Known for providing specialized skills and vocational training courses, Eastern Maine Community College offers an advanced medical assistant certificate program and an associate in applied science degree program. The certificate program is a short term course that lasts for a year and takes 37 credit hours to complete. On the other hand, 61-62 total credits are required for getting the AAS Degree.

The MA programs at EMCC allow you to take online classes, or a mix of online and offline courses, known popularly as a hybrid setting. To be eligible for the program, one must have a high school diploma or equivalent. The candidate must also have acquaintance and fluency in high school level algebra and biology with lab work. Admissions begin in fall every year, around August and September. Criminal background screening must be done for every aspirant and is a necessary prerequisite for taking admission.

Both courses have day and evening shifts. However, a practicum is offered only in the daytime, from Monday through Friday every week. Students must achieve Grade C or higher and complete all MA modules with a GPA of 2.0 or better. Upon completing these courses, the graduates are eligible to sit for the AAMA certification (CMA) exam.

This college offers a certificate and an associate’s degree program in medical assisting, which are funded partially by a grant from the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Students can take offline or online classes, or hybrid classes, which is a mix of both. A total of 36 credit hours must be achieved in this certificate course, which goes on for a year.

If you want a 2-year course, and complete the Associate in General Studies, you’ll have to complete 2 years and acquire a total of 64 credits. The students have to procure a C grade or a GPA of a minimum of 2.0 to get the degree. The additional program requirement mandates that students arrange for transportation to clinics and sites, as and when required, for externship opportunities.

Their professional partners include Maine General, Inland Hospital, Sebasticook Valley Health, Redington Fairview General Hospital, and HealthReach. In the year 2018, 92.86% of students passed the CMA certification examination, and employers reported a 100% satisfaction rate for the last 5 cumulative years. Besides, the graduation satisfaction rate was 100% for the years 2012 to 2016.

Southern Maine Community College offers an associate degree and a certificate program in medical assisting for all its medical assistant aspirants. These programs come with a practicum of 160 hours, where externship is done in a medical site or clinic, to demonstrate and practice the theory you’ve been taught in classrooms and lectures. The Associate in Applied Sciences degree needs one to complete 66 total credit hours, and attend classes for 4.5 full-time semesters, whereas the certificate course is a 33-hour credits program and is a short term route.

Each student takes around 15 credits per semester, and preparatory or development courses do not count. However, to attain credit hours, the candidates must achieve Grade C or higher in all MA courses. Upon graduation, the students are eligible to sit for the AMT’s RMA and AAMA’s CMA exams. The placement rate for SMCC graduates is 92% within 9 months of graduation.

An AAS degree program in medical assistance is provided by York County Community College, which runs for 2 years. Classes usually begin in fall, but students can take later admissions in spring or summer, but that means they’d take longer to complete the course than their fall counterparts. A total of 60 credit hours have to be earned in 4 semesters to complete this degree. For in-state students, the course tuition fee is $94 per credit, and for out-station students, it is $188.

For out-station, non-resident aspirants, a Tuition Break Program by New England Board of Higher Education is provided to increase affordability and ease of education. YCCC also recommends you to take financial aid, and numerous scholarships, which are available on their website. Their career & transfers office also aids you in transferring the credits earned at YCCC to other colleges, by hosting annual transfer fairs and workshops where you learn about the transferring process.

This school offers an associate program to its MA aspirants, which is certified and licensed by the Medical Assisting Review Education Board. The AAS program lasts for a total of 64 credit hours and trains you in affective, psychomotor, and cognitive skills. A minimum of 2 GPA must be maintained across all majors as well as the cumulative score, to earn the degree. The students, after completing the program successfully, are qualified to take CMA and RMA exams.

Besides, WCCC requires all students to pass all the competencies and MA courses with a minimum grade of 80. A 165 hour of practicum must also be completed. It is unpaid, and usually arranged by the coordinator, and is overlooked and done under the supervision of a Clinical Preceptor. Their tuition costs are the lowest in New England; hence, in terms of affordability of education, the college is a top preference among medical assistant aspirants in Maine.

This school offers an associate degree in medical assisting, which has morning and evening options according to the convenience of students. The Associate in Applied Sciences is a 2-year course that is divided into 4 semesters. If you’re taking evening classes, coursework is divided for 5 semesters. But for both courses, the practical externship is provided only during the day. The total credits required to complete the program are 65.

