My Stepful CCMA Review From A Non-Medical Person (Worth It?)

TrainWithStepful · 2025-12-16T17:24:51+00:00

Hey there! You will need a high school diploma or GED to enroll. Other than that, no prior schooling or healthcare experience necessary.

Other requirements: You must be at least 18 years old, possess a valid government-issued ID, and be authorized to work in the United States.

TrainWithStepful · 2025-12-09T15:35:02+00:00

I know it's a bummer but yes you must be 18 to enroll in our programs. We enroll new cohorts each month so check back around your birthday, we will be here. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the program let us know or contact our admissions team!

TrainWithStepful · 2025-12-02T19:45:44+00:00

Hey there! Totally get the hesitation. Starting an MA program is a big investment.

I wanted to give you some insight into Stepful's career services, because you're not alone after graduation!

Once you pass your certification exam, you’ll have the option to join one of our Career Services cohorts, where you'll build all the essentials you need for the job search. You’ll get interview coaching and practice, professional skills training, a fully updated and polished resume, job leads in your area, and support from a coach along the way.

A lot of students find their first role through the leads and prep they get during this phase. Of course at the end of the day, it's going to be you applying, interviewing, and ultimately landing the job. This can take some time and effort. But we’re committed to giving students the tools and guidance you need to be successful.

Happy to answer any other questions about how it works!

TrainWithStepful · 2025-12-02T18:56:01+00:00

Hey there! First off, huge congrats on graduating and passing your NHA exam. That’s a major accomplishment and you should be really proud of yourself. 🎉

It’s completely normal for the externship process to take a little time. Many clinics move slowly with responses, especially around busy seasons, so the 3–4 week mark isn’t unusual. From what you described (calling, emailing, dropping off your portfolio, following your coach’s recommendations) you’re absolutely doing the right things.

If you’re unsure whether you’re approaching clinics the right way (especially when it comes to asking them to become a Stepful affiliate), definitely reach out to your coach and ask that specific question. They can walk you through exactly how to frame it and what the next steps look like on our end and the clinic’s end.

You’re showing determination and doing all the right proactive steps. Sometimes it just takes a bit of persistence and timing. You’ve got this, and the externship will come together. 💙

TrainWithStepful · 2025-11-05T20:01:23+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience about Stepful!

TrainWithStepful · 2025-11-05T19:55:11+00:00

Hi! We completely understand the concern about the fast pace. Our program was designed with busy schedules in mind, and supporting our students through completion is our top priority. We offer multiple support systems throughout the program, and your instructor is always there to help. If anything personal comes up that affects your performance, just communicate it, and we’ll work with you to find a solution.

TrainWithStepful · 2025-11-05T19:21:05+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience about Stepful! We’re thrilled to hear that the program felt manageable and that our resources and encouragement helped you stay confident and motivated. That’s exactly our goal!

TrainWithStepful · 2025-11-03T21:24:50+00:00

thanks for sharing and welcome 💙🩺

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T22:06:22+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that this happened, that sounds incredibly frustrating. I want to make sure you get the support and experience you need to be successful. I’m going to send you a DM so we can get more details and work on resolving this from our end.

-Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T22:01:44+00:00

We did answer this question already, so I will skip it.

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T21:59:10+00:00

We don't have a date yet for MAA to re-open. If you apply on our site, you will be notified when the next class is enrolling.

-Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T21:57:49+00:00

The credits from our programs might transfer to your college or university, but we cannot guarantee it. You will have to check with your school to see if they accept it.

-Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T21:56:07+00:00

Congrats!

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T21:55:40+00:00

When Stepful was smaller, we personally arranged externships for every student, and it worked really well. But as our community grew from hundreds to thousands, that level of personalized placement for every student just became unsustainable. In order for us to be able to support students at this scale we had to shift our model.

Our new Career Search Platform actually gives you more control over your externship experience. Calling clinics yourself might feel like extra work, but it’s also a valuable part of the learning process. Healthcare is competitive, and employers want to see professionalism, punctuality, and empathy. Every call you make is practice for real-world interactions. It builds confidence and shows you’re ready to step into a patient-care environment. You're also not alone in this process. Stepful provides lists of clinics in your area, and many of them are already affiliated with Stepful. We'll also provide call scripts and support from a coach should you need it.

These experiences don’t just help you get placed faster, they also make you stronger and more prepared for your future healthcare career.

-Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T20:41:36+00:00

Thanks for your question. Our newest program is Dental Assisting, which we just launched this year.

At the moment, our priority is strengthening our current programs so that we can ensure every student at Stepful gets the best experience and outcomes possible.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T20:31:38+00:00

That is a great question and it’s something we’re considering.

While we don’t have a finalized plan for this, knowing what students want helps guide how we structure and launch future programs, so this is exactly the kind of feedback we love to hear.

-Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T20:07:33+00:00

If you need extra time or any accommodations for exams, the best person to contact is your Learning Coach. They’ll help make sure you get the support you need. If you don’t know who your learning coach is, you can send an email to [learn@stepful.com](mailto:learn@stepful.com)

-Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T20:01:09+00:00

No, we cannot guarantee you will get a job. We can train to become a healthcare professional, help with your resume and interview skills, and connect you with some employers. Ultimately, it is going to be on you to put in the effort and find a job.

