Medical Assistant Schools in Hawaii
Though health care is extremely important in all parts of the United States, it’s particularly important in Hawaii. Those who live on the more remote islands may have limited or no access to health care. That’s why medical assistants play a major role in this state’s health care. Doctors are in short supply, so medical assistants must work the full scope of their duties to help more patients get the care they need and deserve.
You can request program details from the medical assistant schools in Hawaii that are listed below to get started.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that health centers in this state recently received $2.4 million in grants from the Affordable Care Act. With this money, health centers in Hawaii are expanding their services, hiring more staff members, and accepting more patients. If you become a medical assistant, your services may soon be needed in a wide variety of settings.
The Hawaii State Society of Medical Assistants is a popular resource for medical assistants. Members may have access to job listings and legislative updates.
Medical Assistant Education in Hawaii
Becoming a health professional requires dedication to education, patient care, and professional standards. All of these expectations are covered in medical assistant training programs in Hawaii! Local schools may have a variety of programs for you to choose from. A one-year certificate or diploma program can give you a basic overview of skills, while a two-year Associate’s degree program may offer more general education courses and more in-depth medical assisting courses.
Some of the classes you’ll likely be required to take focus on teaching you how to give patients effective, ethical, and appropriate care. Patients are one of the most important parts of your career, so work hard in these classes! Integrated Medical Office Procedures, Clinical Procedures in Medical Assisting, and Ethics in Medical Care are all patient-centered courses.
Other classes you take may focus on developing your medical knowledge and understanding. These include classes like Medical Insurance, Basic Medical Coding, Pharmacology, and Anatomy and Physiology. This information comes into play during patient-centered courses and your clinical hours. Throughout the course of your training, you may complete several hundred clinical hours.
As Hawaii tries to increase the amount of working medical assistants in the state, many organizations are contributing to these efforts by offering scholarships and grants to medical assisting students. The Hawaii Community Foundation awards scholarships to native Hawaiians that wish to improve health care availability and outcomes for native Hawaiians. The Gromet Foundation also funds scholarships for Hawaiian health care students. You may need to demonstrate your dedication to Hawaiian health care through an essay, commitment to post-graduation employment in this state, or references.
Medical Assisting Careers in Hawaii
The foreseeable future appears to be relatively stable for medical assistants in Hawaii. O*Net predicts a 14 percent increase in job openings between 2012 and 2022. Though this job growth rate is lower than the national average, it is still very promising. Hawaii salaries are also quite promising.
Some of the largest medical assisting employers in Hawaii are Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, Concentra, and Queen’s Medical Center. Your skills may take you to nursing homes, hospitals, and physician’s offices.
Listed below are all of the schools offering Medical Assistant programs in Hawaii. 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.