Administrative Medical Assistant Programs in Connecticut

Administrative medical assistants play a crucial role at Connecticut medical clinics and a host of other healthcare facilities. They greet arriving patients, schedule appointments, process insurance information and compile details pertaining to patient care.

If you enjoy interacting with people, have good communication skills and are capable of accurately attending to detail, this career may be for you. A caring and helpful demeanor is also a plus in the professional medical environment in which the work is performed. Submit your requests for information to the schools below that offer administrative medical assisting programs in Connecticut to begin.

Required Education to Become an Administrative Med Assistant in CT

The completion of an administrative medical assisting certificate program is a common requirement among prospective employers. Other healthcare organizations may require the successful completion of an Associate’s Degree program before you will be considered for employment. Finally, some organizations will want an applicant to be certified, which means that you must complete your education at an accredited school.

According to O*Net, the most common educational pathway involves the successful completion of a certificate program. Sixty-five percent of administrative medical assistants surveyed said that they had received a diploma from a certificate program, while only 18 percent said that they had an associate’s degree.

Connecticut schools offering med assisting certificate programs will typically require a high school diploma as a prerequisite. Some may also require that you pass a keyboarding exam and/or an English proficiency test. Acceptance into a medical assisting Associate’s Degree program in CT often requires that you have a certain minimum high school grade point average.

You can finance your med assisting education through a variety of means. There are federal student loan programs and scholarship opportunities. Information about possible scholarships is available through the American Association of Medical Assistants and its affiliate, the Connecticut Society of Medical Assistants.

Academic Programs for Medical Administrative Assistants

As a student enrolled in a medical assisting certificate program, you will take a variety of classes that will address the areas of knowledge that are important in the profession. There may be coursework in medical office procedures, patient coding, healthcare customer service, medical transcription, documentation and basic public health.

If you take classes on a full-time basis, you should be able to complete certain programs in about one or two years. On average, certificate programs take about 12-18 months to complete. A two-year Associates Degree program in medical assisting will incorporate a variety of more general classes into the curriculum as well. English, math, psychology, anatomy and biology may be among the subjects that are included.

Once you have successfully completed your certificate or Associate’s Degree program in Medical Assisting in Connecticut, it is possible to take an exam to become a certified administrative medical assistant. The Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) exam is a test given by the National Health Careers Association. Most individuals prepare for the exam by reviewing their previous course materials and taking practice exams.

If you pass, you are certified for two-years. Re-certification is possible every two years afterward. It is necessary to successfully complete 10 hours of continuing education classes or seminars to be re-certified. Certification is something to be proud of, and it may give you an edge over other job applicants that lack this valued credential.

Career Outlook for Administrative Medical Assistants in Connecticut

As of 2013, the national median wage for medical assistants is $29,600, according to O*Net. By contrast, the Connecticut median wage of $33,200 is substantially higher. Furthermore, job growth through 2020 is expected to be very good. O*Net reports that the number of jobs in this medical specialty is expected to grow 22 percent between 2012 and 2020.

Once you gain valuable experience as administrative medical assistants you may be able to go on to fill a management or supervisory role further into your career. Most healthcare facilities require the services that these assistants provide, so it may be possible to find employment at a wide range of medical clinics and other medical facilities in rural, urban and suburban parts of the state. If you like the idea of interacting with people in a professional setting, this may be an excellent career path for you.

Contact the Connecticut schools with Administrative Medical Assisting programs today to learn more about options and possible career outcomes.

Connecticut

Branford Hall Career Institute
Campus Locations in: Danbury, CT / Southington, CT / Windsor, CT
Matching Programs: Health Claims Specialist, Health Claims Specialist – Certificate, Medical Administrative Assistant
Program Types Offered: Certificate