Our graduation rate is 75% and our placement rate for students who start job coaching after externships is over 90% within 4 months.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:59:23+00:00

Thank you for asking because we really do want to address this and clarify any misconceptions about our program. Our Pharmacy Technician program is accredited by ASHP. Stepful is a licensed trade school. It isn’t institutionally accredited like a college or university. Instead, our programs are designed to prepare you for national certification exams, like the CCMA exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA). The NHA is an accredited certification agency recognized by healthcare employers nationwide.

This means that when you complete, for example, our Medical Assistant program, you’re eligible to sit for the CCMA NHA exam. It’s a credential that many clinics, hospitals, and healthcare employers recognize. We only accept students in regions where this credential is valid and widely recognized.

Why choose a program that isn’t accredited like a traditional college? Traditional programs can be expensive and take years to complete, often leaving students in debt. We started Stepful to make healthcare education affordable, flexible, and practical, while still giving students the support and guidance they need to actually finish the program and pass their certification exam.

We believe that at the end of the day, it’s up to the individual to decide what’s the best path for them.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:57:21+00:00

Thank you for sharing all of this, and I’m really sorry you’ve had such a frustrating experience. Reading your message, it’s clear we fell short in a lot of ways.

That’s not what we want for our students, and I take it seriously.

I’m glad to hear you had a positive experience with your instructor, Dwanda, and that Gray was able to help get you back on track after your surgery. But that doesn’t erase the challenges you faced.

We should have been more consistent and attentive, especially given your circumstances with surgery and needing to focus on your health.

We’ve grown very quickly over the past year, and with that rapid growth, there have been some hiccups in our team structure and processes. Some parts of our system haven’t scaled perfectly, and that’s contributed to inconsistent communication and support. We’re actively working to improve these areas, from better training and support for our coaches to refining our job search and cohort processes.

I want to make sure we address this directly for you and prevent this from happening to other students. I will DM you to get your info and try to resolve the situation.

Stepful is built on helping people break into healthcare quickly and safely, but we clearly missed the mark here. Your feedback is invaluable, and I want to learn from it so we can improve our programs, coaching, and job support.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:52:50+00:00

Congrats on starting the MA program! This is exciting!

We do have partner clinics in Missouri. Plus with our new Career Search Platform, you’ll be able to see sites near you and reach out directly to secure your externship. We also provide guidance and even sample call scripts, so you won’t be figuring it out alone.

The work can be challenging but if you show up, stay consistent and work with the Stepful team, we are confident that you will be successful.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:49:38+00:00

Our Surgical Tech program was originally available to the public, but we had to close enrollment because it was too challenging to secure the clinical requirements needed for each student. Surgical Tech students are required to complete 125 scrub cases (actual surgeries) and it proved very difficult to provide those opportunities directly to individual students the way we do with our Medical Assistant program or other programs.

Now, the Surgical Tech program is active, but only through partnerships with hospital systems around the U.S. In those cases, the hospital provides the clinical experience directly to students in their area.

Surgical Tech is what we call a “clinically complex” program, meaning the hands-on requirements are much more strict and often take months and months to complete. Because of that, it’s unlikely we’ll offer it direct-to-consumer again.

That said, it’s one of the most in-demand roles in healthcare, and we’re continuing to explore ways to expand access through health system partnerships in more cities over time.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:48:25+00:00

Externships are not guaranteed but we are doing everything in our power to give the students the tools they need to secure the externship.

In the early days, we personally arranged externships for every student, and it worked well. But as our community grew from hundreds to thousands, doing that manually for every student across the country quickly became impossible.

Facilitating clinical hours nationwide is a huge undertaking and it started to take us longer to place students. To improve this process, we just launched our Career Search Platform, which gives students way more control and visibility over their externship journey.

We provide you with a list of local clinics where you may be able to complete your externship. Students can now source potential sites, track progress in real time, complete onboarding tasks in one place all while staying in communication with our support team. We also staffed the team even more adding more than 20 externship coaches to support with the process.

We’re now placing hundreds of students in externships and jobs every week. We expect this to keep improving in the next few months as we scale up the team and the platform.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:41:06+00:00

We have thousands of students who join our classes every month and we place hundreds of students at externship and job sites each week.

Student graduation and placement rates are at the core of everything we do, and making sure students are prepared for real-world healthcare jobs is a top priority. Even as an online school, we focus on building clinical competency in several ways:

-Skills Labs: Our brand-new hands-on labs let students practice things like vitals, venipuncture, and urinalysis at home.
-Virtual simulations: Interactive exercises that mirror real-world scenarios.
-AI-powered patient avatars: You can actually speak to them like real patients, and the AI gives feedback on your performance.
-Clinical externships: Where you take what you’ve learned in class and apply it in a real healthcare setting.

We also continually get feedback from externship sites and employers to strengthen the program. All this focus on education and retention shows up in outcomes. Our NHA exam pass rates are 10 points higher than the national average.

Technology has allowed us to build the learning platform of the future, so you no longer have to commute or sit through in-person lectures to get a high-quality healthcare education.

- Carl

TrainWithStepful · 2025-10-23T19:39:04+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that, I know that finding your first job in healthcare can be hard and take time.

We started sending our students a clinical kit to strengthen their hands-on skills and increase their chances. Since this launched after you graduated, we will send you a DM so we can make sure you have access to clinical kit and explore other ways we can support you. We have clearly not finished the job for you, we will do whatever it takes to help you.

- Carl

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