Medical Assisting Certificate(Plan 21MA)

The goal of the Medical Assisting Program is to prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.

The program trains students to work as Medical Assistants in a variety of settings. Medical Assistants provide routine administrative and clinical support to healthcare professionals in various outpatient medical settings. The tasks vary by office and specialty area.

Administrative duties include tasks such as scheduling and receiving patients, preparing and maintaining patient medical records, handling telephone calls and written correspondence, submitting insurance claims, and maintaining practice finances. Clinical duties may include asepsis and infection control, taking patient histories and vital signs, performing first aid and CPR, preparing patients for procedures, performing electrocardiograms (ECGs), assisting the physician with examinations and treatments, performing suture removal, collecting and processing specimens, performing selected lab and diagnostic tests, administering medications (injections), and drawing blood (venipuncture). Students interested in Medical Assisting should have a sincere desire to work with patients directly in an outpatient setting, and a sincere interest in wanting to help people maintain and improve their health.