i have read many of your comments about tech/trade schools vs community colleges. the tech school i am planning on attending in co takes 15 months where as the community college close to me takes approx. 1 year. i know you were all saying be weary for the ones that offer 9 months, ect. since mine takes longer & i have seen the accreditations and everything, should i be confident in my decision? i have heard great things about my school and talked to many people who have attended. i just want to know your opinions.

I am on winter break from my program 2 year CC MA program, we graduate in the spring.

I just can not imagine what taking in this much information in a shorter time span would do for/to you. Most of these terms, I have been exhausted. At least once a term one of my carpool team has burst into tears over a class. Maybe we are not your average students, but as my MOP instructor said, "do you want the student with a c in medical math giving you that shot?" Then there are the clinical portions of the class, how can you possibly have the time to practice what is needed. We had one classmate who had the hardest time with BP measurements; she needed to practice every class period to pass.

I can think back to before I was in this program. At my doctors office there was one MA who I thought was fine. It turns out, that MA is the designated scapegoat for the office. They came from one of the shorter programs and didn't know how to properly check BP. Another thing, patients are not supposed to know this kind of information about staff. I will not say how I found this out, it was very unprofessional. You may become very critical of technique of people in offices you visit. When I now visit the doctor I wonder just how high they are going to run the BP cuff up, are they waiting for my eyes to pop?, do they feel they have no time to palpate the BP?, is it really necessary to cut off the feeling to your fingers?

Are the former students you talked to folks you found or folks the school introduced you to? What is the schools’ pass rate and average student grade on the national exam? Are you responsible to search for an extern site or do they place you in the externship? What certifications will you have, coding, phlebotomy, CMA/RMA testing preparation. When you graduate, on your resume will you be able to say: I have done xxx of successful injections on fellow students, I have drawn blood on my classmates xxx number of times successfully, or any other practical experience indicator. BTW I’m not hammering on any program, these are questions anyone needs to ask entering a program.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: SMA

Are You Still In School? yes

Are You Working? no

thanks for your reply. i actually met the alumni & current students from the school on my own. i am currently working as a phlebotomist and medical tech at a plasma donation center so i have previous experience taking vitals and performing phlebotomy. also they place us in externships and we have a pretty rigorous class schedule actually. we learn billing & coding, phlebotomy, front & back office duties...everything. so i'm feeling great about this school. i know it's going to be hard fitting everything in but i'm confident. thanks so much for your response. :)

As long as the school is credited it should be fine. IF you are worried you could check with the certifying board to see if this school checks out. I got my MA training at a JC and it was only one year and I learned every thing I needed to know and passed my boards. You can not learn everything in school, even if you went 3 years, so much comes from working on the job, plus the MA scope of practice is so small it does not take that long to learn it all, it take practice to perfect it though, which comes from working on the job.

My school was accredited and it STILL stank. It lasted from April to December and in the first semester was a lot of crapola "getting along with your peers" high school stuff,which was a big waste of time. In the second semester we spent all day in a classroom,no lab time at all then,which was dumb. And phlebotomy was not taught;drawing blood at random was. Since you already have training in that you may see how dreadful the training to do something as vital as taking blood can be in some MA schools.

And you can't really believe what some schools will tell you when it comes to success rates,or something like job placement. My school will tell you they have a very high placement percentage when in reality they are counting all those they found jobs for AND those that found jobs on their own. Talk to the graduates about finding work,not the school officials.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: RMA

i'm not so worried anymore. i have spent the past couple of days doing extensive research on my school & have heard nothing but good things. & i have seen the credentials and accreditations of the school and everything. i went to ripoffreport.com & didn't find anything & i googled it. ha ha. what schools did you guys go to?

My opinion on choosing a school is choosing the most cost contained program that will allow you to take a certification exam. I wish I didn't spend all that extra money on the A.O.S. program. If you want an associate's degree in the medical field, go for RN. At least you will make enough money to pay your student loans.
Another option is to take as many credits as possible at a community college and transfer them into a tech school's MA program. Community college courses are transferrable to any school. Tech schools don't transfer credits anywhere! This way, if you choose to go on towards a nursing degree, you'll have credits you can use and won't have do-over courses. Best of luck!

Your Professional Title/Credentials: RMA

Are You Still In School? No

Are You Working? No