The fourth semester is essentially the 160+ hours of externship, which falls within the program completion. The prerequisite for enrolling in this course is a high school diploma or an equivalent GED where classes of Algebra I and Biology with the lab are required. The successful completion of the program makes you eligible to apply for Certified Medical Assistants (CMA) and Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) certification credentials.

As per the data from 2018’s graduating batch, a total of 19 MAs graduated. Out of which, 14 have procured jobs as MAs or in a related field of expertise. The rate of placement is 74%, and the employer satisfaction with NMCC college graduates has been 100% over the years.

Northeast Technical Institute offers a Clinical Medical Assistant program with full-time and part-time options, keeping in mind the convenience and comfort of students. They have a special program called Flex-Train, which allows you to plan your course around your schedule so that you can finish it at your own pace. The medical assistant program gives you the proper mixture of lab work and lectures to be adept allied health professional.

Taking the program provided by NTI would equip you to be eligible for the NHA and AMT national certification examinations. They also have a system where you can take the MA career readiness quiz and evaluate your position to get suggested for the right program as per your interests.

NTI graduates have been employed by Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, Bangor Area Visiting Nurses, Acadia Hospital, Colonial Healthcare, Cornerstone Behavioral Health, Ellsworth Internal Medicine, Franklin County Health Network, Inland Hospital, Health Access Network, Home Depot and numerous other esteemed contenders in the past.

Purdue University Global provides a certificate course in medical assisting, which is essentially online, and usually offers offline coursework with it. It requires a student to complete 58 credits, and the cost per credit is $378. You’ve to devote 15 hours minimum every week, and the term is around 10 weeks.  The program length is less than 1.5 years, which is divided into 14 course modules. The program takes admission throughout the year. The usual months, however, are August, September, October, and November.

A total of 160-hour externship is a mandatory accompaniment of this course, which happens at a local physician’s office, and must be completed to attain the degree. The college has a unique trial period of 3 weeks, where students can try the classes for free and can pay only when they are satisfied with the program. A minimum of C or a GPA of 2 is required to obtain the certification from the university.

If you graduate from this university, you are eligible to take the following national certification exams: CMA, RMA, NCMA, CCMA, and CMAC by AAMA, AMT, NCCT, NHA, and AMCA respectively. Besides, there’s a 25% tuition fee reduction policy in place for international students. You get credits for military training as well, if you’ve served a certain number of years. Accordingly, you can calculate your credit score and see which online degrees can be procured.

Besides, if you’ve served in the military or have a spouse who has served, you get reductions on tuition fees, too. Purdue has expert faculty members who have degrees of advanced level and experience in the same field.

This community college offers an associate degree for medical assistants to its MA aspirants in Maine. The course is divided into 4 semesters. The last semester includes a 240-hour externship, which must be completed to procure the degree. Also, you must achieve a GPA 2.0 or higher in all courses of first and second semesters along with an endorsement from the Department of Chair, before you can take the externship. Admissions happen in summer as well as fall semesters.

A total of 62-64 credits must be obtained for completion of this course. The prerequisites of the admission include a Grade C or higher, as well as biology with a lab at high school. The students must produce a CPR certification to the college before the fourth semester commencement. If you decide to transfer to a 4-year university program, you can do so. The college has facilities for you to accomplish and go through that transfer of credits, hassle-free.

This program also prepares you for qualifying to Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) certification, provided by American Medical Technologists (AMT).

This school offers two programs to MA aspirants in the state. The first is a diploma, and the second is an associate’s degree. The diploma program is 14 months long and needs you to complete 39 credits. If you take an additional 6-month course, where you take general education, you’ll receive an associate degree at the end of 2 years. The curriculum makes you eligible and prepares you for the CMA examination by AAMA.

Beal College features in one of the top colleges because they have smaller class sizes, better teacher-student ratio, and their programs can be accelerated if the need arises. Moreover, their courses have flexible offline and online schedules to match your convenience. They have 4 labs with state of the art facilities for medical assisting, which give you proper training and adequate lab experience. Moreover, Medical Career Training Readiness Quiz is provided by the school, which allows you to check your competency and evaluate yourself before taking up your course.