Medical assistant training

For the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam, you need a high school diploma or GED, or must expect to earn one within 18 months).

Still in high school? Science courses pay off. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics points to biology and chemistry, since the program will walk you through anatomy, medical terminology and pharmacology.

You don't have to go through a formal program at all: some people learn the work as an apprentice or through on-the-job training, which can take several months.

It's worth choosing an accredited program, which means an outside organization has reviewed what it teaches. Accredited coursework covers insurance and coding, lab techniques, clinical procedures, and pharmacology, including giving medications safely. It also touches first aid, front-office skills, working with patients and medical law and ethics. Among the programs in our listings, 484 hold accreditation: 310 through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and 181 at schools accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

Training requirements depend on the certification route. For the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) credential, the American Medical Technologists (AMT) education route requires 720 hours of instruction, including at least 160 hours of externship. The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) alternative pathway accepts programs equal to two semesters, with at least 560 hours of classes, not counting the practicum.

Individual states sometimes layer on their own rules. Washington takes accredited programs of at least 720 clock hours, and California insists on no less than 10 clock hours covering giving injections and skin tests. Planning to work somewhere specific? Check that state's rules before signing up.

An externship, sometimes called a practicum, means supervised hands-on time in an actual clinic or office before graduation. This is where classroom skills meet real patients, with an experienced professional keeping an eye on you.

Programs accredited by CAAHEP have to build in at least 160 contact hours of this kind of supervised practice in a healthcare setting. The AMT education route and Washington's accredited-program route also require at least 160 hours of externship, so if you're aiming for one of those, expect a good stretch of time inside a clinic before you graduate.

Of the 378 career schools reporting a completion time, the typical program runs 9 months, the quickest takes 2 months, and the slowest stretches to 32. Drawing on federal education data, here's the breakdown:

College and university programs generally take longer, roughly 1 or 2 years, and an associate degree is available at 354 schools.

If you need evening classes, ask the school whether it offers them, how long that schedule takes and when the externship happens.

Remember that the externship takes place inside a working clinic, so part of it may fall during daytime hours even if your classes happen in the evening.

Our listings don't track weekend schedules, so ask each school directly. One flexible option we can count: 30 programs can be finished fully through distance education, and 14 of them are accredited. For someone juggling a weekday job, that can be the more workable route.

If you're coming to the U.S. for career training like a medical assistant certificate, you'd usually study on an M-1 student visa, so ask the school early whether it accepts M-1 students.