I have been thinking a lot lately about going back to school (in my 30's), I have always been drawn to the medical field (went to college for 1 year after high school for RN, than decided I needed to work full time instead of school, so quit. Worked awhile as a CNA at a nursing home, but my body was not able to handle the EXTREME physical labor of the job, but I LOVED it! Have many years experience in Administrative Office work), I looked into getting my nursing degree, but the school close to my home has a 4 year wait list right now and we are not is a spot financially for me to not work for 2 years. So I have been looking into other options and seem to almost be drawn more towards the Medical Assistant program . . . My question is will the time it takes me to complete the program be worth the career? I have looked online for wage info, but don't know how much of it I can believe. Also does anyone have any experience the this program at Rasmussen college? I can take most of the classes online and do it completely at my own pace . . . Thanks for any info/advice you may have to offer!
Well, my step-mom did the Medical Assistant program in 2004 at ATI, and she still hasn't been able to find a job for that. They just aren't in that much demand. But myabe that's just Ft Worth....it took her 9 months, and cost like 14,000. Not worth it in my opinion.
I've been an M.A. for 14yrs. & LOVE IT! I would for sure do it if you do not want to wait for the nursing program. It is a lot like nursing for sure. Someone mentioned CNA, totally not even close to a CNA. I always see job openings for M.A. here where I live. I actually just had a student that I instructed that did the on-line classes through Kaplan Univ. She did her clinicals where I work. She found a job within a month of graduating. As for pay, I've been in it for a long time so not even sure what the salary is, obviously not as much as a nurse would get. Go for it, you'll love it! Good luck!
First of all I would advise you to check out all colleges for Medical Assistance Programs. I have had several problems with Rasmussen and would highly advise looking for a different school. Though their online courses seem very convenient I had problems with my instructor getting back to me and with Rasmussen on a quarter system, it doesn't take much to put you behind. I also feel that they are extremely over priced and not very forth coming with information on financial aide. I asked at the beginning what I would be looking at in student loan debt and was told $13 - $15 thousand... well to say the least, I didn't get a degree and I now owe $18, 457 in student loan! Be careful in picking your college!
As to going into the Medical Assistant area, my sister is an RN and has been the Patient Care Supervisor at a local clinic for the past 13 years. It has become general practice for the clinic to staff MAs instead of RNs as the assistant for the Doctor. In your area a Medical Assistant can make anywhere between $10 - $14 hourly. I think you are wise to go this direction Medical Assistant positions are more in demand in Wisconsin and Minnesota so this is a good choice. If you get into the right situation you could have the opportunity to go back to school for a higher degree if your job offers a tuition reimbursement program which will offset the cost of getting that higher degree. Good Luck to you.
I work as an admission counselor for a private college in the greater Milwaukee area and I would make sure you get the degree you want. We see many students who have MA and then decided they would rather complete the Nursing degree and unfortunately the MA courses don't replace many of the RN/BSN courses, so those students come in needing 4 additional years to complete all the courses for licensing.
Also, some programs are certificate programs done in 9 months and others end up being a full Associate's Degree over a two year period. Please be sure that the program is accredited by a regional accrediting body so that if you decide you want more schooling, the courses can apply toward that degree.
i have a degree as a medical asst. and it's definitely a job with alot of variety. similar to nursing without have to do iv's! you learn transcription, secretarial, lab, billing, besides the patient contact. not sure where you live but the pay for it here is not great. the course can be done in 1 year but i took 2. because of the limited dr. offices here in town, i have actually been working as a pharmacy technician since i got my degree. i love it! the pay is way better, and the schooling for it is way shorter. there is a high demand for certified pharmacy techs now so the pay will continue to get better. just a thought. otherwise i say go for whatever you will like because it's a waste of time and money if you will be stuck in a job that makes you unhappy. not to sound mean, but there is job security in the medical field because people will always be getting sick. good luck with your new future.
S. m
I took an MA course in 2003, it took 9 months to complete the course. I had was lucky and got a job when i finished my externship before i even graduated. I worked in a dr's office for 3 1/2 years and now i work in a hospital. I decided on the MA program because it was shorter than other programs and i could still work full time while doing it. I would recommend it to anyone, but I dont know anything about the school you are wanting to attend. One thing i would suggest is to check and see what kind of job placement they have for when you are finished with the program. Hope this helps. Good luck!
My cousin took the course and is still without work a year later.
Make sure all of the school's locations are accredited, not just one or two, and find out if their classes transfer to other schools, in case you want to continue your education.
Not sure about in your area but when i took my CNA coarse in RI about 7 years ago there was quite a few people in the coare that took the med assistant program but couldnt really do anything with it so then went to CNA program
