Medical Assistant Schools in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Medical Assistant Schools
As a health care consumer, you know how important good health care service is. A short wait time, prompt processing at the check-in desk, and personalized care can make the difference between a great medical experience or a lukewarm experience. If you become a medical assistant, you can help doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals deliver top-level care to patients, increasing satisfaction, and making a visit to the doctor a good experience. Find medical assistant schools in Massachusetts for proper medical assistant training to be successful in this healthcare industry and start your career today!
Medical assistant programs in MA can help you take advantage of the growing health care industry in this state. According to Boston.com, health care insurance rates are falling in Massachusetts. As a result, more and more patients are seeking care. Local medical institutions may be hiring more medical assistants in order to meet the growing demand for medical services.
Health care providers, from nurse practitioners to medical doctors, are sharing caseloads to deal with the overwhelming demands placed on the healthcare system. According to News Telegram, health care practitioners in Massachusetts are trying to circumvent an impossibly long waitlist for patients. As a medical assistant, you may be able to take vitals, gather patient history, and otherwise lessen the load of other primary care practitioners, helping to get patients through appointments quicker and easier.
Medical Assistant Education in Massachusetts
If you want to make a difference in the healthcare industry, you have many options that may suit you. You don’t necessarily have to spend four or more years earning a degree before you can start working. Becoming a medical assistant, whether in an administrative or critical role, may be one of the quickest ways to finish your education quickly and start working.
Medical assistants are extremely important in Massachusetts, a densely populated state where patients often struggle with long wait times and a scheduling waitlist. By hiring medical assistants, facilities can keep costs relatively low while ensuring that patients get access to the care they need.
What does it take to become a medical assistant?
First, you should be able to keep your cool and maintain your critical thinking skills while under pressure. Healthcare is often a high-stress industry, but you are still responsible for making decisions in the best interest of your patients. Second, you should have no issue taking directions from multiple people. Medical assistants may be under the supervision of registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians.
Finally, you should have a sincere interest in the needs of your patients. If you care about the work you do every day, you may find that you are always striving to do better and do more for the people in your care. Learn more about Massachusetts medical assistant certification with the variety of programs below.
Medical Assistant Education in Massachusetts
There may be several degree options for you in Massachusetts. Medical assistant training in MA generally takes between one and two years for full-time students. If you decide to earn a diploma or certificate, you may be able to graduate in roughly one year. Earning an Associate’s degree, which may permit you to continue your education at a later date, takes about two years.
At its core, medical assistant training focuses on an intensive knowledge of the human body, medications, disease, and basic medical techniques. In the first part of your program, you may take courses like Laboratory Procedures, Medical Assisting Techniques, and Pharmacology. Later courses include Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Office Management, and Medical Terminology.
These sources give you the knowledge base that you will need to work effectively with patients and health care professionals in a medical setting. In your last semester, you may complete a comprehensive clinical course, giving you the opportunity to practice your hands on clinical skills. Most medical assistant schools in MA require an externship or internship experience as well. In this course, you work closely alongside real medical professionals to learn how to help patients through every step of the process they are experiencing, whether it be a routine check-up or an emergency room visit.
If you decide to pursue medical assistant certification, MA employers may be more inclined to hire you. You should choose a program that prepares its students for certification if this is a goal of yours. This means finding an accredited program that prepares you for certification after graduation.
Applying for scholarships can be an excellent way to fund your education and avoid taking out lots of student loans. The Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation offers scholarships of $2,000 to employees that are attending school. Another scholarship resource in the state is the MetroWest Health Foundation. These scholarships are based on financial need, GPA, and essays.
Medical Assisting Classes in Massachusetts
- Health Science Essentials
- Medical Laboratory Procedures
- Pharmacology
- Healthcare Insurance
Perhaps the most widely available training program in Massachusetts is medical assisting. This is a general program that often includes clinical components and administrative components, permitting graduates to work in either setting. Your training should include medical terminology, an overview of body systems, and hands-on experience with medical equipment and tools used in clinics and hospitals. You may also spend time learning about office protocols and procedures, a topic that is useful in administrative roles.
