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

How to Become a Medical Assistant in Vermont

In Vermont, medical assisting has a future.

That’s what the Department of labor in Vermont says so far.

This growth, of course, has some indicators that influence it.

Two factors have a significant influence on Vermont’s demand for health care services:

• Second-highest rate of health insured residents in the nation
• The population of residents 65-and-older is more than two percentage points above the national average

To effectively compete for medical assistant jobs in Vermont, consider completing the following steps:

• Learn About the Medical Assistant Qualifications in Vermont
• Become a Qualified Medical Assistant
• Maintain and Improve Your Skills
• Pursue a Medical Assistant Job in Vermont

Step 1. Learn About the Medical Assistant Qualifications in Vermont

In Vermont, qualifications are an important factor to get hired in medical assisting.

These qualifications must meet those of the requirements employers set.

In fact, in the state, physicians and other health care professionals do this.

According to the Department of Labor in Vermont the following recommendations for the medical assisting occupation are these:

• Education – most employers require at least one of the following:
  • An associate’s degree
  • Training in a vocational school
  • Relevant on-the-job experience
• Training – informal training with experienced providers and at least one year of on-the-job training is usually associated with becoming a medical assistant
• Experience – prior work-related skills, experience, or knowledge is required for this field

These qualifications are the same as those of the Department of Labor in its statement.

However, employers mostly look for these qualifications in their medical assistants:

• Graduation from a medical assistant training program in Vermont
• Associate’s of science medical assistant degree
• Graduation from a medical assistant certification program that confers:
  • Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) credential
  • Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) credential
  • Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA) credential

But employers also look out for the additional skills in their candidates.

To see what kind of skills they look for, check these job postings done lately in the field in Vermont:

• The Gifford Medical Center in Sharon recently posted a medical assistant job description that required applicants to meet one of the following:
  • Have a medical assistant degree
  • Have experience working as an EMT
  • Have prior medical assisting training
• Planned Parenthood in Williston was recently seeking to fill a Health Care Assistant position with a person who possessed the following:
  • Medical assistant certification
  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Health center and administrative/clerical skills
• The Orthopedic and Rehab Center on Granger Road in Barre was recently seeking a qualified medical assistant who would be responsible for clinical and front office duties. The Center specified a preference for graduates of a medical assistant course.

Step 2. Become a Qualified Medical Assistant

The second step to becoming a medical assistant in Vermont is to enroll in a medical assistant school there.

You can start with an accredited program from one of the organizations.

These are the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

And the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

Attending programs that receive accreditation from the two will make it easy for you to qualify for other credentials in the field.

As a student in a Vermont medical assistant college setting, you can expect to take courses that include:

• Micro computing applications
• Medical terminology
• Medical billing and coding for the medical assistant
• Intercultural communication
• Health psychology and bioethics
• CPR and first aid
• Human biology
• Introduction to phlebotomy
• Fundamentals of pharmacology
• Administrative medical assisting
• Clinical medical assisting
• Medical assisting clinical practicum

Through attending these course topics, you will be able to continue with an associate’s degree in medical assistance.

And as I said earlier, graduation from an accredited program from CAAHPE or ABHES will help you move on with credentials.

The main credentials to qualify within medical assisting in Vermont are:

• CMA
• RMA
• NRCMA

Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)

The CMA credential is the most frequently accepted one in the entire medical assistant industry in the US.

Its sponsor is the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).

To get the credential, you need to sot for and pass the CMA exam as well.

This exam is made up of three main categories of medical assisting, with 200 questions to answer.

The questions are multiple-choice and it takes 160 minutes to answer them all.

You can expect questions from the following subjects to be on your CMA Exam:

• Administrative subjects
  • Medical reception, appointment scheduling, and finance management
  • Medical business practices and ethics
  • Creation of a patient’s medical record
• Clinical subjects
  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Documentation of care and patient intake
  • Infection control
  • Physician and patient medical assisting
  • Collecting and processing specimens
  • Administering and reporting diagnostic tests
  • Emergency management and first aid
  • Pharmacology
• General subjects
  • Psychology, medical ethics, and communication
  • Professionalism, medical law, and regulatory guidelines
  • Safety, quality assurance, and risk management
  • Medical terminology

The application for the test can be done online.

