Online Training for Medical Assistants
Medical assistant work encompasses such highly specialized careers as ultrasound technician and X-ray technician; because of the clinical training needed for these professions, a person interested in this type of career probably cannot complete training for such programs entirely through online learning.
Other People Are Reading
-
Types Assistants
-
Medical assistant jobs are subdivided in two ways: the area of medical practice such as medical office, dental office or in the pharmaceutical branch of the industry; and by whether the work as an assistant involves actual medical duties or deals more with the business side of running a medical office, as described at the Medical Assistant Training Schools and Worldwidelearn websites.
Type of Duties
-
Medical assistants involved with patient care have such duties as administering treatments and therapies and even having involvement in administering patient examinations. Medical assistants working on the business aspects of the medical practice perform such duties as patient billing, third-party billing to insurance companies, and maintaining records necessary to run the medical practice, such as invoicing files and patient records, according to the Medical Assistant Training Schools website. Different online programs place different levels of emphasis on the medical duties in comparison with the business duties; job seekers should select a program that incorporates training in the type of duties they want to perform.
-
Type of Curricula
-
Most online medical assistant training programs offer an associate degree, although the name of the curriculum varies. For those who anticipate working on the business side of the medical assistant profession, curriculum will include courses to improve communication and computer skills. Classes will also incorporate such general business principles as office procedures and accounting. Business-oriented online curricula also incorporate classes in medical profession specific skills such as patient records, scheduling, medical coding and medical billing. For students who anticipate working in actual patient care when they become a medical assistant, the online curricula include courses on how to provide basic hearing and vision examination, take patient histories and measure vital signs, according to Worldwidelearn.
Online Programs
-
Institutions that offer online medical assistant training programs include Penn Foster Schools, which offers a medical assistant program as well as a medical office assistant program, and Stratford Career Institute, which also has a medical office assistant program. Keiser University eCampus Online has a program under the title of medical assisting. Kaplan University provides a program under the title of Associate in Applied Science in medical office management, and Virginia College offers an Associate of Science degree in medical office administration.
Outlook and Earnings
-
The overall outlook for the medical assistant profession is excellent, with the field expected to grow at a more rapid rate through 2018 in comparison with all careers, as indicated at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Passing a national certification exam known as the American Association of Medical Assistants certification exam improves the outlook further by providing the credential of Certified Medical Assistant as described at the Medical-assistant-training website. Medical assistants had an annualized median earning of $28,300 as of 2008, also according to the BLS website; with the lowest 10 percent earning $20,600 and the highest 10 percent earning in excess of $39,570.
-