Billing and Coding Programs in Massachusetts
- Medical Billing and Health Insurance
- Pathology and Pharmacology
- Basic Coding Using ICD-10
- Intermediate Medical Coding
Many clinics and hospitals have separate departments for billing and coding. As insurance has become more complex over the years, facilities have expanded their employment of highly trained billing and coding specialists. This permits care providers to spend more time working with patients and less time trying to navigate the billing process. As you work through your billing and coding curriculum, you should get the opportunity to work with different programs and formulas used in facilities across Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Nurse Aide and Patient Care Tech Classes
- Phlebotomy and Clinical Laboratory
- Medical Terminology
- Basic Life Support
- CNA Skills
Certified nursing assistants and patient care technicians are fairly similar to medical assistants in many ways. They typically dedicate the majority of their time to the hands-on care of their patients. As a CNA or patient care tech, you may be responsible for bathing patients, administering medications, feeding and hydrating, providing leisure activities, and reporting status changes to physicians.
Across the board, these programs can be completed in four to eight weeks, making them one of the fastest options for busy students. You may spend well over half of your time in clinical work for this type of program. Rather than applying for Massachusetts medical assistant certification after graduation, you may become licensed as a certified nursing assistant or patient care technician.
Medical Secretary and Administrative Med Assisting Programs in Massachusetts
- Medical Office Billing
- Medical Law and Ethics
- Communication Technologies
- Healthcare Documentation
This area of specialized study is optimal for those who feel most at home in administrative care settings. Medical secretaries often spend their days processing paperwork, running insurance information, scheduling appointments, and communicating with patients when they arrive for care.
Your curriculum may still include some anatomy and physiology, since several parts of billing and coding involved understanding the services being offered and why. Depending on which medical secretary program you choose in Massachusetts, you may graduate in six months to two years.
Are you ready to learn more about applying for medical assistant certification in MA?
Everything begins with the right education and training.
Get started right now by reaching out to medical assistant schools in Massachusetts.
Learn More About Medical Assisting Programs in Your City
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Medical Assisting Careers in Massachusetts
In many of the specialties listed above, you do not need to worry about becoming certified before you start working. Certified nursing assistants to have to be added to the Massachusetts Nurse Aide Registry, and patient care technicians also have to be licensed. However, if you want to take on an administrative role, you may not need to worry about licensure or medical assistant certification in Massachusetts. Employers may simply want to see that you have completed an approved training program and that you can accurately carry out medical administrative tasks.
Keep in mind that job responsibilities and duties may vary between work settings. For example, in a clinic, you may run on a fairly strict schedule. While patients may be squeezed into the schedule occasionally, you may rarely have to handle emergency situations. However, if you accept a hospital position, you may have to adjust your schedule constantly to accommodate emergencies and unexpected patient cases.
In different medical assisting careers, job growth statistics are fairly similar. Between 2014 and 2024, demand for medical assistants may jump 15% in Massachusetts (O*Net, 2017). O*Net anticipates a 14% increase in job openings for medical records technicians by the year 2024 (O*Net, 2017). Nursing assistants may benefit from a 10% swell in job openings from 2014 through 2024 (O*Net, 2017). Medical secretaries are expected to benefit from a 14% boost in demand by 2024 (O*Net, 2017).
As healthcare technology changes, local facilities may prefer to hire assistants with extensive technological training. For that reason, it is important to keep up on advances in medical technology through seminars, continuing education classes, and research articles. This is particularly essential in Massachusetts, since the state has invested a considerable amount of money in a digital health laboratory and medical device research laboratory (M Health Intelligence, 2017). Staying current on these topics through your medical assistant training may positively influence your job outlook.
If you are ready to find the medical assisting program in Massachusetts that can help direct you towards the medical career you want, take some time to look at the schools on this page. Request information about the MA medical assisting programs that interest you, and get started on your new career today.
Listed below are all of the schools offering Medical Assistant programs in Massachusetts. As a rule, you should contact at least 3-5 schools during the course of your research, and ideally more. There are important differences between the programs in terms of cost, admissions requirements, and other characteristics, and, as with many things in life, the way to find the best Medical Assistant program for your needs is to spend some time shopping around.
Here Are The Medical Assistant Schools…
Salary numbers provided are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.