 1 yr diploma/certificate medical assistant program: $1,200 – $4,200.
• A 2 yr associate degree program: $1,200 – $10,800 (for in-state residents and double that for out-of-state residents)
• A 6-week – 6-month accelerator program: $1,500 – $2,500

It should be noted that credentials such as the CMA (Certified Medical Assistant) offered by the AAMA will not only help your chances for employment but be required in some states. The CMA credential requires that students graduate from a CAAHEP or ABHES accredited program.

Additionally, the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) is a professional organization that offers certification for medical assistants and provides ongoing education and support to further the profession.

It may also be noted that the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB) is another organization that establishes standards for the education of medical assistants and accredits programs to ensure quality education.

How Long is Medical Assistant School?

Medical assisting program completion varies. You can choose between attending a:

• Certificate/Diploma Program: 9 to 12 months
• Associate Degree Program: 2 years

Medical assisting programs are offered at many different types of schools such as vocational and trade schools, community and junior colleges, technical schools, and universities.

Most often the 2-year associate’s degree programs are offered by community colleges.

It should also be noted that there are 6-week to 6-month accelerator programs where you can become a medical assistant in 6 weeks.

Is Medical Assistant School Hard?

How hard is medical assistant school? Each of us has our own approach to studying and learning. Studying and learning in a Medical Assistant School will be different for everyone and some will find the path to graduation harder than others.

Depending on your strengths in academics, a medical assistant program could be easier for you if you are strong in sciences and hands-on learning compared to someone who struggles in sciences.

Program completion from a medical assistant school is very rewarding as long as you can stay focused and put in the required time and effort.

Program graduates report a high graduate satisfaction rate and US News ranks the career of medical assisting as:

• #8 in Best Jobs Without A College Degree
• #11 in Best Health Care Support Jobs
• #77 in 100 Best Jobs.

Job placement rates are also high for program graduates while unemployment remains low for this profession. From admission to degree a medical assisting degree is a Career-Ready Degree.

So you can be assured that you and your graduate cohorts will be happy medical assisting graduates and competent entry-level medical assistants in the healthcare industry of your choice. Allied health professionals are in high demand across many industries.