Informed Consumer Check List

Medical assistants are respected members of the healthcare team. They deliver the caring touch within the confines of a medical office and make a difference by helping people from all backgrounds, ages, and walks of life!

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Informed Consumer Check List...

Your Credentials Are Your Power!

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Sadly, countless medical assistants have told us that not having sought certification was a mistake they came to regret. Their career went nowhere until they took charge and gave employers what they want.

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ATTENTION!

If you follow the news you will learn that thousands of people have bought medical degrees from a bogus school in Liberia, Africa. Diploma mills make the unthinkable real! For a relatively small fee, and almost zero effort anybody can become a doctor, clergyman, or receive college level and advanced degrees.

It just blows the mind: doctors, clergymen, police officers, teachers, federal employees, such as White House staffers, National Security Agency employees, FBI agents, and a senior State Department official, purchased bogus degrees to seek employment, promotions, higher positions, and better pay.

A Warning about Diploma Mills!!!

Definitions:

1. Accreditation mill. "Accreditation mill" means an entity that is created to give the appearance that certain substandard schools or institutions of higher education are legitimately accredited organizations, that is not recognized by any authorized state, professional or national agency and that has few, if any, standards for quality.

2. Diploma mill. "Diploma mill" means an institution of higher education operating without accreditation or supervision of a state or a nationally recognized professional agency and granting diplomas that are either fraudulent or, because of lack of proper standards, worthless.

Extreme Caution Example!

Accreditation is The Highest Mark of Educational Quality

Students must be careful, and know what to look for when they seek education or training. The best programs are those that are accredited by an organization that is approved by the United States Department of Education, or an accreditation body approved and recognized by the department, such as CAHEP or ABHES. There are institutions, which are not (yet!) accredited, but working on it, since accreditation does NOT happen over night, and cannot be bought for a fee.

Accreditation takes time and hard work to achieve. Institutions that want to be licensed have to go through a rigorous review process by a commission of state elected officials who verify that the school meets a standard set of criteria; and many of them are planning, or are in the process of completing the much desired accreditation status. The institution of your choice should at least be licensed by their local Department of Education.

Be a Smart Consumer!!!

7 Things to Consider when Choosing a Medical Assisting Program:

Is the institution licensed by regulatory entity that is a branch of the United States Department of Education?

Is the school planning to pursue CAHEP or ABHES accreditation?

Will the school document all course work for academic credit?

Will I receive an official transcript that demonstrates completion of course work and instruction?

Does the program have a clinical training and externship requirement?

Will I be eligible to sit for national certification once I have completed my program?

Will the school assist me in job placement?

7 Warning Signs:

Web page advertisements that contain bold text, images, seals and profound sounding designations

Announcements that the school is accredited and contains words such as approved, accredited, authorized, qualified, licensed, sponsored, recognized, and registered

Features a highly visible Order Now button, often with an "act now", or "satisfaction guaranteed" decal

Sells degrees at "discounted price".

Operates from outside the USA, or a P.O. Box address.

Exists only in "cyber space" in form or a web site and correspondence must be sent by email only.

Is run by only one, or just a handful of people

Sells diplomas or degrees based on life experience, not academic merits

14 Program Quality Checklist Points:

Get in touch with the provider of the vocational training program or online course and ask questions.

Ask if the program is composed, managed, and taught by experienced (and certified) medical assistant professionals and instructors, who have actually worked in various disciplines of the medical assistant field.

Review the program syllabus. The training should be comprehensive and cover all aspects of the medical assisting occupation.

Find out the program's success and pass-rate: the percentage of students that graduate successfully from the program, sit for certification exams, and land jobs.

Ask to see the program's refund policy. If they don't have one, it's best to walk!

Choose only courses that meet your specific educational needs and goals, if a program is not flexible enough, or does not lead to the desired credentials, it's probably not for you.

Contact leading professional associations and certification bodies and ask about their guidelines so you know whether you will be eligible to sit for their professional certification exam upon graduation.

Check the school's recognitions and accreditation status. Also, if it is an online course, remember to check their reputation. A reputable school will always post all necessary info to their website. A great place to double check is the BBB Online website.

See if the website has a public forum where you can read the comments. Don't rely solely on a website's published customer feedback language, since bad customer comments can be sorted out, and good ones faked.

Examine the school's address. Is it a physical address, or does it exist only in cyberspace? With a physical address you will always know where to turn should you run into problems.

Are you signing up for local services, or services provided from abroad? You might run into legal concerns but will have trouble enforcing them if the business is registered abroad.

Ask around; seek advice from professionals already in the field, read the newspaper to find out current trends.

Know what type of education local employers want and what the future job outlook might be or your chosen career path.

Always carefully read contracts addressing early withdrawal and rarefund policies, and know the school's return policies

Choose what's right for you, but be an informed consumer, and choose wisely!