Medical Assisting

Introduction to the Medical Assisting Vocational Certificate (VC) Program

This one-year certificate program prepares the student for employment as a Medical Assistant and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) may be contacted by writing or calling: Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education programs, CAAHEP, 25400 U.S. Highway 19 North, Suite 158, Clearwater, FL 33763. Telephone (727) 210-2350, (www.caahep.org)

Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB) may be contacted by writing, calling or visiting the website: Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB), 20 N. Wacker Drive Suite 1575, Chicago IL 60606. Telephone (800)2282262, www.maerb.org

Is This For You?

If you are a person who is cooperative, enjoys working with other people, is organized, and likes to work indoors, this career may suit you. Persons in this career are sometimes described as friendly, kind, sympathetic, and careful.

Beyond Graduation . . .

Employers may have preferences to hire experienced workers or certified applicants who have passed a national examination, indicating that the medical assistant meets certain standards of competence. The 2017 graduates of the Medical Assisting program at Pensacola State College have an 83% pass rate on the Certified Medical Assistant examination which is credentialed through the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). For more information visit https://www.aama-ntl.org/cma-aama-exam/about.
Medical assisting may lead to opportunities such as business office manager, clinical manager, or practice administrator for private physicians’ offices. Graduates from the Medical Assisting program may choose to further their education by pursuing an Associate degree in Registered Nursing, Medical Office Management, or another healthcare related field at Pensacola State.

Related Career Opportunities

Primary Employers

Graduates from the Medical Assisting program work in physicians’ offices, clinics, offices of other health practitioners, and hospitals. The program is designed to prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.

Occupations

Medical Assistants
Are multi-skilled persons who assist in many aspects of medical practice under the direction of a physician. Medical office assistants execute administrative and clinical procedures, often perform managerial and supervisory functions and assist with patient care management. Administrative duties may include processing insurance claims, typing medical documents, processing incoming/outgoing patients (scheduling, collecting fees or arranging for payment), performing record keeping functions related to patient accounts, managing medical records, and using a computer for practice management. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and blood pressure, giving injections, drawing blood for laboratory analysis (venipuncture), assisting the physician with physical examinations and minor surgical and medical procedures, and teaching patients with regard to treatment regimens. Medical assistants are employed in the offices of physicians and other health practitioners such as optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors.

Other Occupations

Employment Trends

For more information regarding first-year earnings for degree completers and student debt accumulation download or view the Economic Security Report of Employment and Earning Outcomes Click Here, published by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

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