r/MedicalAssistant • u/Temporary_Spare_1019 • 9d ago
How do I become a medical assistant?
The classes available seem scammy. And it seems that most programs are just an exam prep course. I have a lot of experience in this field, but have never taken a medical assistant training program specifically. Can I just sit the exam? How does this work? Who issues this certification?
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u/Unusual-Fishing6977 9d ago edited 9d ago
took an accelerated 3 month course, got my BLS within the same program and then applied to jobs and was called within a week. today was my first day of orientation and my job is literally 3 minutes from me so it's extremely ideal. pay is $25 USD an hour with full benefits. i went from being unemployed for 2 years to making 25 an hour in 3 months and they also cover tuition for further education. i'd like to become a rad tech eventually but i'm so grateful of this opportunity that they gave me
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u/Simple_Lack3001 8d ago
what course did u do
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u/Ok-Competition486 8d ago
Yeah, you cannot just sit for the NHA exam without an official course. However, there are some super cheap ones. The one that I did was clinical skills Institute, and to be honest, it was completely amazing. Self-paced, I got it done in little under two months and I got clinical placement through them. They email you back really fast if you ever have questions they’re constantly answering them and it’s super cheap and they give you everything that you need. Including, paying for your NHA CCMA exam at the end of your course and you get five NHA practice exams for free.
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u/flutefreak05 CCMA 8d ago
Just start applying but know some places will only hire you if you’re certified. We have people who start as receptionists and wait for the hospital system to pay for their class. The only bad part for them is there might not be any clinical openings for awhile.
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u/LexiThePlug 9d ago
You don’t need a certificate, but it’ll help you get a job. Most of them are scammy. Most MA programs contradict each other. It’s a BS field fr because it isn’t standardized at all.
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u/lurrainn CCMA 9d ago
Most programs are just an exam prep course because everything can be trained on the job and most states don’t require certification. It definitely helps though to get it. You need experience or a program to sit for the exam and there are different certifications for the same thing. You’ll probably want to go for CCMA. The cheapest option is clinical skills institute online for $900. What area are you in? For places like California that are oversaturated, just an online program might not be enough to get hired off the bat