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Stepful’s Medical Assistant program is designed for those looking to take the next step in their careers by becoming a certified medical assistant in Hawaii.
Our online program prepares you to earn your Certified Clinical Medical Assistant certification from the National Healthcareer Association and perform all the duties of medical assistants, including both those in the front office as well as working with patients.
Our Hawaii Medical Assistant classes take 4 months to complete and cover all essential topics such as medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, healthcare systems, phlebotomy, EKG, patient care coordination, and much more.
The Stepful staff is here to support you at every stage of the journey. From career preparedness to help finding an in-person externship*, we're here to help you launch your career in healthcare.
*Please note, students must be available M-F, 9-5 p.m. to be eligible for externship support.
Medical assistants are not required to have a license in the state of Hawaii. However, most employers want their medical assistants to be trained and certified.
To enroll in a training program that leads to certification, like the Hawaii Medical Assistant Training Program offered by Stepful, you need a high school diploma or a GED.
Training programs, like ours here at Stepful, that prepare you for a national certification exam can be completed online in a few months. You’ll learn what will be expected of you on the job, the medical terminology you’ll hear every day, how to care for patients, and so much more.
An externship is a placement in a medical setting where you will get to apply what you’ve learned under professional supervision. This kind of on-the-job training is invaluable for you and future employers.
Here at Stepful, we help students who are in good academic and financial standing find an externship with one of our partner clinics. This includes 80 to 160 clinical hours that help you get hands-on experience before you start working full-time.
Local health systems like Hawai’i Pacific Health can provide externships to help train medical assistants so they can provide excellent care to patients when they are hired.
Getting certified shows employers that you are competent and prepared. It can lead you to better jobs and a higher salary. Since Hawaii does not require a specific certification, you can choose which certifying organization to test with.
Most training programs prepare their students to test for the credentials of Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA), or Registered Medical Assistant (RMA).
Our Medical Assistant program prepares students to test for their CCMA certification, which is offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA). This certification focuses more on the clinical aspects of medical assisting rather than administrative work.
Here at Stepful, we support you from your first class all the way to your first job as a medical assistant. Students have access to resume services, mock interviews, and coaching to help them find a job in their area.
Medical assistants are in demand, as you can see on job search sites like Indeed and ZipRecruiter, which list many job openings for medical assistants in Hawaii.
Likewise, healthcare systems like Hawai’i Pacific Health and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation have postings for medical assistants in the various hospitals and practices they run.
There are no education requirements for medical assistants in Hawaii besides having a high school diploma or GED. However, having a certification—such as the CCMA, which is the one you’ll test for after completing our Hawaii Medical Assistant Training Program—may help you get a job and earn a higher salary. The most common certifications for medical assistants include Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) from the NHA, Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) from the AAMA, and Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) from the AMT.
Many healthcare careers in Hawaii must be licensed, such as registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and radiological technologists, but medical assistants do not have to be licensed.
Scope of practice means the range of activities a healthcare professional is allowed to perform based on the laws and regulations of their state. These rules ensure that healthcare professionals only perform tasks appropriate to their training and skill set.
In most states, medical assistants’ scope of practice includes things like taking vital signs and other basic clinical and administrative tasks. However, the laws in each state vary slightly.
Below, you can see the scope of practice for medical assistants in Hawaii.
The following tasks all fall within a medical assisting scope of practice in Hawaii:
The role of a medical assistant also includes administrative tasks, such as scheduling appointments, managing patient records, performing medical billing and coding, and more.
Medical assistants are unlicensed individuals who work under the supervision of a physician or other licensed healthcare provider. In Hawaii, medical assistants are not allowed to perform any task that requires professional clinical judgment, evaluation, diagnosis, or interpretation.
Here are some specific tasks that medical assistants are not allowed to do:
One of the best things about starting a career as a medical assistant in Hawaii is the positive job outlook. As of May 2023, Hawaii has 3,870 medical assistant jobs, or 6.28 per 1,000 residents. Demand for medical assistants is growing as the population ages.
Medical assistants in Hawaii earn a decent salary, with a median salary of $46,930 or $22.56 per hour.
Medical assistant jobs are expected to increase by 15% over the next decade. This is more than three times higher than the average growth expected for all jobs nationwide (4%) and better than the projected job growth for all healthcare jobs (12%).
This high demand for medical assistants means that certified medical assistants should be able to find a job easily and may be able to negotiate for higher starting wages.
The Hawaii State Society of Medical Assistants (HSSMA): This organization is dedicated to advancing the professional development and certification of medical assistants across Hawaii. They provide education, resources, and support to help medical assistants excel in their careers and deliver exceptional patient care. The HSSMA is an affiliate of The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).
National organizations that support medical assistants in their careers include:
