Medical Assistant Training and Credits for Certification

[sanantone]

Medical assistant training is usually expensive. One can expect to pay from $2,000 to over $4,000 at a community college. For-profit schools might cost over $10k. The median pay for MAs is only 31,540, but this job might be of interest to those looking to gain clinical experience before applying to physician assistant or MD/DO programs. 

I, however, have found a cheap alternative. Most employers want MAs to be certified. The most recognized organizations are AAMA, AMA, NCCT, and NHA. AAMA and AMA are more commonly listed than the other two, but most employers don't specify which certification they desire. NHA is still pretty well-known, though. 

AAMA, AMA, and NCCT require training at programmatically-accredited schools, schools that are on their pre-approval list, and/or an internship that's over 100 hours. NHA, though, does not require these things. All they require is graduation from an accredited program. U.S. Careers Institute meets this requirement and is the only online clinical medical assistant program I've come across that does not require an internship. Their program is just under $1,000 if you pay in full. The cost is around $1,200 if you elect a payment plan. 

Since U.S. Careers Institute is nationally accredited by DEAC, their credits won't transfer to TESU. But, TESU will grant 16 credits for NHA's clinical medical assistant certification. 

Not completing an internship or hands-on training in school is not a good idea unless you at least have experience with taking vitals and doing other lower-level, medical duties. 

U.S. Careers Institute would likely also meet the requirements for certification from AMCA, but I would recommend NHA over them.

[burbuja0512]

See post from other thread - this is REALLY helpful. Thank you!!