Medical Assistant Schools in Tennessee

Are you interested in beginning a career in the health care industry while working alongside major health care providers like doctors, physician’s assistants, and nurse practitioners? If so, you may want to look into medical assistant programs in Tennessee. With this state’s abundance of rural communities, medical assistants can play a crucial role in health care. Doctors, who may see dozens of patients per day, often rely on medical assistants to prepare patients for their exams.

The health care industry may continue to grow in Tennessee as a growing number of citizens get health insurance for the first time. As private insurers refund money to customers and drop their rates, lots of patients may pursue medical care and rely on the services of medical assistants.

The state’s dedication to professional excellence can make this a great place to begin your medical assisting career. The Tennessee Society of Medical Assistants may offer lots of professional support to new and experienced medical assistants. In addition to job listings, legislative updates, and networking events, you can attend continuing education seminars to stay on top of changes in your field.

The Tennessean reports that in rural areas, doctors are in very short supply. Since these areas may not be able to increase the amount of doctors available, clinics and hospitals may use medical assistants to make the most of each doctor’s time.

Medical Assistant Education in Tennessee

With the proper medical assistant education in Tennessee, you may be in a great position to apply for positions at clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, and insurance companies. Healthcare is a growing commodity in Tennessee, and this is unlikely to change in coming years.

If you decide to start a career in healthcare, you may reap the benefits of a solid job outlook for some time. One of the first decisions you have to make is which type of medical assistant degree you’d like to earn. Tennessee is home to schools that offer administrative, clinical, and combined programs. In most cases, you can finish your training in less than two years.

While Associate’s degree programs require roughly two years of study, diploma and certificate programs typically last one year or less. By exploring the variety of Nashville medical assisting programs and schools in other Tennessee cities, you may discover which medical assistant school is the best fit for you.

There are quite a few educational options for aspiring medical assistants in Tennessee. If you have earned credits towards an Associate’s degree, you may wish to complete a two-year Associate’s degree program in medical assisting. This may also be a popular choice for those who want to pursue Certified Medical Assistant status through the American Association of Medical Assistants. Diploma and certificate programs are also available. These programs tend to last about one year, since you may not need to take general education classes.

Learn More About Medical Assisting Programs in Your City

• Memphis
• Nashville

You may take several classroom-based theory courses that allow you to work as an effective part of your medical team. Common courses include Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Administrative Office Procedures, and Clinical Perspectives. However, there are quite a few courses are based in clinical and practical experience. Experience-based classes include Exam Room Procedures, Pharmacology, and Electronic Medical Records. These courses can teach you how to take a patient’s vitals, how to take patient history, front desk procedures, and ways to work with a doctor in different settings.

It’s important to begin applying for financial aid as early as possible. This may maximize the amount of scholarships you can apply for and minimize your student debt. The Tennessee Rural Health Loan Forgiveness Program may be available to those who are willing to work in a rural area after graduation. The East Tennessee Foundation awards the Ruby A. Brown Memorial Scholarship to those who want to work in public health. Tennessee Future Health Professionals awards a range of scholarships to future health care workers.

Medical Assisting Classes in Tennessee

Perhaps the most common option offered at technical schools and community colleges is the medical assisting program. This is a general training program that gives students experience in office settings and clinical settings. As a result, you may use your training in many different positions after graduation.

You may choose to apply for certification, but only if you meet clinical requirements. The majority of Tennessee medical assistant schools do have extensive clinical requirements, often including rotations in a variety of healthcare facilities.

Course Requirements in Medical Assisting

• Anatomy and Physiology
• Clinical Office Procedures
• Medical Assisting Certification
• Medical Laboratory Procedures

Billing and Coding Programs in Tennessee

There’s a growing need for healthcare professionals with administrative experience. Healthcare informatics relies more and more on technology, rather than paper-based documentation. Because of this, facilities need healthcare professionals who understand security protocols and have the skills needed to keep patient data safe.

In a billing and coding program in Tennessee, you may get experience with different billing programs and find out how local facilities get bills paid. This can be a complicated topics, since patients may have bills paid by insurance companies, state insurance programs, or they may be billed directly. By the time you complete your one to two years in training, you may be experienced in billing and coding procedures that keep healthcare institutions ahead.

Class Options in Billing and Coding Programs

• Basic Principles of Disease
• Health Information Management Technology
• Healthcare Delivery Systems
• Procedure Coding Systems

Tennessee Nurse Aide and Patient Care Tech Classes

Do you feel at home in clinical settings? Do you feel that it’s most rewarding to work directly with patients and meet their personal care needs? You may thrive as a patient care technician or CNA. These professionals offer the vast majority of routine care at nursing homes and hospitals, freeing up nurses’ and doctors’ time to offer more specialized care. In this role, you may bathe patients, feed them, administer medications, take vital signs, and handle small care needs as they arise.

To become a patient care technician or CNA, you may spend over 100 hours working with patients and testing out the skills that you learned in the classroom. Clinical experience is required in this specialty, so online study is typically not an option.

Nurse Aide Classes

• Fundamentals of Health Unit Coordination
• Acute Care of Patients
• Phlebotomy Fundamentals
• Fundamentals of EKG Technology

Medical Secretary and Administrative Med Assisting Programs in Tennessee

In addition to medical billing and coding, there are medical office specialties that allow you to focus your efforts and education on administrative tasks. As a medical office assistant, you may be the first person that patients see when they come into a clinic or hospital. You can offer directions, check them in for appointments, get insurance information, and schedule follow-up appointments. You may be responsible for maintaining patient privacy and keeping thorough records. In this specialty, it is often helpful to have an internship, but some schools do not require practical experience.

Required Medical Secretary Courses

• Computer Keyboarding
• Medical Front Office Procedures
• Medical Terminology
• Medical Transcription

Are you ready to give patients excellent care and keep medical offices running smoothly?

This is your chance to learn more about the best medical assistant programs in your community. Check out our list of Tennessee medical assisting schools and get in touch with those that hold your interest.

Medical Assisting Careers in Tennessee

Once you finish your training, you should feel confident about your medical assisting skills and your career options. You likely have some experience at local facilities. Not only may your clinical experience make you a better medical assistant, it may also give you the chance to connect with local employers.

Use the connections you developed as a student to explore your employment opportunities. If you did a particularly good job in an internship, you may even be able to apply for openings at one of your clinical sites.

Across the nation, the demand for healthcare professionals is growing. However, job openings are increasing extremely quickly in Tennessee. By the year 2024, job openings for medical assistants may increase 33% in Tennessee (O*Net, 2017). At the same time, you may see a 29% boost in demand for medical records technicians (O*Net, 2017). Nursing assistants fill an important role in Tennessee; job openings for CNAs are expected to swell 23% by 2024 (O*Net, 2017). Perhaps medical secretaries are in highest demand in this state. They may see a 37% boost in jobs between 2014 and 2024 (O*Net, 2017).

As the healthcare industry continues to see huge levels of growth, you may discover more and more opportunities for personal and professional advancement. Not only is this one of the fastest growing industries in Tennessee, the majority of high-paying jobs in Tennessee are in healthcare (FOX 17, 2017). As you develop your skills and build connections in your community, you may be able to move up in your career.

This is a great time to find out what the field of healthcare has to offer.

Take the first step now and contact local schools for more information.

Listed below are all of the schools offering Medical Assistant programs in Tennessee. 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…