How MedCerts Helps Employers Address The Medical Assistant Shortage

Published on

September 24, 2025

For healthcare employers struggling to find medical assistants (MAs), recent data spells out the extent of the problem.

According to a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey, 47% of medical practice leaders say medical assistant is the most difficult role to recruit in 2025. Meanwhile, a study published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found the annual turnover rate for MAs is 59%, with the estimated turnover cost per MA being $14,200.

Healthcare facilities need a more sustainable strategy for hiring and retaining MAs, and the MedCerts Medical Assistant program has a proven track record of addressing that problem. Through either upskilling or apprenticeship partnerships, the MedCerts Medical Assistant program uses asynchronous online learning to successfully expand the pool of qualified candidates.

The program costs $4,000 per learner and, through a combination of video instruction and interactive, engaging online content, teaches students the administrative and medical responsibilities necessary to be job-ready. Students who successfully complete the program will earn a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) certification and a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification, both from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Here are partners who have already benefited from the MedCerts Medical Assistant program.

Training Medical Assistants Faster

UnityPoint Health (UPH) is a hospital network of 36 hospitals and over 400 clinics and home care services across the Midwest. They needed a significant influx of qualified medical assistants and partnered with MedCerts to create the UnityPoint Health Medical Assistant Career Pathways Program, an educational opportunity for existing employers to transition into a clinical role.

Through August 2025, 6 cohorts – or over 150 students total – have both started and finished the Medical Assistant Career Pathways Program. All were promoted to Medical Assistants at UPH. A year after the program began, only one participant no longer works at UPH, meaning a 97% employee retention rate.

“We’ve tried other Medical Assistant programs, but they typically took around two years as students balanced work and their studies. With the new program and MedCerts, employees can advance to Medical Assistant positions in just 14-16 weeks.”

Taurie Curry, Navigator, Career Pathways Unity Point Health

Solving The Scale Problem

In May 2021, a Midwestern hospital network with 40 locations and 1,900 employees faced a dramatic staffing issue, with 36 unfilled medical assistant positions. Despite the immediate need, they only had the capacity to offer 10 or 12 externships, without outside help. So they partnered with MedCerts, offering employees an upskilling opportunity to become MAs in exchange for learners agreeing to stay at the hospital for at least two years post-training.

The initiative was an unequivocal success. Interest in the upskilling program far exceeded expectations, with 35 to 40 applications in the initial June 2021 cohort. After the initial launch, a new cohort of seven to eight students started every two months. By 2022, there was a waiting list of 246 upskilling candidates. The program had an 81% completion rate, with students promoted to MAs at the hospital once they passed their certification test.

“The MedCerts partnership has increased our student flow, allowed us to promote internally and increased our knowledge pool of clinical applicants. The program has been a great eye-opener for us as an organization that this is what we have to do to be sustainable.”

Senior Recruiter, Hospital System

Want more information about how MedCerts Partner Solutions can address your medical assistant shortage? Contact us at [email protected] to learn more!