medical assistant schooling costs..how much is too much?
Discount Medical Scrubs
The school i'm looking into is career institute of florida, they are nationally accredited, offer everything from bookeeping to phlebotomy. part time, it will take me 16 months to complete, front office and back office procedures. the cost is 13,000$ i know it's alot, i don't want to go to a community college because i don't have the time or the capability of all the pre reqs. been there, done that. there is job placement at the end of the course, and the tuition includes everything, books...etc. except scrubs and shoes. Help! I really want this education, and i do not want to be an rn or an lpn, i am also hearing that the job is in high demand, and the pay can vary from 15 hrly and up. i am in florida, i've been a part of healthcare for 10 years, but these days to get a job, people want to see a diploma. i have a 16 mth old son, i want to have something to fall back on always.
Tags: 10 years, bookeeping, capability, career institute, diploma, discount medical, Education, hrly, job placement, Lpn, office procedures, part time, Rn, scrubs, Shoes
November 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 am
May I ask y you dont want to be a LPN or RN?
I agree with the other people I know many people who work as MA with no job. I also think that is too much money to go to a school and obtain no degree. I have heard similar speeches from fellow friends who have went down this path but I don’t reccommend it. I tell you why:
I would at least encourage you to get your LPN instead or even your CNA.
1.LPN school might be cheaper or shorter length of time.
Definately more money working as an LPN.
2. You can use your nursing license anywhere in US to get a job.
3. You can find work probably almost immediately as a LPN, working any shift you want and work overtime.
4. You can work at agencies making your own schedule or at a facility, dr. office.
5.After you get your MA and work around other healthcare providers u will soon realize y u should get ur LPN or RN.
6.Do a simple job search on the internet on careerbuilder or any job board and look at the number of jobs available to lpn/rn in comaprison to MA. And you will see why the nurse is a better route in the long term especially if you have a child. .
November 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 am
I would be wary of schools promising jobs after graduation. By the way, 15 dollar/hr job isn’t really a good paying job. Stick with community colleges and transfer to a university. It will pay off in the long run.
Cheers
November 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 am
It really depends on the job market in your area. Can you make enough money to offset the cost? What type of places really hire MA’s? And, what will they pay?
Where I live, it’s just not worth it. I had looked into it several years ago, but MA’s generally aren’t paid much more that a regular medical office person and have more of the headaches. I personally know of several people that have done the MA course and not one of them is working as a MA.
November 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 am
Don’t waste your time with companies that are "schools". They might be accredited but they don’t have the name or the experience that a college or technical school has. Many times, people graduate from these little schools, and they cannot find jobs as easily as those who graduated from legitimate programs like community colleges. Community colleges are more respectable, and not to mention cheaper and more convenient. Also, although the school might be accredited, there may not be a Department of Education or any entity governing over them, so their policies will not be in place to protect the student.
I suggest you take the program at a community college. If you are going to become an MA, do the legitimate program, even if its alot harder. The fact is that you have to take an exam to become certified after you finish the program, and the community college will definately prepare you for that exam and help you know all that you need to know so that you will pass, and so that you did not just throw away 16 months of your life to be unprepared.
Anyways, I suggest you go to the community college. Another good thing about the college is that when you finally realize that medical assisting is a dead end, your credits can be transfered into another program such as nursing or medical school. Those career institutes NEVER transfer their credits and the college won’t even acknowledge that you passed their program, even though it was accredited. In addition, I have seen people graduate from these career institutes and then the place goes out of business or disappears one day, leaving them with a piece of paper from a nonexisting "school". It ends up being useless.
Good luck either way, and be dedicated. Do the better program. You should do something that will challenge you so that you can be a good MA.