Healthcare services in Florida are in high demand and there is a much shorter supply. Patients want better care, and medical assistants can help them in providing it. There is no doubt that you are about to enter a career, which is already in demand in FL. However, choosing the right medical assistant program, which is accredited and also fits with your schedule, is very crucial.
Enter your zip code here and obtain enrolment information to get details about the best Medical Assistant Programs on offer in Florida.
The length and cost of MA programs in FL can vary a great deal – whether it’s a certificate, diploma, or associate’s degree. Even your choice of school (community college or technical school) can make a difference.
The certificate and diploma programs can be completed within 8 to 18 months and may cost you between $2,000 and $26,000. On the other hand, an associate’s degree is of 2 years and can cost between $8,500 and $40,000.
Choosing a medical assistant school in FL can be difficult, but it is crucial that you choose a program which is known for providing the best education. Though there are no educational requirements as such, better education and certification can help improve your overall employability.
Below is the list of 13 best Medical Assistant schools in Florida that offer affordable, accredited programs that will fit your needs. We’re helping with some of the toughest decisions and research that will guide you to the right program.
Find the one that suits you the best from the following options.
Gulf Coast State College offers a certificate program with clinical externship through its Health Division. The program prepares you for CCMA exam offered via NHA, which can lead you to become a nationally certified medical assistant. GCSC provides its members with a 130 hour clinical externship training with 510 credit hours to complete the program. They also provide course extensions, once the candidate has completed 3 months into the training.
Number of Courses | Certificate |
---|---|
Campus | Panama City, FL |
This one-year certificate program at Pensacola is designed to prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive ability, psychomotor skills, and affective learning realms. This program prepares the individual for employment as a medical assistant and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).
Number of Courses | Certificate |
---|---|
Campus | Pensacola, FL |
The Associate of Science in Medical Assisting is a two-year degree program at Broward College. The technical certificate program is accredited again by both the accreditation bodies mentioned above. For practical knowledge, students are placed in the physicians’ offices throughout Broward County, which offers flexibility. This course has been specially designed to meet the individual requirements of the student, thus allowing for the development of specialized skills and abilities with a chosen interest or specialty area.
Number of Courses | Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Fort Lauderdale, FL |
If you’re thinking of becoming a medical assistant in FL, Southeastern College could be a great choice as it currently provides two different programs to complete your medical assisting education. They ensure personalized attention for every student with their dedicated professors in a friendly and highly professional environment. SEC is known for eliminating language barriers, especially for the Spanish students. Covering the clinical and clerical aspects of the medical assisting field, the students can complete this program within 8 to 14 months.
Number of Courses | Diploma, Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Miami Lake Area, FL / West Palm Beach, FL |
Atlantic Technical College inculcates professionalism and sensitivity towards human values among its students helping them to become compassionate and capable medical assistants. The 12-month medical assistant program will teach students how to perform different administrative clinical procedures, including X-Ray, EKG, phlebotomy, and many more tasks in the offices of physicians, chiropractors, and optometrists. The curriculum is designed as per business standards and covers basic to advanced level MA courses.
Number of Courses | Certificate |
---|---|
Campus | Coconut Creek, FL / Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
The one-year Medical Assistant Specialist certificate program includes different courses enabling students to develop their clinical and managerial skills in laboratory settings. Students receive a College Credit Certificate upon the completion of the program. Students can continue studying the advanced associate’s degree while working in the field, right after completing the certificate program. The program also helps prepare the students for the National Certification Examination.
Number of Courses | Certificate, Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Cocoa, FL / Melbourne, FL / Palm Bay, FL / Titusville, FL |
Florida National University offers associate degree along with medical assistant diploma program. The purpose of these programs is to prepare students towards a dedicated career in providing medical assistance. The program also provides options for initial positions so that the students are able to apply for the American Registry for Medical Assistants (ARMA). Students can gain hands-on experience with the critical procedures and concepts in collecting patient history, professional workplace behavior, and much more provided by FNU.
Number of Courses | Diploma, Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Hialeah, FL / Miami, FL |
Miami Dade College provides a year-long certificate program, which helps students start a career in the fastest-growing medical profession. The medical campus is just like the soul of Miami Health District providing state-of-the-art facilities with different educational options in healthcare. The Medical Assisting Career Technical Certificate program is designed for the students who are seeking for immediate entry into a job right after graduation. In addition, MDC provides its students with practical training each semester through integrated externship program.
