Medical Assisting

Graduates will be able to perform a wide range of medical assisting duties in physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and emergency medical centers after completing this academic certificate. You’ll gain clinical experiences through externships in a variety of outpatient settings.

Medical assistants perform a wide range of duties in physicians’ offices, clinics, and emergency medical centers. Clerical duties include screening and receiving patients, maintaining medical records, typing and transcribing medical reports, handling telephone calls and correspondence, entering data, filing insurance claims, and maintaining patient accounts. Clinical duties include preparing patients for examinations, obtaining vital signs, taking medical histories, assisting with examinations and treatments, performing routine office laboratory procedures (urinalysis, phlebotomy, CBC, specimen collection and shipment), performing electrocardiograms, and instructing patients for advanced procedures. Required clinical experience (externship) is provided in a variety of outpatient settings including physician offices, clinics, and emergency medical centers during the third semester of the program.

Third-semester students should plan to take a medical assisting certification examination. Upon successful completion of the examination, graduates will receive the Certified Medical Assistant, CMA (AAMA) or the Registered Medical Assistant, RMA (AMT) credentials.

Learning experiences for students in the Medical Assisting Certificate Program are provided in classrooms and laboratories on the Airport Campus in Lexington Hall. Student preclinical experience is provided in a simulated medical office adjacent to the classroom. Required clinical experiences externships are arranged through affiliations with local medical offices and other healthcare facilities.

Goals:

1. To prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.
2. To provide students with a career that is easily articulated with other established health care careers, i.e., phlebotomy, nursing, paramedic, radiology, etc.
3. To prepare graduates to pass the national exam for Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) or Registered Medical Assistants (AMT) demonstrating entry-level knowledge of medical assisting.

The Medical Assisting Program at Midlands Technical College has a Job Placement Rate average of 91.67% for the 2021 admission cohort and Retention Rate of 80.95 % for the 2021 graduates. The 5-year average for Exam Passage for the years 2018-2022 is 92.19%.

Students who are admitted to the Medical Assisting program are required to purchase and maintain standard white laboratory coats at an approximate cost of $25. Students must maintain at least a “C” in all Medical Assisting courses. Students may repeat no more than two program courses. All classes are at Airport Campus and admitted only during the fall semester.

Accreditation

The Medical Assisting Certificate Program offered at the Airport Campus is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
25400 US Highway 19 North, Suite 158
Clearwater, FL 33763
727.210.2350
caahep.org

Admission Criteria

In addition to the college’s placement test and the admissions requirements of the Health Sciences Department, there are other specific admission criteria to the Medical Assisting program.​​

Education Level

High school diploma or equivalent (High school or college credits in science (recommended).

Acceptable Admissions Criteria

• Current First Aid and CPR certifications at the time of program entry.
• Program interview.
• Acceptable criminal background check and drug screening results at the time of program entry.

Occupational Risks

Medical Assisting is a profession with many rewards, as practitioners can perform both administrative and clinical services, filling several roles in a variety of healthcare environments.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics clearly outlines that it is a growth field, with an anticipated 18% growth from 2020 to 2030. Medical Assistants work directly with providers and patients, with the goal of providing healthcare and ensuring patient safety. It is a position with a great deal of responsibility.

As with any healthcare position, there are certain occupational risks that come into play with being a medical assistant, and those hazards include the following:

• Exposure to infectious diseases
• Sharps injuries
• Bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards
• Chemical and drug exposure
• Ergonomic hazards from lifting, sitting, and repetitive tasks
• Latex allergies
• Stress

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) has protections set up, and these protections are particularly important within a healthcare environment. OSHA has a series of standards that protect the safety of both healthcare workers and patients.

As an accredited medical assisting programs, we are required to teach students about the hazards that they face on the job and the protocols that can be put into place to ensure a workplace that prioritizes safety.