Seeking Medical Assistant Certification
You can get medical assistant certification in about six to eight weeks from some programs. There are distance learning and online courses that allow you to work around your current schedule. Many courses in these nationally accredited programs are also designed and reviewed by professionals actually in the field. However, getting certification as a medical assistant does not make you a licensed professional in the health care profession.
There are many organizations that offer certification including the American Association of Medical Assistants, American Medical Technologists and the National Healthcareer Association. However, each organization may have different requirements of their programs. For example, you must renew your AAMA certification every five years, but certification renewal from the AMT requires you complete a specific number of continuing education hours in three year intervals. In any case, you must graduate from a nationally accredited training program of the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools or Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs.
Many assistants seek certification because it affords benefits such as greater job security, more opportunities for advancement and more credibility with potential employers. Some use certification as a stepping stone to other career opportunities. With the field predicted to keep growing over the next few years, opportunities are opening up all the time.
Medical assistants work under a doctor’s supervision in a health care setting such as a clinic, doctor’s office or hospital. The actual duties of the assistant may vary according to not only the setting but also the specific needs of the doctor or office. Assistants may draw blood or take x-rays. These duties may be expanded in different states to include calling the pharmacy to arrange prescriptions, collecting specimens for the lab, helping patients properly take their medications, removing sutures and sterilizing the medical instruments for procedures.
Some perform strictly clerical duties like answering phones, distributing mail, greeting customers and typing. Other duties may include arranging admissions to hospitals, scheduling lab services, submitting insurance claims and maintaining patient records. No matter what functions the assistant has to perform, it is crucial he or she gets the proper training from the right program.