Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Medical assistant training and career

Medical assistants are defined as licensed or unlicensed health care workers performing the administrative and clinical function to keep running the offices of health care providers smoothly. They are not PA or physician assistants, but in United States the medical assistants are trained-on-the-job health care support staff. Most of the medical assistants have been certified by American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) founded in 1956. Medical assistants have primarily worked in ambulatory care centers, urgent care facilities, and clinics, but the scenario is now changing rapidly. They now find employment in both private and public hospitals both in inpatient and outpatient settings.

The criteria required to be met by AAMA to become a Certified Medical Assistant is two fold: First to graduate from any accredited Medical Assistant Schools that is accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and the second is to pass the CMA (AAMA) certification exams. After successfully completing the exam, the student becomes a Certified Medical Assistant or CMA.

There are many medical assistant schools in the United States, but one of the most prominent one is St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants that provides an accredited and affordable online distance education program helping one to become a medical assistant. St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants provides the best online medical assistant certificate program designed by expert health care professionals. St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants course follows an online method of teaching whereby it provides online classes and training, virtual labs to facilitate comprehensive training. This course can be completed in 6-8 weeks. They offer a very easy, affordable, and flexible payment plan so that anyone interested to pursue a career in medical assistant can join St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants.

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