Medical Assistant Schools in Wyoming
As healthcare access is expanded, healthcare providers are likely seeing a higher number of patients per day. With an increased number of patients, doctors and nurses have less time for office tasks that they may have done in the past. To maintain healthcare quality, trained medical assistants are now being hired to complete insurance billing, scheduling and other clerical and clinical duties. Contact those schools listed below to learn about all of your options for becoming a Med Assistant in Wyoming.
Apart from handling clerical tasks, medical assistants often have contact with patients. Medical assistants are trained to collect and document a patient’s vital signs and medical history. A medical assistant may also prepare patients for an exam. The exact nature of a medical assistant’s role will depend on which employment setting the assistant selects.
Medical assistants are often able to find work in a variety of settings. Some medical assistants work in hospitals while others choose insurance companies or physician’s offices. Other medical assistants may find that they prefer to work primarily with medical records or as schedulers. A career as a medical assistant offers a chance to enter the growing healthcare industry without having to obtain a bachelor’s degree. The associate degree is often all that is needed to obtain a medical assistant position and begin a rewarding career.
Medical Assistant Education in Wyoming
You may have the opportunity to earn your med assisting certificate online, or you may prefer to study in a campus based program. Casper College offers a Medical Lab Technician associate degree program that includes laboratory skills in the curriculum and is designed to give students a wide range of skills.
Applicants are required to have a high school diploma or GED in order to be admitted, and must complete general education courses such as English and sociology. Core competencies are required for admission. These include critical thinking skills, motor skills and professionalism. Students will have the opportunity to visit several agencies as part of their clinical experiences. The program requires a minimum of 71 credit hours to graduate, including the required general education courses.
The Institute of Business and Medical Careers is located in Cheyenne and offers an Associate of Occupational Studies Degree. This degree program consists of 96 credit hours and offers courses such as anatomy, radiography and medical terminology. Extensive training in pharmacology is also part of the program so that graduates have a wide range of experiences to assist them in their search for employment. The program takes only 15 to 19 months to complete. A five-week externship is also part of the curriculum so you are able to apply the clinical skills you will have gained in the program.
Wyoming offers a loan repayment program to those who choose to enter into the public service sector, and medical assistants may apply. Educational debt that remains after ten years of repayments can be forgiven through the Loan Forgiveness for Public Service Employees program. Other healthcare scholarships may be available. Students are encouraged to check with each school’s financial aid office to determine their eligibility for grants and scholarships.
Medical Assisting Careers in Wyoming
The Bureau of Labor Statistics listed the average wage of a medical assistant in Wyoming in 2014 as $30,830, making this a solid career choice, especially if you are just entering the medical profession. Wyoming offers two medical assistant programs that provide an associate’s degree that may help in gaining employment as a medical assistant.
Listed below are all of the schools offering Medical Assistant programs in Wyoming. As a rule, you should contact at least 3-5 schools during the course of your research, and ideally more. There are important differences between the programs in terms of cost, admissions requirements, and other characteristics, and, as with many things in life, the way to find the best Medical Assistant program for your needs is to spend some time shopping around.
Here Are The Medical Assistant Schools…
Salary numbers provided are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.