Medical Assisting AAS Degree

Students who have successfully completed the one-year Medical Assisting diploma can choose to continue their education by completing the Medical Assisting degree. The Medical Assisting associate degree completion program is designed for medical assistants who desire an associate degree for career advancement or transfer purposes.

The Medical Assisting curriculum prepares multi-skilled health care professionals qualified to perform administrative, clinical and laboratory procedures.

Course work includes instruction in scheduling appointments, coding and processing insurance accounts, billing, collections and computer operations; assisting with examinations/treatments, performing routine laboratory procedures, electrocardiography and supervised medication administration; and ethical/legal issues associated with patient care.

The Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB), an autonomous unit within the endowment, evaluates medical assisting programs according to Standards adopted by the American Association of Medical Assistants, the American Medical Association and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). The MAERB then recommends programs to CAAHEP for accreditation.

Graduates of CAAHEP-accredited medical assisting diploma programs may be eligible to sit for the American Association of Medical Assistants’ Certification Examination, the CMA exam, to become Certified Medical Assistants. Employment opportunities include physicians’ offices, health maintenance organizations, health departments and outpatient clinics.