Medical Assistant Certificate Curriculum Courses and Requirements
Who are Medical Assistants?
Medical Assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks. The duties vary depending on office location, size, and specialty. Administrative duties may include answering telephones, greeting patients, scheduling appointments, maintaining electronic medical records, and completing insurance referrals. Clinical duties may include obtaining medical histories from patients, recording vital signs, preparing patients for examinations, and assisting the physician during examinations. Medical Assistants may also collect and prepare laboratory specimens, sterilize instruments, and perform venipunctures and electrocardiograms (EKGs).
Program Description
This is a competency-based certificate program where formal instruction is integrated with invaluable hands-on and clinical experience: students learn theory, practice the theory in the lab and then perform skills on patients in a clinical setting. In two semesters, the curriculum prepares students to be important members of the healthcare team. Most of the courses are online/asynchronous except MO106, MO107, and MO108, which are face-to-face. The program includes a 160-hour Clinical Medical Assistant Capstone (unpaid internship) in a physician’s office, health care agency, hospital, or other healthcare setting.
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to sit for the national Medical Assistant examination with the National Healthcare Association (NHA). The program is seeking accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP), on recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).
The Medical Assistant program is a criteria-based admissions program.
More about Medical Assistant Program Selective Admissions →
For more information on admissions requirements, contact the Framingham Campus Admissions Office
Framingham Campus Admissions
490 Franklin Street
Framingham, MA 01702-5928
Tel: 781-239-2500
Fax: 781-239-2508
Program Outcomes
This program is designed to prepare learners for a sustainable and rewarding career in healthcare, as an integral part of a dynamic, patient-centered team. The Medical Assisting program will prepare competent entry-level Medical Assistants in the knowledge (cognitive domain), skills (psychomotor domain), and professional behavior (affective domain) expectations of the profession. Training in blood drawing (phlebotomy), electrocardiograms (EKGs), injections, vital signs, blood pressures, and pharmacology, as well as administrative skills, opens endless possibilities for a successful, sustainable career.
Career Opportunities
Qualified Medical Assistants are in demand in physician offices, health maintenance organizations, hospitals, and clinics. Employment opportunities in this field are projected to grow 18 percent from 2022 to 2030, much faster than the average for all healthcare occupations.
Related Professions
After graduation learners can be employed as Medical Administrative Assistants, EKG Technicians, Medical Record Assistants, Phlebotomy Technicians, and Clinical Assistants.
Salary Outlook
For more information on salary and occupational outlook, please visit www.onetonline.org or https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-assistants.htm
Quick Facts: Medical Assistants
$37,190 per year
$17.88 per hour
Postsecondary nondegree award
16% (Much faster than average)
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
In Massachusetts, Medical Assistants on average earned $45,880 in 2021.
Accreditation
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP), on recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).
2020 North California Avenue
#213 Suite 7
Chicago, Illinois 60647
Sarah Marino smarino@maerb.org
Telephone: 312-392-0155
Certification Examination
National Healthcare Association (NHA)
www.nhanow.com
11161 Overbrook Road
Leawood, Kansas 66211
Toll-free: 800-499-9092
Local: 913-661-5592
Fax: 913-661-6291