Number of Courses | Certificate |
---|---|
Campus | Miami, FL |
ATA Career Education, located in Spring Hill of Florida, is known for providing quality training, instruction, and job placements from the past ten years. Making the students ready for real-world experience with relevant and valuable direction, ATA is dedicated to helping students succeed in different medical settings. They provide a 10-month diploma program followed with a 17-month Associate’s Degree option to choose from. ATA is accredited by Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).
Number of Courses | Certificate, Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Spring Hill, FL |
Established in 1977, Keiser is a private university based in Florida. The university provides its students with a consistent, straight forward approach to focused education. They offer an associate’s degree in medical assisting to prepare the individuals for the Registered Medical Assistant (RNA) examination, along with making them proficient for administrative and clinical jobs. Keiser is focused on enhancing its members’ medical careers by providing them with the competencies to take greater responsibility in the field.
Number of Courses | Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Fort Lauderdale, FL / Fort Myers, FL / Lakeland, FL / Naples, FL / Miami, FL / Clearwater, FL / Daytona Beach, FL / Jacksonville, FL / Melbourne, FL / New Port Richey, FL / Orlando, FL / Pembroke Pines, FL / Port St. Lucie, FL / Sarasota, FL / Tallahassee, FL / Tampa, FL / West Palm Beach, FL |
The diploma programs here will provide the students with thorough knowledge and training required to work in medical assistance with other health practitioners. A 160-hour internship program is included in this course to train students for real-life health care experiences. City College acts as an agent site for the National Center for Competency Tests (NCCT). It that sense, the college offers a medical assisting certificate to students who qualify for the National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) exam.
Number of Courses | Diploma |
---|---|
Campus | Altamonte Springs, FL / Hollywood, FL |
At Concorde, in as few as eight months, the students could gain a medical assistant diploma to kick start their medical career. Concorde’s MA program prepares you for a diploma with proper training and externships that helps with scheduling, making and maintaining health records, controlling infection, and much more. Their program is accredited by CAAHEP. The college has 3 scholarship programs to provide financial aid to the needy ones.
Number of Courses | Diploma, Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Jacksonville, FL / Miramar, FL / Orlando, FL / Tampa, FL |
American College for Medical Careers (ACMC) offers both a diploma and an Associate of Science degree in medical assisting. Medical assistant programs here are provided in day and evening sessions along with classroom instruction, and hands-on training in laboratory settings for comprehensive education. ACMC provides career and placement services to the current graduated students, along with financial aid.
Number of Courses | Certificate, Associate's Degree |
---|---|
Campus | Orlando, FL |
We have created a degree finder for finding the best colleges in Florida that offer medical assisting degrees to help you with the right type of degree that fits your requirements. Use it and take a step towards achieving your desired goal.
It is possible for a medical assistant in FL to receive training on the job. However, an employer prefers to hire an individual who has completed basic formal training in medical assistance after high school, either at a community college or a vocational-technical school. The program may last for a year or two, depending upon the course. During training, the assistants will be trained for on-field settings along with the study of human anatomy, office administration, and basic first aid. At the end of the program, students will earn an associate’s degree.
The state of FL does not have any specific licensing or certification requirements, and medical assistants are encouraged to seek certification. The medical board allows licensed medical service providers to train employees, either through a basic study program or with practical training or even both. It’s the health practitioners’ choice if he wants to hire a medical assistant with certification.
The state of Florida does not have any certification requirements, and anyone can obtain a certificate through one of the following two certifying institutions, accredited by the Florida Board of Medicine:
Medical Assistant salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including certifications, administrative skills, education, experience, and much more. The average medical assisting salary in FL is $33,943 as of February 26, 2020, but the range typically falls between $31,291 and $36,648.
According to indeed.com, the average salary for a medical assistant is $14.44 per hour in Florida, which falls around the national average as of March 25, 2020. On the other hand, as per the BLS, the mean hourly and annual salary of a medical assistant (as of May 2019) was $16.31 and $33,920, respectively.
