Should I skip my spring semester of college to purse Medical Assistant certificate?

[pshere]

Im a first-year Pre-Med student, I am thinking of possibly not take classes spring semester so, that I can go and get my Medical Assistant certificate so that I can easily get clinical exposure and build up my resume. I would not be able to go to school, work, and do these classes since it would not fit in so that's why I'm thinking of taking a semester off. Any ideas, or is this a bad idea?

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[viralhiker]

Im a first-year Pre-Med student, I am thinking of possibly not take classes spring semester so, that I can go and get my Medical Assistant certificate so that I can easily get clinical exposure and build up my resume. I would not be able to go to school, work, and do these classes since it would not fit in so that's why I'm thinking of taking a semester off. Any ideas, or is this a bad idea?

At my school, spring semester was May-June. Or are you asking considering taking classes off for the Jan-April semester?

 

[pshere]

At my school, spring semester was May-June. Or are you asking considering taking classes off for the Jan-April semester?

Its late Jan- early May I think, they cancelled our spring break so that's why its longer.

 

[viralhiker]

Its late Jan- early May I think, they cancelled our spring break so that's why its longer.

I think that it would be a poor decision to take a whole semester off just for a medical assistant certificate. Especially so early in your college career. You should be focusing on doing well academically and pursuing extracurricular/social experiences. Get your certificate in the summer or later on sometime.

FWIW, I got my EMT license by taking night classes while being a full-time student. If gaining clinical experience rapidly is your number one concern, there are more efficient ways to do so besides putting your academic career on hold. Focus on school first.

 

[pshere]

Yeah, I wanted to do night classes too but I have a job in the evening after my classes finish in the morning that's why it's so hard for me to fit in time for this. I found some good programs for 4-6 months, and I feel like if I take the spring off I can get it easily since I have summer also. I was also thinking about taking 2-3 winter classes now such as Calc and my Psychology Core class since it is online. But then again I'm worried about taking prerequisites during winter/summer since I heard med school frown upon that.

 

[harmony14]

Yeah, I wanted to do night classes too but I have a job in the evening after my classes finish in the morning that's why it's so hard for me to fit in time for this. I found some good programs for 4-6 months, and I feel like if I take the spring off I can get it easily since I have summer also. I was also thinking about taking 2-3 winter classes now such as Calc and my Psychology Core class since it is online. But then again I'm worried about taking prerequisites during winter/summer since I heard med school frown upon that.

You seem like a smart kid. If you took AP classes and you believe you're on track to graduate at least a semester early then you should get the MA certificate. One caveat tho, a medical assistant should pay at least 3$ more than your current job.