Medical Assistants Who Are Certified

Medical assistant schools gear their curriculum toward their preferred medical assistant certifications from professional membership organizations and certification sponsor with whom they have built a partnership; what they are not always telling their students is that many other well recognized certification sponsors are also offering their credentials and professional membership services to those medical assistants who qualify based on education, training and experience.

Here are some frequently asked questions and answers revloving around the medical assistant certification process:

"Do I Need to be Certified or Have Any Other Preferred Certificates to Work as a Medical Assistant?"
Check with your state, but in general, NO, you don't have to be a certified medical assistant to accept a medical assisting position. Often the minimum requirement to work as a medical assistant is being 18 years old, a high school diploma, CPR and First Aid certification, and a clean criminal record, if that much, since this does not apply to every one; however, there ARE a handful states that require special training and specific limited licenses for medical assistants whose duties include highly technical and invasive skills, such as venipuncture and phlebotomy, starting and flushing IV lines, administering certain types of injections, or exposing patients to X-rays and ultrasound examinations. Your State Board of Medical Examiners can tell you more.

"Is it Illegal Call Yourself a Medical Assistant When You Don't Have a Medical Assistant Diploma?"
No. It may be perceived as improper, some may even think it is illegal to work as a medical assistant without having achieved a proper certified medical assistant diploma from a vocational training institution; however, medical assistants in the USA, whether certified or not, are not required to hold a diploma from a medical assistant school. As a matter of fact, in most states they don't even have to have any formal vocational training to begin working as a medical assistant. The only requirement is that they have a high school diploma so they can be trained directly on the job or enroll in formal medical assistant vocational training programs at a community college or vocational training institution.

"I Received My Medical Assistant Training on the Job—How Do I Know What I am Allowed to Do?"
As a medical assistant you can perform only those duties and skills that fall within your specific scope of practice for medical assistants. This may include strict rules when performing point of care testing procedures, administering medications, injections, x-rays, starting IV lines, other invasive procedures and venipunctures. This applies to certified as well as non-certified medical assistants; it doesn't matter, their duties remain the same, except certified medical assistants can be held to a higher standard.

"I Want to Get Ahead and Specialize my Career—Which Fields Can a Medical Assistant Specialize In?"
Yes. As a medical assistant you have many choices; you can specialize in any medical and healthcare specialty field that interests you, such as ophthalmology, podiatry, cardiology, pediatrics, adolescence, geriatrics, phlebotomy, chiropractic and many more as long as you perform only those duties that you are sufficiently trained in and fall within your specific discipline's scope of practice.

"Is a Certificate from an Online Medical Assistant Course the same as a Certified Medical Assistant Diploma?"
There are many online medical assistant programs offered on the Internet. While a certificate of completion from an online medical assistant course is certainly an achievement to be proud of, aspiring medical assistants must be aware that a medical assistant certificate of completion from a simple online self-study course is not the same as a medical assistant diploma from a vocational training program that runs 9-12 months and is recognized and approved by the U.S. Department of Education, ABHES, or CAAHEP. Once you have completed this kind of a medical assistant program you may qualify to sit for a medical assistant certification exam that is recognized by employers in the medical field.

"Is there Really Such a Thing as a Worthless Medical Assistant Certificate, or a Fake Medical Assistant Diploma?"
Many might not know that marketing fake diplomas, certificates and degrees is a billion dollar industry - at least 800 million a year in the U.S. alone. So big is this market that various state offices, consumer protection agencies and educational websites warn people to use caution when it comes to new schools and distance education programs.

It is extremely important that prospective medical assistant students know how to locate qualified training to earn medical assistant credentials, and understand the difference and benefits of various programs offered, otherwise they might wind up with a piece of paper that is not worth your money and time.

       On 10/10/2008 TSS shared with us:

I'm a real go getter and everyone in my class was really hurt when we found out we were not getting certified... I feel like our school might be "black balled" and it's hurting the good students. We did hear some companies say they would not use our school's grads any longer because of the way they performed, appearance, lack of knowledge and that was with all the programs, not just the medical ones. ~ by TSS, MA Student

Realize that fake schools and diploma mills do exist and therefore, do your research. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) each year hundreds of unsuspecting consumers inadvertently become victims of unrecognized programs and online scams offering certificates and diplomas that are not fulfilling their promise. Any aspiring medical assistant must be well informed and research different forms of formal and non-formal on-the-job medical assistant training programs and then decide for themselves which one will lead to the desired work experience, credentials and degrees they seek.