Percentile | Annual Salary (Florida) | Annual Salary (National) |
---|---|---|
10% | $26,080 | $25,820 |
25% | $28,860 | $29,460 |
50% | $33,340 | $34,800 |
75% | $38,310 | $40,270 |
90% | $42,880 | $48,720 |
Source: BLS (as of May 2019)
The above table shows that the annual salary of MA in Florida was more than the national average wage at 10th percentile and less mostly, at rest of the percentiles.
City | Hourly Salary (indeed.com, as of 25 Mar 2020) | Annual Salary (salary.com, as of 26 Feb 2020) |
---|---|---|
Fort Myers | $16.19 | $33,282 |
Jacksonville | $15.10 | $33,781 |
Saint Petersburg | $14.24 | $34,074 |
Miami | $14.72 | $34,844 |
Orlando | $14.47 | $34,049 |
Tampa | $14.61 | $34,103 |
Lakeland | $13.68 | $33,876 |
Melbourne | $13.71 | $32,560 |
In some of the major cities in Florida, the hourly salary of MAs was between $13.68 and $16.19, while the annual salary was between $34,844 and $32,560.
Metropolitan Area | Hourly Salary | Annual Salary |
---|---|---|
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island | $19.14 | $39,810 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | $17.33 | $36,040 |
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | $15.70 | $32,660 |
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | $16.01 | $33,310 |
Jacksonville | $16.21 | $33,720 |
Ocala | $14.44 | $29,410 |
Source: BLS (as of May 2019)
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island was the highest paying metropolitan area for MAs in FL with $19.14 per hour and $39,810 per annum salary. On the other hand, Ocala was the lowest paying metropolitan area with $14.44 per hour and $29,410 per annum salary.
According to the BLS, Florida had the third-highest employment level, with 57,410 MAs employed in May 2019. The employment per thousand jobs was 6.53.
We have listed some of the highest employing industries of MA in Florida. Take a look –
Employing Industry | Employment |
---|---|
Ambulatory Health Care Services | 47,150 |
Offices of Physicians | 37,720 |
Hospitals | 6,920 |
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 6,690 |
Offices of Other Health Practitioners | 4,240 |
Source: BLS (as of May 2019)
Projected Employment Growth in 10 Years | Annual Projected Jobs | Growth % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Florida | 51,110 (2016) | 71,110 (2026) | 8,480 | 38% |
National | 686,600 (2018) | 841,500 (2028) | 99,700 | 23% |
Source: careeronestop.org
A national growth of 23% from 2018 to 2028 in the US, along with a 38% job growth in the employment of MAs in Florida is anticipated from 2016 to 2026. The medical assistant jobs in Florida will rise 11% faster than the national growth, and 71,110 people will be employed in the profession by 2026, as per careeronestop.org.
Another short term projection done by Projectcentral suggests a growth of 6.4% for new job openings in the year 2019-2021, with 8490 openings annually.
Those who earn certification and have a familiarity with Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are likely to have better job prospects. After completing a diploma program in FL, students can pursue an associate’s degree in medical assisting to increase their chances of promotion and pay increment.
The Florida Society of Medical Assistants is a non-profit professional society affiliated with the American Association of Medical Assistants. The purpose of FSMA is to encourage professional identity and the ability of its members through educational training and credentialing. The FSMA and its associate members are committed to positive alertness of healthcare assisting and recognition of its representatives.
Founded in 1939, American Medical Technologists (AMT) is a nationally and internationally recognized certification bureau and membership society for the allied medical professionals. AMT certification examinations are evaluated, developed, and administered using appropriate industry standards and state of the art methodologies (the psychometrics of certification). Every exam is evaluated by a committee of subject matter professionals. AMT is accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies (NCCA) for all of its aptitude-based examinations.
The Florida Board of Medicine, through an efficient and dedicated system, will educate, discipline, evaluate, license, and rehabilitate health practitioners to assure their ability and competence in the service of the people living in Florida. Florida Board of Medicine believes that the practice of medicine is granted by the state.
The Florida Certification Board (FCB) produces, designs and administers programs for over 30 human and health care professions and certifies several representatives statewide, along with those in child welfare, mental health, addiction, and other health fields, by ensuring them with the right education, training, experience, and testing criteria. They’re only mission is to provide safety, health, and welfare of the citizens of Florida.
Have we overlooked updating your school’s information or omitted any of your programs?
We shall highly appreciate it if you would contact us for any necessary revisions or changes.