Earn While You Learn: Work in a Healthcare Setting While You Complete Your Medical Assistant Education
If you’d like to pursue a rewarding career as a medical assistant but aren’t sure if you can juggle working, going to school, and paying for your education, you now have an option designed to help you: Earn While You Learn.
Earn While You Learn is a new program that enables you to earn income and gain experience working in a healthcare setting while you’re a medical assistant student at Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU). The program includes:
- A 10% tuition discount.
- A work schedule that won’t conflict with your classes.
- A potential pathway to employment as a medical assistant once you complete your education.
NWHSU has partnered with a number of area healthcare organizations to make the Earn While You Learn option possible, including:
- Children’s Minnesota
- Revo Health
- Hennepin Healthcare
- Lakeview Clinics
- Minnesota Community Care
Let’s take a closer look at how Earn While You Learn works.
Your medical assistant education: Why choose NWHSU’s Earn While You Learn option
As part of NWHSU’s Medical Assistant Programs, Earn While You Learn is tailored to help students in a number of significant ways:
Work at a participating healthcare organization while you’re a student. We’ll connect you with participating clinics offering employment opportunities specifically to NWHSU medical assistant students. You’ll be able to make money and get valuable experience working in a healthcare setting.
Have a work schedule that will not conflict with your class schedule. The partnering healthcare organizations will not schedule students to work on the days they have on-campus classes at NWHSU. (Note: NWHSU’s Medical Assistant Programs typically require you to be on campus just once a week.)
Receive a 10% discount on tuition. In addition to this tuition discount, you may be eligible for additional benefits, such as health insurance coverage and/or tuition reimbursement. Note that this will depend on the participating organization for which you work.
Complete your internship at the clinic where you work. The internship comes after your regular coursework and is the final phase of your medical assistant education. It involves carrying out medical assistant responsibilities in an actual clinical setting. Through the Earn While You Learn option, you can complete your internship at the clinic where you already work.
Create a pathway to employment as a medical assistant. Once you finish your education, there is a strong likelihood that you can begin your new career as a medical assistant at the participating clinic where you both worked and completed your internship. (Please note that NWHSU does not guarantee employment as a medical assistant, nor does it play a role in the hiring process.)
Why choose the medical assistant profession?
The demand for medical assistants is intense. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a job growth rate that’s twice as fast as the average for all occupations—likely just one among many reasons why U.S. News and World Report puts this profession on three of its “Best Jobs” lists.
The following describes just some of the many career advantages to being a medical assistant:
Become a healthcare professional within a short time. If you’re concerned about the time and expense it can take to join the field of healthcare, the medical assistant profession could be a great option. For example, it’s possible for you to obtain a medical assistant diploma—and start working as a medical assistant—in about a year.
(For related information, see How to Become a Medical Assistant.)
Experience the rewards of helping people. Medical assistants help people with their most important asset—their health. A visit to a clinic can be stressful or uncomfortable for patients. As a medical assistant, you can help them not only through your healthcare expertise but also through your ability to make them feel more at ease.
(For related information, see What Does a Medical Assistant Do?)
Have a career path with plenty of options. Once you are employed as a medical assistant, you may eventually want to try working in another type of healthcare setting. That likely won’t be a problem. Medical assistants are needed in many areas of healthcare—from pediatrics to dermatology to surgery—so you won’t have to worry about feeling stuck.
(For related information, see A Day in the Life of a Medical Assistant.)
Enjoy a great work schedule. Medical assistants typically work at clinics that operate during regular daytime hours. That means you have weekends, evenings, and holidays off. There are also opportunities to work evenings and weekends at, for example, urgent care facilities. In addition, it’s generally not difficult to find part-time medical assistant positions.
Your next move: Seize the moment
Reduced tuition, a school-friendly work schedule, a smoother path to employment as a medical assistant—those are just some of the benefits of NWHSU’s Earn While You Learn option.
If you’d like to take advantage of this great opportunity AND take control of your future, contact NWHSU today to learn more!
