CERTIFIED CLINICAL MEDICAL ASSISTANT TRAINING PROGRAM

Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to help medical offices run smoothly. They may work in a small clinic, large medical practice, or a multi-specialty clinic.

Clinical duties vary from state to state, but common tasks include:

• Taking medical histories and vital signs
• Preparing patients for examinations
• Assisting physicians and nurse practitioners
• Prepare laboratory specimens
• Perform some lab tests and draw blood
• Remove sutures and change dressings
• Administer medications and injections

Administrative duties may include answering phones, using fax machines and other office equipment, greeting patients, verifying patient demographics, updating patient records, coordinating referrals, and scheduling patients.

Medical assistants communicate with patients, management, and physicians. They provide education for patients, proactively demonstrate an understanding of customers’ expectations, and are sensitive to cultural diversity. They must possess excellent oral and written communication skills and be courteous, kind, and respectful.

They must have the ability to put patients at ease and maintain patient confidentiality. Medical assistants must possess sound judgment, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

Course Group 1

The Medical Assistant: This course explores the roles and responsibilities of a medical assistant including employment outlook, credentialing requirements and how medical assisting relates to other allied health professions.

Professional Communication: This course provides study and practice on relating to others and communicating in a professional and empathetic manner.

Medical Law and Ethics: This course introduces the legal aspects of practice as a medical assistant at the federal and state levels. It covers the Code of Ethics, patient confidentiality, employer and personal liability coverage and risk management procedures.

Administrative Billing, Coding and Reimbursement: This course introduces standard administrative practices including billing and collection procedures, insurance processing, practice management and technology.

Course Group 2

Medical Terminology: This course focuses on understanding medical terms and abbreviations and how to use them. It covers the structure of medical terms such as root, prefix, suffix, combinations, spelling and definitions.

Anatomy and Physiology for Health Professions: This course provides an overview of human body systems, structures and functions and how diseases apply to each system. It also covers nutrition, diet and nutritional counseling for patients.

Course Group 3

Clinical and Laboratory Procedures: This course helps prepare students clinically by applying critical knowledge and practical skills needed as a medical assistant. Some of the skills that will be covered in clinics and labs include medication reconciliation, triage skills, caring for special needs patients, infection control, vital signs, medical emergencies, community resources, quality control, point of care testing, collecting and processing specimens, venipuncture and using an ECG machine.

Course Group 4

Career Development: This course prepares students in continuing to develop their career as a medical assistant. It covers resume writing, professional dress, interviewing, time management, following up after an interview and continuing education requirements.

Pharmacology: This course discusses drug classifications, uses and standards including math and metric conversions, parts of prescriptions, abbreviations for prescription writing and preparing and administering medications.

Clinical Practice Review

Certification Examination Review: This course gives students an opportunity to review course materials and clinical practices, exercise critical thinking skills, use study guides, take practice exams and take a mock certification exam.