Medical Assistant Programs – 2024 Best Online Training Schools

If you want to get your foot in the door for the fast-growing healthcare industry, having a career as a Medical Assistant is a great starting point.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Medical Assistants earn a competitive salary, with a median pay exceeding $37,000 per year.

You’re probably excited about having a career as a Medical Assistant, and the first step is to get the right training.

In 2024 according to recent study by NHA, the majority of employers who hire Medical Assistants want them to be certified, and a training program helps you do that.

If you’re confused about what program you should go for, then you’re at the right place.

We have ranked the best schools for medical assistant training. The programs offered by these schools and organizations help you prepare for a medical assistant career and put you on track to get
certified.

Here’s the list of the Best Medical Assistant Programs, Schools, and
Classes for 2024:

What Makes a Good School for Medical Assistants?

Thanks to the growth in the healthcare industry, demand for medical assistants is absolutely booming. Because of this, many schools have begun to create certification programs to woo prospective students. Sadly, a majority of these programs aren’t very good, both in terms of curriculum and structure.

So what makes a medical assistant certification program the right one and why did we choose the schools we did?

Simple. They offered the following:

Online Learning

Online learning is incredibly popular with many students, and it’s easy to see why. For working adults with family responsibilities, it’s simply not realistic – or feasible – to move out of state for school. It’s not even that convenient to commit to driving to a local community college two or three nights a week.

Online learning promotes a healthy work/life balance. There is simply no need to uproot your life or cause disruption in your home.

Plus, you can continue to work your job and have the time to take part in family activities. Because you don’t want to miss those soccer games and recitals!

Certification Preparation

While an online education is convenient and practical, it’s only good if the training you are receiving is solid and will actually prepare you to take – and pass – the certification exam.

The schools on our list will fully prepare you for the major certifications, in this case those offered by National Healthcareer Association (NHA),  The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and The American Medical Technologists (AMT) and others.

If you want to know the difference between the common certifications you can read more about Which Medical Assistant Certification is Best

Self-Paced Coursework

Every individual learns at their own pace. Some people will pick up information more quickly, and others a bit slower. There’s no one right way to learn, except that everyone should be able to learn at their own pace.

With the programs we’ve selected, you can relax and take the pressure off yourself and learn at your own pace. This gives you the opportunity to really understand the course material before moving onto the next subject.

Self-paced learning also means you study when you can realistically fit it into your schedule. If that means you can only study for an hour after the kids go to bed, that’s fine. There’s no need to keep up with other students who don’t have kids and can dedicate hours each day to their classes.

Textbooks are Included

We mentioned that many certification programs slip in a bunch of fees you weren’t expecting. And if you haven’t been in school for a while, let me tell you, textbooks are expensive! The schools we’ve selected include textbooks and all learning material in the price of tuition, so you’ll never be hit with any nasty financial surprises.

An Engaging Learning Experience

Learning should be fun and engaging. And if you’ve ever taken a program where you were expected to learn solely out of a textbook, then you know how BORING that is.

These programs we’ve selected are all taught by an instructor who has a passion for sharing their knowledge and experience in the healthcare field!

Excellent Support

When you learn in a regular classroom setting, you can raise your hand at any time if you have a question. We selected programs that made it simple for you to get the answers – and tech support – you need.

Real-World Experience

We have also selected programs that have collaborated with healthcare institutions to provide you with invaluable hands-on experience.

Why is this so important?

Learning from a textbook or video modules is one thing, but gaining real-life experience is what will help you connect all the dots and stand out to prospective employers.

The Importance of Medical Assistant Programs and Training

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the healthcare industry is absolutely booming right now. A lot of this growth is due to an aging baby boomer population, who are requiring more and more medical services. And that means there is currently a great demand for medical assistants who can help provide these services.

While doctors and nurses may get all the glory, clinical medical assistants play key roles in helping hospitals and clinics run smoothly and efficiently. One any given day, these medical professionals perform a wide range of important tasks including drawing blood, taking patient medical histories, updating patient files, taking vital signs, phoning in prescriptions, changing the dressing on wounds and much, much more!

Perhaps the biggest role medical assistants play is to bring care and comfort to those in need. When you can build a career on the practice of touching people’s lives in a meaningful way, you experience deep satisfaction!

Satisfaction also comes from the fact medical assistants have a number of career options available to them, once they get their foot in the door. Because these professionals perform both clinical and administrative tasks, they are able to specialize in one or the other down the road. Many medical assistants go on to pursue nursing careers while others go back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration. Your options are plentiful!

The bottom line is, when you become a certified medical assistant, you not only set yourself up for a rewarding career with job security, you create almost limitless career possibilities.

Our Medical Assistant Program Methodology

We’ve just gone over a lot of important information, so let’s quickly recap:

Before writing this article, my team and I sat down and sifted through a lot of data to come to the conclusions we did. As I stated earlier, there are a lot of certification programs out there aimed at hopeful medical assistants, but they definitely were not all created equal.

In order to make the cut for this list, a school was given preference for having the following:

• Online programs
• Comprehensive preparation for certification exams
• Accredited non-profit university
• Shorter program duration
• Self-paced learning
• Textbooks and other learning materials included in the cost
• Instructor-led
• Support
• Medical Assistant Externship to gain valuable experience

If you’re interested in a career as a medical assistant, you could become certified and begin working in as little as six months! What a great opportunity to work in an exciting industry helping people!