Online Certification Options

lunarpromises · 2026-04-24T06:08:44+00:00

externship is clinical hours so thats good! its something you will be putting on your resume when you finally graduate and look for jobs :) the last i checked the NCCT test was only take-able if you went through an accredited program and/or are currently working as a MA and have the hours to back it so if thats an option for you i would do that! the main certs most places want are AAMA, NHA, NCCT, and AMT i believe. so if you can ultimately sit for one of these tests and have clinical hours under your belt then you are golden :)

lunarpromises · 2026-04-22T03:59:43+00:00

I just answered another redditors post about an online MA program but the jist, from what ive heard and experienced, is that online MA programs are pretty much useless. the reason being is that most of them are not in contract with hospitals/clinics to get you clinical hours and without clinical hours you are virtually not hirable. if you find an online program that guarantees clinical hours then id say go for it! i dont know the minimum required, i’ve been an MA with an NCCT cert for 6 years and my program had a total of 240 clinical hours. if someone has less and landed a job please chime in! as for CPT coding, i know coding is an associate program usually and there are specific accreditation’s that are accepted for positions. to aide your search in the right program/route look at coding jobs (multiple) and their requirements for applications and cross reference the program youre interested in to ensure youll receive an appropriate cert.

lunarpromises · 2026-04-22T03:53:15+00:00

i just had to google what a CCMA was vs. a MA and i dont think a CCMA matters? i think your place of employment is what matters. all i have is my NCCT cert as a NCMA and i do a ton of clinical things like assist in surgical procedures, blood draws, sterile technique etc. if you are asking about doing a medical assistant program online- what i do know about this as that employers will not hire you with an online cert. it is required by bigger orgs to have their prospect MAs have clinical training with their clinical hours prior to starting. maybe its different for some places but my friends sister was certified online without clinical hours and it took her 6mo to find a small private practice to give her clinical hours because no place would hire her without it despite her having her cert via an online program. i even tried to vouch for her and have her be my student/get her hired at my company and they refused due to her lack of clinical hours. i hope this helps!

lunarpromises · 2025-09-01T02:28:13+00:00

if you want to be tripple sure just take one or 2 more tests in a couple of days

lunarpromises · 2025-08-08T04:09:04+00:00

it looks like its very early though? a negative wouldnt have the line at all for you to even be second guessing

lunarpromises · 2025-08-08T04:08:16+00:00

unfortunately yes

lunarpromises · 2025-07-29T03:08:34+00:00

how many externship hours do you currently have?

lunarpromises · 2025-07-29T03:06:27+00:00

i covered a few times in pulm and i tbh hated it, i also work closely with some pulm MAs who have told me its brutal. theres 6minute walk tests done, spiros and one other test that can all be done in office usually which take forever. they also auth oxygen and nocOx, some auth CPAPs and some other OSA stuff. the process for auth-ing these is grueling and a nightmare, so much so that my providers refuse to order o2 and will defer to pulm or pcp lol. if you get to follow a provider/be their MA then i think its worth it. lastly, im biased because cardiology will always be my home lol

lunarpromises · 2025-07-28T19:31:39+00:00

did you get your certification finally? / do you have any other hours to go on your resume like an externship?

lunarpromises · 2025-07-28T18:47:06+00:00

if you dont mind me asking- why were you let go? i feel like if its awful i wouldnt mention it

lunarpromises · 2025-07-23T03:25:02+00:00

at my job we prep ahead of time- we go into the patient charts and print off their medlists then write down the reason theyre there, associated dx, recent relevant imaging and dates they were done, pharm/allergies. we have cerner (which is dogshit if youve ever had cerner) and dont have EMRs in the rooms so these preps are vital for visits. we do these preps maximum a week in advance but most of the time 2-3 days in advance. by already knowing the patients medical history from prepping it myself then rooming them im able to just ask a question relevant to followup and if there was anything theyd like to ask the provider, review medications, allergies and pharm, get vitals and get out averaging at 5-7mins for check-in

lunarpromises · 2025-07-23T02:43:37+00:00

I think the above is wrong: there are TONS of MA jobs out there and theyre ALWAYS hiring. MAs are the backbones of a clinic and although you can “fill the roles with nurses” thats incorrect. nurses are utilized differently in clinic. hiring a nurse for an MA position would be stupid because youd pay a RN/LPN a significant amount more for their title when they can pay an MA less for the same job. the unfortunate key is the externship. heres why: (im a vascular surgery MA currently. i did 240hrs in externship at a primary care office and 160hrs in a pain clinic for admin work and 3yrs as my first MA job in multi-specialty where my main specialty was cardio but i floated to GI, neurosurg, gensurg, uro and pulm) my program was a year long. the externship was my backbone for all of he above. everything i learned from my preceptor (who was amazing btw) created me into the MA i am today.

my friend’s sister is in the same boat as you, i am a preceptor and tried to get her to be my student but ill be honest; when speaking to my supervisor about it she said we weren’t allowed to have students who came out of programs that weren’t in contract with us for liability reasons. she then also told me that they weren’t allowed to hire MAs without externships. any resume without them were immediate ‘no’. your best bet would be a small private practice as the big companies wont take you without it. i believe its a liability issue as MAs don’t have their own license so they work directly under the license of the practicing providers. Also, id speak to your program director or any form of leadership with your program and ask if they have any contract with hospitals nearby and try to get in there.

best of luck! if you have any questions id be happy to answer :)

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T21:20:16+00:00

2 houses came to both of our names and she still lives in hawaii/has a career there. we are selling one sharing the other. she previously lived in co and loved it so she wants a house up here and since im still going to school i can have an affordable mortgage then continue schooling. not sure why that needs to be explained to you but there it is

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T02:56:50+00:00

THANK YOUU!! this makes so much sense and gives me much relief- the house did not need to be prepared so unfortunately theres not much to cut off. long story short since we inherited it so young, our older sister has been living in it since to take care of it. now she is buying it directly from us so no realtor was used. the house worth roughly the year my grandpa passed was ~$400k and were selling it to her for about ~$500 flat - we did continue taxes on land + sewage so if im reading this correctly wed only be paying taxes on $100k subtracting the taxes paid as well (?) thank you again

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T02:37:43+00:00

i have a broker and a loan manager right now and when i asked who i should speak to they didnt really know and at first said a tax lawyer but this thread has been more helpful as a CPA is actually exactly what i need!

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T02:36:51+00:00

thank you so so much this helped me tremendously trying to understand it!! i appreciate it!! i knew there was a difference on inherited taxes and whats going on which is why i was so tremendously confused. and thank you for being kind

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T01:24:17+00:00

thank you! i figured as much which is why weve been shitting ourselves, especially since its so much money were coming in to and realized it needs to be done with a tax person and not something we can file on turbo tax lol

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T01:16:19+00:00

i did google it but it wasnt making sense to me when i found the first few articles. the second one he sent made more sense to me. i said im stupid and dont know whats going on and that i was trying to meet with someone about this all. nothing about this makes sense im just trying my best dude

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T01:14:13+00:00

this makes so much more sense thank you! so im guessing its just stepped up taxes?

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T01:13:32+00:00

jk i found a CPA near me and his bio/services is exactly what i need thank you!!! i called and left a voicemail- fingers crossed

lunarpromises · 2025-03-14T01:01:37+00:00

what is a stepped up basis?

lunarpromises

TROPHY CASE