Medical Assistant Externship

The medical assistant externship is all about you! It is an important part of your vocational training and signifies the point of transition from being a student to becoming a skilled medical assistant. Although most MA students have some apprehension about their externship once the externsip begins they usually find it to be a highly rewarding experience.

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Aim for success! Success means progress. What if we told you that you might already qualify for the RMA medical assisting certification exam based on your vocational training, time on the job, or other certifications you already have... wouldn't you want to find out?

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 Externship Begins:

Externship Is All About You

When the externship begins it signifies the point where expectations and responsibilities shift from the instructor to you. You, in your role as a medical assistant program senior, are now expected to perform duties that were previously taught to you in class. You are also given a chance to refine their skills by interacting with REAL patients, and join in the doctor's and other health care professional's daily routine.

Show What You Know!

The externship gives you the opportunity to prove your learned medical assistant knowledge and skills by extending your education to an actual work site. It also lets you show your dependability and professionalism - time to shine.

It Is Your Time To Shine
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It is your chance, as a student, to put everything that was taught in the classroom to practical use in a real medical office environment. In other words: your chance to show what you know and step up to the task with confidence and pride!!!

Externship Anxiety

Anxiety is a basic human emotion consisting of fear and uncertainty that typically appears when an individual perceives an event as being a threat to the ego or self-esteem (Sarason, 1988). It creates the feelings of fear, apprehension, or worry. However, anxiety is normal: It is a common emotion medical assistant students share and has nothing to do with how they will perform at their externship site.

Setting Up the Externship Site

A good school usually has already established a contact list of possible externship sites within the community and the teaching staff makes the necessary arrangements to set them up. Their goal is to carefully match medical assistants students with a suitable externship site. Shortly before the externship the medical assistant student may be asked to interview with the physician or office manager at the suggested facility. The student is expected to treat this interview exactly as if it was an actual job interview. Again, this may cause bit of anxiety but it is an important step in preparation for the highly competitive job market of the "real world".

Performance Evaluation

Performance and attendance are carefully tracked and reported back to the medical assistant student's school. Attendance and punctuality are indicators of reliability and professionalism. Midway of the externship the student will be evaluated by the medical office supervisor and will be given a final evaluation on the last day of completion of hours.

 

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