Medical Assistant Jobs and Programs in Ohio – Schools, Salary, and License Info

How to Become a Medical Assistant in Ohio

Being a medical assistant in Ohio will surely grant you two things.

You will get both a qualification and a suitable job in the field.

And believe me, you need both to succeed!

Though they come one after the other.

However, to become a medical assistant in Ohio you need to simply follow these steps:

• Pursue a Formal Medical Assistant Education
• Consider the Medical Assistant Qualifications Available to Ohio Residents
• Maintain Your Medical Assistant Qualifications

Before applying these steps in your life, you need also to know the kind of tasks, medical assistants are required to perform.

The following Ohio regulations detail the types of tasks that supervising health professionals may delegate to medical assistants:

• Physicians may only delegate tasks to medical assistants deemed competent to perform the task
• Medical assistants can only perform tasks that do not require the exercise of medical judgment
• Physicians must provide an appropriate level of supervision over a medical assistant
• The delegated task must be able to be safely performed
• The delegated task is able to be performed without the need to make complex observations or critical decisions
• Delegated tasks must be of the variety that would not result in serious harm to the patient if they were to be performed improperly

If you’re looking for a job in medical assisting in Ohio, you will find them in urban areas of the state.

The location of these jobs was published for the first time by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These areas have been put below as well:

• 4,280 medical assistants in the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area
• 3,969 medical assistants in the greater Cleveland metropolitan area
• 3,060 medical assistants in Columbus
• 1,910 medical assistants in Dayton
• 1,800 medical assistants in Akron
• 1,520 medical assistants in Toledo
• 1,120 medical assistants in the Youngstown area
• 910 medical assistants in the Canton-Massillon area

In Ohio, medical assistants do not receive licensing.

This group of medical assistants in the state is presently 21,130.

But, if you want to make progress in the field, you will have to meet the demands of the local employers in the state.

These employers have a set of qualifications as a strict standard for hiring.

And honestly, you have to do your best to meet their standards.

Of course, if you want to get hired.

Step 1. Pursue a Formal Medical Assistant Education

Formal education in medical assisting is essential to more in-depth knowledge in the field as well as future employment.

As part of this education is the associate degree or the academic certificate.

Through education, a medical assistant will also be able to qualify for national certification as well as other credentials in the state known nationally.

However, not all credentials have the same standards.

Some of them will require a certain medical assistant that is accredited from one of the below-mentioned agencies in Ohio:

• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
• Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES)

There are at a minimum of 60 medical assistant schools in Ohio that offer similar accreditations.

Graduating from an accredited medical assistant degree program in Ohio will ensure you are familiar with such medical concepts as:

• Infection control and surgical procedures
• Written and oral communications for the medical assistant; medical terminology
• Medical law and ethics
• Health insurance
• Basic medical coding
• Clinical laboratory procedures
• Assisting with nutrition and medications
• Business English and mathematics
• Anatomy and physiology
• Medical assistant administrative procedures
• Medical assisting externship or practicum

Step 2. Consider the Medical Assistant Qualifications Available to Ohio Residents

There are many medical assistant credentials that are nationally recognized and offered in Ohio.

With various requirements, they are sponsored by various agencies throughout the state.

Some of these credentials include:

Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)

This credential is offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).

To qualify for the CMA credential, you have to meet these two conditions:

• Graduate from a medical assistant academic program that is approved by either CAAHEP or ABHES
• Pass the Certified Medical Assistant Exam

Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

This credential is offered by American Medical Technologists (AMT).

You can become eligible for the RMA bypassing the RMA Exam and completing one of the following:

• Graduate from an accredited academic or training program that has at least 720 hours of coursework that focus on medical assisting, including at least 160 hours of clinical externship
• Complete the equivalent to medical assistant training as part of service in the US Armed Forces
• Have graduated from high school and have at least five years of medical assistant work experience that includes clinical and administrative duties
• Be a medical assistant instructor with at least five years of experience, or have several years of teaching experience combined with multiple years of clinical medical assisting experience
• Have earned another medical assisting certification and passed an associated exam; in this case, you will not have to take the RMA Exam

Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)

This credential is offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

To earn the CCMA you must pass the CCMA Exam.

National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA)

This credential is offered by the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT).

You can earn the NCMA once you have passed the NCMA Exam and completed one of the following:

• Be a current student or graduate from a medical assistant program that is approved by the NCCT
• Have worked full-time for at least two years as a medical assistant
• Complete the equivalent of medical assistant training as part of your service with the US Armed Forces
• Earn a medical assistant credential from another approved accrediting organization
• Be a physician or doctor in a foreign country
• Have worked as a medical assistant instructor for at least 10 years

Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA)

This credential is offered by the National Association of Health Professionals (NAHP).

To receive this credential, a medical assistant must register for and pass the NRCMA Exam and complete one of the following to earn the NRCMA:

• Graduate from an approved medical assisting program
• Have worked as a medical assistant equivalent for at least two years as part of your service with the US Armed Forces
• Have worked as a medical assistant or in a closely related occupation for at least two years and have the recommendation of your employer

Step 3. Maintain Your Medical Assistant Qualifications

In order to maintain the medical assistant qualifications, a medical assistant must meet the continuing education and professional development requirements.

For instance, to maintain a credential one needs to meet the requirements of the sponsoring agency that has offered the credential in the first place.

Maintenance and renewal requirements include:

• CMA – must be renewed every five years by either retaking the CMA Exam or earning 60 re-certification points with at least 30 of these from AAMA-Approved continuing education units
• RMA – must earn 30 Certification Continuing Program  (CCP) points every three years and maintain a yearly membership with AMT
• CCMA – earn at least 10Continuing Education  (CE) credits every two years
• NCMA – complete the required annual Continuing Education (CE) that is approved by the NCCT
• NRCMA – maintain a current CPR card and annual membership with the NAHP; complete at least two Class-A Continuing Education Units (CEUs) each year

In the wide range of organizations that offer credentials in Ohio is the Ohio State Society of Medical Assistants (OSMA).

The organization’s role is also to offer information related to local employment and continuing education opportunities available there.

The latter can be achieved by finishing a college that offers similar courses in medical assisting.

With this comes also the opportunity to get more advanced degrees in medical science fields.

This will then result in more professional qualifications for the medical assistant and get him or she has a better job position.

The Best Medical Assisting Schools in Ohio

Almost 100 medical assisting schools in Ohio, and you’re still worrying?

Nah.

You should be celebrating!

What could be more fun than having to choose between too many schools?

And eventually, they end up with the best shot.

Yes, it’s possible.

Just look for the right program and near your location.

And it will be okay, as long as you want to study!

Medical Assisting Salaries in Ohio

With so many medical assisting schools in Ohio, you will never go broke.

However, the salary is to be discussed.

But in fact, it is more a matter of your education and how much you have invested in it.

Then place, work experience, and additional skills are secondary factors to salary in the field.

Annual Salary Range:

Regional Salary in Ohio

Medical Assisting by State