Embarking on a career as a medical assistant is a rewarding path, and choosing the right training program is a crucial first step. If you’re considering the Career Step Medical Assistant Program, a key question you likely have is: “How long is the Career Step medical assistance program?” This article provides a detailed overview of the program’s duration and what you can expect from its comprehensive curriculum.
The Career Step Medical Assistant Program is designed to be completed at your own pace, offering flexibility for individuals with varying schedules and commitments. While the program is self-paced, it is structured to provide a thorough education in the essential skills and knowledge needed to excel as a medical assistant.
Understanding the Program Structure and Modules
The curriculum is divided into comprehensive modules, each focusing on specific areas of medical assisting. These modules are designed to build upon each other, ensuring a solid foundation of knowledge. Let’s explore the key components:
Foundational Knowledge and Patient Care
The program begins with foundational modules to introduce you to the healthcare field and the medical assistant role. You’ll delve into:
- Medical Assistant Career Introduction: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the medical assisting profession, including the roles and responsibilities of medical assistants, and the importance of certification and professional standards.
- Healthcare Foundational Knowledge and Basic Science: Develop a strong base in medical terminology, nutrition, and psychology, essential for effective patient interaction and understanding healthcare concepts.
- Anatomy and Physiology Essentials: Explore the intricacies of the human body, learning about all the body systems, from the skeletal and muscular systems to the nervous and digestive systems. This module provides crucial knowledge for understanding medical procedures and patient conditions.
- General Patient Care: Learn the fundamental skills for preparing examination rooms, assisting patients, and ensuring a comfortable and safe environment.
Core Medical Assisting Skills
These modules focus on the practical skills that are central to the medical assistant role:
- Pharmacology Basics for Medical Assisting: Gain essential knowledge of drug classifications, their effects, and medication administration basics. Understanding pharmacology is vital for assisting physicians and ensuring patient safety.
- Infection Control: Master the principles of infection control, learning about infectious diseases, diagnostic methods, and preventative measures. This module emphasizes the critical importance of hygiene and safety protocols in healthcare settings.
- Testing and Laboratory Procedures: Become proficient in specimen collection and handling, including blood and urine samples. You’ll also learn about vision and hearing screening tests and common medical laboratory techniques.
- Phlebotomy: Develop hands-on skills in phlebotomy, learning about equipment, techniques, and the steps involved in collecting blood samples. This module includes crucial aspects of patient care before, during, and after blood draws.
- Venipuncture Labs: This module expands on phlebotomy with practical lab simulations, emphasizing sterility, asepsis, and various blood drawing techniques. You’ll also learn about different types of injections.
- EKG and Cardiovascular: Understand the anatomy of the heart and learn how to perform electrocardiograms (EKGs/ECGs), essential for assessing cardiovascular health.
Administrative and Professional Skills
Beyond clinical skills, the program also covers the administrative and professional competencies needed in a medical office:
- Patient Care Coordination and Education: Learn how to coordinate patient care effectively and educate patients on health management and treatment plans.
- Medical Administrative Assistant: Explore healthcare delivery models and the types of services offered in medical offices.
- Communication and Customer Service in the Healthcare Office: Develop effective communication skills for interacting with patients and colleagues, focusing on verbal, non-verbal, and written communication in a healthcare setting.
- Comprehensive Electronic Health Records: Gain proficiency in using electronic health records (EHR) systems, covering patient records management, scheduling, clinical information reporting, and revenue cycle management.
- Medical Laws and Ethics: Understand the legal and ethical considerations in healthcare, including HIPAA regulations, prescription handling, medical documentation, and patient privacy.
- Fundamentals of HIPAA: Dive deeper into HIPAA regulations, covering privacy and security rules, the HITECH Act, and compliance requirements for business associates.
Career Readiness and Externship
The program culminates in modules focused on career preparation and practical experience:
- Externship Readiness Skills: Develop essential professional skills, including time management, critical thinking, communication, resume writing, and interview techniques, to prepare for your externship and job search.
- Applying For Your Required Externship*: Learn about the externship application process and access resources to help you find a suitable externship site.
- Clinical Externship Experience*: Gain valuable hands-on experience through a clinical externship, applying your learned skills in a real-world medical setting. This externship is crucial for solidifying your skills and gaining practical experience for your career.
- Career Success in Healthcare: Define professionalism and success in healthcare, and develop goal-setting and time management skills to thrive in your medical assistant career.
- Medical Assistant Final Exam: Prepare for and take the final exam to demonstrate your comprehensive knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program.
- Program Orientation: Medical Assistant: This introductory module ensures you are familiar with the program structure, tools, and resources from the outset.
- Program Completion: Medical Assistant: This final module guides you on the next steps after completing the program, focusing on career advancement and professional development.
So, How Long Does it Take?
While Career Step states that many students complete the Medical Assistant program in as little as 4 months studying full-time, the actual duration can vary. Since the program is self-paced, you have the flexibility to adjust your study schedule to fit your life. Factors that influence completion time include:
- Study Time Commitment: The more hours per week you dedicate to your studies, the faster you will progress through the modules.
- Prior Knowledge: Individuals with some prior medical knowledge may progress slightly faster.
- Learning Style: Your individual learning pace and style will also play a role.
Career Step provides a 12-month access period to the program, giving you ample time to complete all modules and the externship. This generous timeframe accommodates diverse learning paces and life circumstances.
Benefits of the Career Step Medical Assistant Program
Choosing Career Step offers several advantages for aspiring medical assistants:
- Flexibility: The online, self-paced format allows you to study anytime, anywhere, fitting your education into your existing schedule.
- Comprehensive Curriculum: The program covers a wide range of essential medical assistant skills, from clinical procedures to administrative tasks and professional development.
- Externship Opportunity: The program includes an externship component, providing crucial real-world experience to enhance your employability.
- Career Support: Career Step offers resources and support to help you with resume building, job searching, and career advancement.
- Certification Preparation: The curriculum is designed to prepare you for medical assistant certification exams, enhancing your professional credentials.
Conclusion
The Career Step Medical Assistant Program offers a flexible and comprehensive pathway to a rewarding healthcare career. While the “How Long Is Career Step Medical Assistance Program” question depends on your individual pace, the program is designed to be completed efficiently, with many students finishing in around 4 months of full-time study. The self-paced format and 12-month access period provide ample time to master the curriculum and gain the skills needed to succeed as a medical assistant. If you’re looking for a flexible, online medical assistant program that prioritizes comprehensive training and career readiness, Career Step is a strong contender.
*CareerStep does not guarantee externships. A learner’s placement in and completion of an externship is solely the learner’s responsibility and may be subject to additional requirements, such as a background check and successful completion of a CareerStep course. This is particularly important for learners seeking to complete their externship in Alabama, District of Columbia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Please note that CareerStep will not sign agreements with sites in the above-referenced states or provide evidence of insurance to those sites.
