$33, 000 for Medical Assistant program

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Worth it or no? The local LPN program is only 12, 000 but hard to get in, and I'd rather avoid all the icky stuff. I want to work in the health field but also as a "receptionist" so I find that being a CMA fits me perfectly.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I paid $4,600 for a medical assistant program about 13 years ago and was never able to land a job with my training. In many cities and states you will not even earn $33k yearly as a medical assistant.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

They probably hook in unsuspecting, dim-witted young girls with that commercial "...and you get to wear cute scrubs!" Glad you didn't get sucked in.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

Totally not worth it. Like others mentioned, you can find the program at community college for less than 10k. Another thing : if you just want to do reception work, have you considered looking at unit secretary jobs at your local hospitals? That may be something to consider. Also, before I got into nursing school, I applied at a job in which you worked at a call center, setting up appointments for an urgent care clinic. The pay wasn't great but it's also something to think about.

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I am glad you found another school to go to. I constantly see people attending or applying to super pricey schools & validating the tuition (more to themselves than anyone else) that it is too hard to get into the cheaper schools.

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Thanks for the responses! I'm definitely NOT paying that much. My local university has a BSN program for 20k! Vatterott is crazy!

Well, clearly there must be people who do actually sign up for the program or they wouldn't be continuing to offer it (at the current cost) -- I would suggest that those are the crazy people, not the college. If people are dumb enough to pay that much for a program, why not take the money?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

Well, clearly there must be people who do actually sign up for the program or they wouldn't be continuing to offer it (at the current cost) -- I would suggest that those are the crazy people, not the college. If people are dumb enough to pay that much for a program, why not take the money?

I seriously feel like these places prey on people, mainly low income students or single parents. Just look at those commercials that are out there.. It's sad and I wish something could be done to stop it

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I am currently finishing up my MA externship through a school where it only cost me about 400 dollars. Its accredited in my state and I think its one of the only schools here I've heard that was so ridiculously cheap. The thing is that they don't just taken ANYONE. You need to be able to pass 7th grade math and english and compete for 20 spots in the classroom for that session. I think that's why the price tag is so low! They used to have a waiting list of over 100-200 people until they decided to just do the admissions test instead. Also, our teacher really helped us get placed at hospitals and let us chose if we wanted to work at a doctor's office. The place I am doing my externship at don't really taken in students from the expensive trade school because they feel they're not as competent in what they are taught. My class made me much more confident working with people and our teacher really prepared us for EVERYTHING (EKG's, venipuncture, vitals, administering shots, etc).

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Specializes in Pediatrics and Women's Health.

The LPN program was free ten years ago with the exception of uniforms and supplies. There are community colleges and vo-tech schools that are probably out there for cheaper. Absolutely not worth it!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

omg no

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I seriously feel like these places prey on people, mainly low income students or single parents. Just look at those commercials that are out there.. It's sad and I wish something could be done to stop it

I agree, and would like to see these kinds of "schools" eliminated entirely. However, as long as it's legal for them to operate and rip people off, there will be plenty of people willing to do that.

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If you're just looking for a desk job maybe take some classes on office admin. The MA at my doc's office deals with all the "icky stuff."

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They probably hook in unsuspecting dim-witted young girls with that commercial "...and you get to wear cute scrubs!" Glad you didn't get sucked in.[/quote']

Lol!!!

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