Medical Assistant Programs in Idaho
You can become a certified medical assistant (CMA) in less than a year. Get started on a rewarding career in the booming healthcare sector as a medical assistant. The key is training to become a medical assistant and then passing the certified medical assistant exam. Certification is not legally required in Idaho to work in medical assisting, but it is increasingly becoming preferred by hospitals, clinics and offices alike.
Online and Campus Based Medical Assistant Programs in Idaho
The first step is to undertake a medical assistant program in Idaho offered by an accredited school. These are available both online and in community and junior colleges and vocational and training schools throughout Idaho. You will want to consider a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) accredited medical assisting school or program if you plan to take the certified medical assistant exam. An online medical assisting program may be your only choice depending on where you live in Idaho. You can find the accredited online medical assistant schools in Idaho listed below. to meet the demand, colleges in the state of Idaho are adding medical assistant programs to meet the needs of the hospitals and workforce. Certification training courses usually take nine months to a year. Alternatively, you can pursue an associate degree over two years.
Once you have completed your accredited medical assistant training, you are able to take the certified medical assistant exam, given by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). This training or some work experience is a prerequisite in order to take the exam. When you pass this exam, you may have a competitive edge in the job market as a CMA, and a head start on your career, ready to work in public or private hospitals, outpatient clinics, physicians’ offices, or specialists’ offices, such as podiatrists or chiropractors.
Medical assistant training will cover many areas, as the duties in medical assisting are very broad. Medical assistants might have more varied responsibilities in smaller offices, or more specialized duties in larger practices or in hospitals. Either way, a good medical assistant will need to be able to cross over from taking care of administrative and clerical duties to assisting with technical procedures. All medical assistants need to understand billing, record keeping, medical coding, and have good communication skills for dealing with patients, insurance companies, and other medical professionals. Clinical medical assistant training will also cover many areas, such as anatomy, physiology, phlebotomy, pharmacology, first aid, and medical terminology.
The mean salary for a medical assistant in Idaho is $30,750, with the salary closer to $25,000 in the east Idaho non-metropolitan areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were over 1,500 medical assistants working Idaho in 2008, and the outlook for the job in this state is excellent. The healthcare sector is growing rapidly and Idaho is working hard to obtain and retain workers to meet the healthcare needs of the growing aging population. Additionally, medical support positions are some of the fastest growing professions and are projected to continue growing at a rate of 35% through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Advancement opportunities include becoming an office administrator or specializing in a certain area of medicine. This is a great opportunity to obtain a job with good benefits, security, and a future. Find the right training program to get you there, today.
You may also be interested in the Medical Billing and Coding programs in Idaho, that can also help prepare you for a secure and promising career in the allied health care field.