While you have to go to the Prometric testing centers to take it.

The address is Burlington in Williston at 600 Blair Park Road, Suite 326.

However, throughout the region, there are many testing centers to look for.

Some of them can be found in Canada and nearby states.

Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

This credential is recognized nationally in the US.

It is sponsored through the American Medical Technologists (AMT).

The main requirement for this credential is a CMA credential with the AAMA in the first place.

Only in this way, you will be allowed to take the RMA.

Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA)

This credential is given through the National Association of Health Professionals (NAHP).

You can apply for this certification after graduating from an accredited medical assistant academic program in the first place.

Then the next step towards it is an exam.

However, the entire process begins with the application form of the exam which you need to fill with the sponsoring organization.

Step 3. Maintain and Improve Your Skills

Apart from the continuing education units and standards you need to meet with the employer, you also need to maintain the requirements of the certification you’ve gained so far.

These maintenance requirements vary from the agencies.

These agencies requirements go as follows:

• To maintain a CMA before it expires after 60 months, you must retake the CMA Exam or obtain at least 60 re-certification points as follows:
  • 10 points relating to administrative duties
  • 10 points relating to clinical duties
  • 10 points relating to general duties
• 30 points from AAMA-approved continuing education units To maintain an RMA credential through the AMT you will need to pay an annual $50 membership charge and earn 30 Certification Continuing Program (CCP) points every three years.
• To renew the NRCMA credential you must hold a current CPR card and finish at least two Class A Continuing Education Units (CEUs) each year. Additionally, you must also pay a yearly membership fee to the NAHP. The first time you renew your NRCMA you do not need to complete the CEU requirement.

Education will always be prior to any other maintenance requirements.

It is the means for career development, so you need to give it more attention.

For instance, college courses related to medical assisting can be in the same degree as the continuing education requirements for CMA, RMA and NRCMA credentials.

Also, a bachelor’s degree in medical sciences would help you become a competitive candidate for jobs in Vermont’s markets.

The Bachelor’s degree may also help you become a nurse or a doctor in a long-term future.

Step 4. Pursue a Medical Assistant Job in Vermont

Pursuing a medical assistant job in Vermont is necessary after being done with your education.

In fact, it is normally.

As you start your research for a job, you need to check the statistics, regional employment figures and so on.

You should know that there are nearly 690 medical assistants in work relations in the state.

Considering it regionally, it goes like this:

• Burlington and South Burlington area: 340
• Southern Vermont region: 220
• Northern Vermont region: 130

There are two industries in Vermont that employ 95 percent of all medical assistants:

• Ambulatory health care services – 71 percent of all medical assistants or approximately 454 individuals
• Hospitals – 24 percent of all medical assistants or approximately 149 individuals

Besides these popular locations, medical assistants are also qualified to work in Vermont’s long term care facilities and community health centers.

But that’s not all.

You need another thing.

And that’s networking.

Networking is a good way to learn more about the changes in legal issues, education opportunities and employment in the field.

This information can be found easily when in touch with credentialing agencies such as AAMA, AMT, and NAHP.

The Best Medical Assisting Schools in Vermont

There is only one Medical Assisting Schools available in Vermont.

But that’s not a problem.

You will be able to pursue all kinds of programs and certifications that are given in the state.

There are three credentials to pursue there.

But of course, after finishing an accredited program in these schools first.

Medical Assisting Salaries in Vermont

If you’re interested to pursue an education in medical assisting in Vermont, you will also ask for a suitable salary as well.

However, the salary will depend on the efforts you give in education.

The more qualified you are in the field, the more you get paid.

It’s a GIVE&TAKE offer.

Regional Salary in Vermont

Medical Assisting by State