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

How to Become a Medical Assistant in Wisconsin

Not all things are regulated by law in Wisconsin.

For instance, medical assisting certification or licensing requirements are not.

For this reason, those who employ medical assistants make amends with the profession by accepting job positions only the most qualified ones.

This means, there’s competition for you as a potential medical assistant.

Therefore, you need to become a qualified one in order to be considered for jobs.

Employers, however, will ask you to be equipped with three things.

A formal training, associate degree or certificate and national certification.

To become a competitive candidate for medical assistant jobs in Wisconsin, consider completing the following steps:

• Learn About Medical Assistant Qualifications in Wisconsin
• Become a Competitive Medical Assistant through Certification
• Learn About Wisconsin’s Medical Assistant Job Market
• Maintain Your Medical Assistant Credentials

Step 1. Learn About Medical Assistant Qualifications in Wisconsin

In order to qualify in the medical assisting profession, you need to undergo some kind of education.

In Wisconsin, universities, colleges and online schools in the field offer the opportunity to get a valuable education.

These higher learning institutions, however, must be accredited to be of high standards.

They need to receive accreditation from two agencies functioning already in the state.

These agencies are:

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

There are more than a dozen programs accredited by these agencies located in Wisconsin.

As you complete your medical assistant program you will take courses that include:

• Medical assistant laboratory procedures
• Medical assistant clinical procedures
• CPR, first aid and emergency procedures
• Psychology for medical assistants
• Speech and interpersonal communication
• Medical terminology and communication
• Pharmacology
• Medical assistant administrative procedures
• Anatomy and physiology
• Medical law and ethics
• Medical assistant practicum or internship

Step 2. Become a Competitive Medical Assistant through Certification

After graduation from a medical assisting program, you will have the chance to qualify for the most commonly recognized credentials in Wisconsin in medical assisting.

These main credentials to pursue there are:

• Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) – sponsored by the American Association of Medical Assistants  (AAMA)

• Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) – sponsored by American Medical Technologists (AMT)

• Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA) – sponsored by the National Association of Health Professionals (NAHP)

• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) – sponsored by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA)

• Medical Assistant (NCMA) – sponsored by the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT)

Each medical assistant credential is administered by a different national organization, and each has its own requirements for credentialing:

• To earn a CMA you will need to have graduated from a medical assistant program that is approved by either CAAHEP or ABHES. You will also need to pass the Certified Medical Assistant Exam that is comprised of 200 multiple-choice questions with a 160-minute time limit.

• To earn an RMA credential you will need to choose one of the AMT’s paths to eligibility. One of these is to earn a CMA credential and apply it with the AMT for an RMA credential.

• To earn an NRCMA credential you will need first make yourself an eligible candidate. One of the ways of doing this is to graduate from a medical assistant program that is accredited by ABHES or CAAHEP. Once you have done this you can fill out an application form to take the NRCMA Exam.

• To earn a CCMA credential you will need to take the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant Exam offered by the NHA.

• To earn an NCMA credential you must first choose one of the NCCT’s routes to eligibility. One of these is to earn a related credential, such as any listed here. Once you are eligible you can attempt to earn the NCMA credential by passing the NCMA exam.

 Step 3. Learn About Wisconsin’s Medical Assistant Job Market

After being equipped with the right credentials in medical assisting as well as having finished the basic education in the field, you’re ready to apply for a job.

In fact, it’s the right time for you to do so.

To begin with the number of medical assistants in the state, there are nearly 10,750 of them working in the field.

They work everywhere their services are needed.

Some of the largest regional employers of medical assistants are:

• The Bloomington-Saint Paul-Minneapolis metropolitan area employing 6,630 medical assistants
• The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis metropolitan area employing 3,140 medical assistants
• The Lake County-Kenosha County metropolitan area employing 1,210 medical assistants
• Madison, employing 1,120 medical assistants
• Green Bay, where 670 medical assistants work
• Appleton, where 460 medical assistants are employed
• Janesville, employing 430 medical assistants
• The Oshkosh-Neenah area employing 350 medical assistants
• Racine, where 340 medical assistants are employed

After seeing the places you can work at, you need to know what type of credentials you need to have to be considered by employers.

The following paragraphs will make an attempt to make this clear to you:

• Aspirus Clinic in Wausau recently posted an ad seeking a medical assistant who had a medical assistant certification or registration credential, or who was able to obtain one within six months of hire.

• The Grafton Main Clinic in Ozaukee County recently posted a medical assistant job description that required graduation from an accredited medical assistant program or an equivalent experience. The clinic specified a preference for applicants who possessed a medical assistant certification.

• University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics was recently seeking a medical assistant with the following preferred qualifications:

• • College education in a medical assistant program
  • CMA credential or other types of medical assistant credential
  • At least one year of related work experience

• Aurora HealthCare in Green Bay was recently seeking a medical assistant who had at least one year of experience performing the following:

• • Giving injections and immunizations
  • Obtaining vital signs and EKG
  • Administration of medication
  • Infection control and aseptic techniques

Step 4. Maintain Your Medical Assistant Credentials

Part of the process of maintaining medical assisting credentials is knowing which ones the employers ask to maintain from their workers.

Maintaining a professional certification is a matter of meeting the requirements determined by the sponsoring agency of the same credentials.

In this respect, renewal and maintenance requirements are crucial.

Considering each credential, they follow like this:

• Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) – to maintain this credential you will need to earn 60 re-certification points, with at least 30 of these being from AAMA-approved continuing education units You will need to earn these credits before your CMA expires, which occurs 60 months after it is issued.

• Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) – to renew this credential you need to maintain an annual membership with the AMT and earn at least 30 Certification Continuing Program (CCP) points every three years.

• Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA) – to maintain an NRCMA you will need to complete at least two Class-A Continuing Education Units (CEUs) each year, except your first year of renewal. You must also maintain a valid CPR certification and a yearly membership with the NAHP.

• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) – to maintain this credential you need to earn at least 10 Continuing Education (CE) credits every two years.
• Medical Assistant (NCMA) – Maintaining this credential requires the completion of a series of annual Continuing Education (CE) that is NCCT-approved.

Meeting these requirements and renewals for each of the above-mentioned credentials is possible through pursuing college and education courses in the field.

This step helps in advancing one’s academic credentials.

And consequently, it makes one get a bachelor’s degree in medical sciences.

Last but not least, there will be other chances to make progress in your medical assisting career.

Searching for professional organizations in the field should be a top priority for medical assistants.

One of these organizations to check for is the Wisconsin Society of Medical Assistants (WSMA)

These associations can provide you with valuable information regarding subjects such as:

• Legislative changes to the field of medical assisting
• Networking and employment opportunities
• Resources relating to continuing education and professional development

The Best Medical Assisting Schools in Wisconsin

With 30 medical assisting schools across the state, you need not complain about education.

You can get a very good one in any of these schools.

They all offer accredited programs in the field.

But you have to look for their accreditation first.

This trait makes them quality and high standard schools.

And trust me, you will need one in your resume soon.

Medical Assisting Salaries in Wisconsin

Money is not everything, but it has a significant role in our life.

So we need an amount of money that will grant us financial and social well-being.

For this reason, the salary you earn in the medical assisting job is important.

And I have to say, it depends a lot on you how much you earn.

Education, skills, work experience and similar factors determine that salary number in your account.

Annual Salary Range:

Regional Salary in Wisconsin

Medical Assisting by State