Medical Assistant

The A.A.S. degree program in Medical Assistant builds upon the existing 30-credit Certificate in Medical Office Assistant. By completing the Associate Degree program, students will increase their general medical knowledge and administrative skills and will gain proficiency in additional clinical procedures that a typical medical office would employ. Graduates will be competitive in the continually expanding Health Care field, the fastest growing industry in the United States.

Medical assisting is an allied health profession whose practitioners function as members of the health care delivery team and perform a combination of administrative and clinical procedures. Administrative duties include answering telephones, greeting patients, updating and filing patient's medical records, filling out insurance forms, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handling billing and bookkeeping.

Clinical duties include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, preparing patients for examination and assisting the physician during examination. Medical assistants also collect and prepare laboratory specimens or perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They will authorize drug refills as directed, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, draw blood, prepare patients for X-rays, take electro-cardiograms, and remove sutures and change dressings under the supervision of the practitioner.