Certified Medical Assistant?

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jun 7, 2012

ma (medical assisting) is not an academic degree. (ma/master of arts is something else entirely:d). mostly obtained from tech or for-profit schools. they may have some sort of accreditation but that doesn't necessarily mean they teach you a lot of medical information--tech schools are accredited by an entirely different pathway than nursing schools. ma will not give you a leg up on nursing, other than on some mechanical skills that nursing students will learn pretty quickly in their programs anyway; ma will not give you advanced placement.

DBall · Jun 7, 2012

MA (medical assisting) is not an academic degree. (MA/Master of Arts is something else entirely:D). Mostly obtained from tech or for-profit schools. They may have some sort of accreditation but that doesn't necessarily mean they teach you a lot of medical information--tech schools are accredited by an entirely different pathway than nursing schools. MA will not give you a leg up on nursing, other than on some mechanical skills that nursing students will learn pretty quickly in their programs anyway; MA will not give you advanced placement.

Hahaha my bad. I am not looking to go into nursing, I am looking into getting a job that will pay for some school, while I get some hours and experience regardless of how big it is, to further my medical profession after my bachelors. (Medical School, Optometrist, Physical Therapist) one of those.

Will people hire non accredited school graduates from the program? Or do they just see that passed your exam?

RedhairedNurse2Be · Jun 8, 2012

I went to a trade school to earn my certificate, and then I had to pay to take the optional CMA exam. There are programs where you can earn an assoicates degree in it, but most are certificate.

DBall · Jun 8, 2012

I went to a trade school to earn my certificate, and then I had to pay to take the optional CMA exam. There are programs where you can earn an assoicates degree in it, but most are certificate.

Did you go to one of those tech school colleges? Like Everest? I heard not to go there because it's so expensive!?

krazievi3t6url · Jun 8, 2012

ma (medical assisting) is not an academic degree. (ma/master of arts is something else entirely:d). mostly obtained from tech or for-profit schools. they may have some sort of accreditation but that doesn't necessarily mean they teach you a lot of medical information--tech schools are accredited by an entirely different pathway than nursing schools. ma will not give you a leg up on nursing, other than on some mechanical skills that nursing students will learn pretty quickly in their programs anyway; ma will not give you advanced placement.

you can do a medical assisting program through community college which is accredited. most programs are through vocational or technical schools though.

i'd have to disagree with your post. so not true. i've learned so much from being a medical assistant and it definitely gave me a leg up on nursing.

op, i say go for it! i am a medical assistant and i am now an rn.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Jun 8, 2012

Yes, please check with your local community college before you go to a place like Everest! A classmate of mine did her MA program at the community college & she said she spent about $8,000. At a for-profit you could end up paying double that amount.

RedhairedNurse2Be · Jun 8, 2012

Did you go to one of those tech school colleges? Like Everest? I heard not to go there because it's so expensive!?

I actually went to Ross Medical Education Center. They have campuses in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. It was expensive. I paid $13,000, and I had student loans from when I was a Social Work student at a nearby university. I learned a lot though, but I was only able to get hired for Assisted Living, so a lot of what I did learn I forgot.

DBall · Jun 8, 2012

That is a lot of money! Why do those tech schools cost so much?

My local community college has a medical assistant classes and you leave being qualified for a job, but it's not accredited, so how does that work? What's the difference between accreditation and non accreditation?

RedhairedNurse2Be · Jun 8, 2012

Mine was a crediated, I forget the organzation. My school covered text books, set up my externship sight, covered liability while on externship, covered liability for the class because we used other as guinea pigs, and paid for equipment needed for the class. They even bought everyone their first stethoscope. It also covered lifetime job assistance(even though their leads were the same ones I found), and I get mock interviews if I ever need it. When you think about it, it almost equal to a commituy college program. If you complete an accredited program, you're more likely to get hired, but where I live there is a surplus of MA and CNA running around.