| Cert Med Assistant.com |
| Page: On Diploma Mills and Pitfalls |
"After paying $9,000, I have nothing!". When Silvia Pascu laid out $9,000 to attend the Canadian Aesthetics Academy in 2007, she shared the aspirations of many new Canadians looking for a foothold in a promising career. The same is happening all over the USA, and online through phony cyber schools...
Career colleges are privately owned schools that deliver vocational programs. It is up to a school to apply for registration, and be issued a license, such as and/or Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and ABHES.
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| According to the St.Augustine MA school website they are certified by The National
Accreditation and Certification Board - you can just pay $200 to buy your certification; from
an unrecognized private accreditation provider. Source: http://www.certmedassistant.com/bogus-certificates-and-degrees.html |
Being a Smart Consumer Pays Off
We urge future medical assistants to do their research. It is up to each individual to decide which type of medical assistant program, whether on campus, or online best meets their needs.
This is not to discourage anybody;
indeed, there are many excellent distance education programs offered online, including for the health care
professionals. 
Like any consumer, prospective medical assistant students must be careful and aware of gray-area, non-accredited programs, or diploma mills, especially online as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. These programs are not designed for those hoping to start a new career, but rather to move unsuspecting consumer's money from their pocket into their own for very little in exchange. Read more: Warning signs that an institution may be offering fraudulent or substandard degrees
Don't become one of those horror stories where students wind up with certificates, or diplomas that are completely worthless, and with job placement assistance that consists of nothing but a list of doctors copied from the local area's Yellow Pages (if that much!). Those looking for a medical assistant school must first understand the purpose AND value of a good medical assistant training with supervised skill practice in a clinical setting before signing up anywhere, and be aware that there are bogus schools, making false promises and false diplomas.
Certain skills are best practiced and reinforced under the watchful eye of an instructor, and peers. They must also realize that when it comes to discussing and resolving certain concerns and issues, it's best to have direct access to real people in a real office. Otherwise it may lead to nothing but frustrations and unsatisfactory results such as in this example:
Ontario gets failing grade on bogus colleges
By Robert Cribb Staff Reporter
John Ratiu paid $6,500 in tuition to learn the skills required for a job in the aesthetics industry. Now, he's too afraid to actually treat people.
The Star exposed two unlicensed career colleges — one for support workers, the other
security guards — where undercover reporters were able to receive diplomas despite being
untrained and unqualified for the jobs. (Sept. 19, 2009).
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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.
