You’ve seen the weekly blitz of healthcare employment ads in Sunday’s newspaper most accompanied by generous signing bonuses and benefit packages. Several mid-Michigan educational institutions have also noticed, and have been quick to ramp up, additional healthcare training programs to meet the increased need for trained medical professionals.

Ross Medical Education Center, Lansing Community College and American Medical Careers offer a variety of medical field training options, from nursing and medical assistant programs to insurance billing. Whatever your healthcare career choice, you can find the training you need right here in mid-Michigan.

Ross Medical Education Center

After moving to a larger facility near the corner of Waverly Road and West Saginaw Highway in Lansing last fall, Ross Medical Education Center is poised to expand enrollment and educational opportunities. The 7,000-square-foot school offers quality allied healthcare training, including medical assistant and medical billing and office administration.

“Medical field hiring locally is still on the rise with additional physicians’ offices and medical facilities being built all across mid-Michigan. With our new location we anticipate as many as 170 students enrolled this spring,” said Kelly Byrnes, regional manager and Lansing campus director for Ross Medical Education Center.

Ross Medical Education Center, which has 11 Michigan campuses and one in Georgia, first opened its doors in Lansing in the early 1980s. It specifically designs courses to prepare students in both the clinical and administrative sides of the healthcare industry.

“We are unique in that our medical assistant courses prepare students for literally two different careers which improves their employment options,” Byrnes said.

The medical assistant course is a seven-and-a-half month training program that includes instruction in exam room procedures, phlebotomy, vital signs, receptionist duties and financial record keeping, among other areas.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical assistants are expected to be among the country’s fastest growing occupations through 2012.

While staffing personnel that know how to draw blood or take vitals are crucial to any successful physician’s office, equally important is the business side of medical insurance billing and office administration, Byrnes added.

Ross’ medical insurance billing and office administration program is 30 weeks long and prepares graduates to work in a variety of healthcare office settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, home healthcare agencies and physicians’ offices.

“We have built our reputation on small classroom sizes and taking pride in caring about what it means to be a medical care professional,” Byrnes explained.

Ross Medical Education Center is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools. Graduates of Ross Medical Education Center are eligible to become a registered medical assistant (RMA).

Lansing Community College

Nursing is the cornerstone of Lansing Community College’s health education program. While all health education areas have grown, the Career Ladder Nursing Program enrollment has increased the most, said Roberta Peterson, interim vice president for academic affairs at LCC.

“We admit up to 240 students into the program each year, but we’ll have over 1,000 apply for those spots, so the competition is fierce to enter the program,” Peterson said.

The Career Ladder Nursing Program is comprised of the practical nursing (PN) and associate degree nursing (ADN) curriculum. Both programs are approved by the Michigan Board of Nursing and include part-time and accelerated program options.

Graduates of the practical nursing program are eligible to take the National Council Licensing Exam to become a licensed practical nurse. Graduates of the ADN program are eligible to sit for the National Council Licensing Examination—Registered Nurse, and earn an associates degree in applied science from LCC.

LCC also offers programs that can quickly move students into a job in healthcare. The Rapid Entry Support Program includes nursing aide, medical insurance billing, phlebotomy technician, pharmacy technician and health unit clerk coordinator. “These short courses typically run a semester or two,” Peterson said.

All nursing program classes take place at the school’s new Health and Human Services Building in Downtown Lansing.

Peterson said school leaders evaluate programs by the percentage of students that pass national exams and feedback from employers who hire LCC graduates.

“We have a very good relationship with all of the local healthcare facilities. It is crucial that we work closely with local hospitals and long-term care facilities,” Peterson said.

LCC’s health and human service careers department offers programs in child development, dental hygiene, therapeutic massage, radiologic technology, sonography and surgical technology.

Basic emergency medical technician and paramedic programs are coordinated through the school’s public service careers department with classes at LCC’s West Campus.

“[LCC] has a wide range of academic options from one-year certificate programs to two-year associate’s degrees that can be transferred to a bachelor’s degree program,” Peterson added. “We have a tremendously dedicated faculty and staff. That is why we are so successful; we are dedicated to student success.”

American Medical Careers

American Medical Careers is the newest addition to mid-Michigan’s list of healthcare education centers. AMC is a training center for entry-level medical professionals. The company was established in 2002 in Flint and opened a Lansing campus in 2004 before moving to a new location on West Holmes Road adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard last fall.

“Our goal is to provide the training to move our students into a meaningful medical field career. We offer short-term accelerated training programs to do that,” said Kathy Redman, Lansing manager for AMC. “This new location gives us additional classroom space to better serve our students.”

Among the most popular patient care specialist programs at AMC are certified nurses aide (CNA), patient care technicians, EKG technicians, pharmacy technicians and home health aides, Redman said.

The CNA program is a “very accelerated program, covering two weeks, with many of our students hired at senior care facilities,” Redman added.

The patient care technician program is six weeks long and can lead to jobs in nursing facilities and hospitals doing point-of-care testing, including blood draws and catheterizations. Students receive classroom instruction, lab skills training and on-the-job externships, which helps them enter the workforce quickly.

In 2006, AMC received approval from the Michigan State Board of Nursing to offer an innovative one-year licensed practical nurse (LPN) certificate program at its Flint campus in clinical partnership with Genesys Regional Medical Center. Redman said she hopes a similar arrangement can be made in Lansing.

The school also partners with workforce development agencies, including Capital Area Michigan Works!; and Michigan Rehabilitation Services, a service of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth which assists individuals with disabilities find employment, in an effort to move underemployed and unemployed individuals into medical field jobs.

“This is an opportunity for us to help people who may otherwise not be able to afford an education,” Redman added.