You’ve made the important decision for the career path you want to pursue and have decided to become a medical assistant. Congratulations on choosing medical assisting as an exciting new career!
Now that you’ve chosen your dream job, it’s time to plan your path to get there. Many healthcare employers require you to have some combination of education, skills, experience, and certifications to get hired as a medical assistant.
Medical assistants are important members of the healthcare team and provide hands-on patient care, so healthcare employers must ensure these professionals are well trained and qualified to perform the specific job duties.
With many years of experience educating and training students to become medical assisting professionals, East Ohio knows just what you need to do to start your journey to becoming a medical assistant.
Enroll in a Medical Assisting Degree Program
Healthcare jobs are more specialized now than in the past, and each member of the healthcare team must be trained in exactly what they will be doing while on the job. This specialized knowledge and training helps ensure that patients receive high-quality care and positive patient experience.
Due to this need for specialized training, many healthcare employers want candidates to attend healthcare training programs designed for each specific position. For those who want to become a medical assistant, this means enrolling in a medical assisting program that prepares you with the knowledge and skills you will need once you begin your career.
At East Ohio College, our Medical Assisting program trains students to excel in this exciting healthcare career. After students complete their medical assisting degree, they’re prepared to work in medical facilities like hospitals, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, chiropractor’s offices, and more.
Learn Hands-On Skills and Gain Experience
In addition to completing a Medical Assisting degree program, you will need to learn the hands-on skills that medical assisting professionals use on a daily basis in their careers. Most of us have probably interacted with medical assistants at some point while receiving patient care at a medical facility, so we all know the importance of these professionals being well trained. You would not want someone drawing blood from you who has never performed the procedure before.
This is why it’s so important for these valuable healthcare professionals to learn a variety of hands-on skills and gain experience using them while completing medical assisting classes.
While enrolled in East Ohio’s Medical Assisting degree program, students learn many valuable hands-on skills that they will use in their careers. Taking vital signs, assisting with physical exams, performing lab tests, drawing blood, and assisting with simple surgeries are some of the hands-on skills students will learn how to perform.
In addition to practicing these valuable skills in their medical assisting classes, East Ohio students also have the opportunity to gain experience in real-world situations with an externship. Students will complete an externship as part of their medical assisting training, providing actual experience that will set you up for success when it’s time to apply for jobs, and start your career. This real-world experience is great to add to your resume and can set you apart from other candidates when applying for medical assisting positions.
Prepare for Industry Certification
Healthcare employers want candidates to have the necessary education, skills, and experience, but many also require medical assisting professionals to become certified. Gaining a professional healthcare industry certification shows potential employers that you are qualified to perform your specific job.
Certifications are created by organizations that set certain standards for the knowledge and skills that someone must have in order to become certified. Due to these high-quality standards that are set, employers know that people who have earned the certification have met the required standards. This makes those who hold healthcare industry certifications more valuable to employers, because they know these candidates can get the job done.
Our Medical Assisting program at East Ohio is designed to prepare students to sit for the National Healthcareer Association’s Certified Clinical Medical Assistant* certification. Earning this valuable certification by preparing and sitting for the exam shows that you have the knowledge and skills to succeed as a medical assistant.
Start Your Journey Today With East Ohio
Now you know what you need to do to start your journey to become a medical assistant, so you’re ready to get started! Choosing a medical assisting degree program that can help provide you with the education, training, skills, experience, and certification to succeed in your career can be a hard decision. You may have questions or be unsure of what to do next, so let our admissions advisors at East Ohio help you create a plan that works for you.
With small class sizes, a personalized learning environment, student support, and career services, we may be the perfect choice for you to achieve your dream of becoming a medical assistant.
Request information to chat with one of our friendly admissions advisors today!
*Certification is contingent on passing the corresponding certification exam. Required/included in tuition/fees.