Medical Assistant, Certificate

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Medical Assistant (054)
Certificate of Achievement

This program prepares graduates to be multi-skilled practitioners who are qualified to perform both administrative and clinical skills in the ambulatory healthcare setting. With an emphasis on the back-office skills, this curriculum includes medical assisting courses in medical office operations and management, insurance and coding procedures, medical law and ethics, anatomy and physiology, and clinical skills. The program requires an externship  experience in a selected healthcare environment. A graduate of this program seeks employment as a Medical Receptionist, or a Medical Assistant.

The Medical Assistant Program at Butler County Community College had a 93% certification exam passage rate for 2017 graduates.

Accreditation

The Medical Assistant program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB). Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, 25400 U.S. Highway 19 North, Clearwater, FL 33763; Phone: 727-210-2350.

Criteria For Admission

Admission to the Medical Assistant (MA) Program is selective. A special application packet, available in the Admissions Office, is required and will be made available in January due no later than July 31 for the fall semester start.

A 2.50 minimum high school or college GPA is required. College GPA is utilized if 12+ college-level credits are complete at the time of application review.

Applicants must have a grade of “C” or better in all Medical Assistant courses for acceptance and continuation in the program.

Beginning with the administration of the January 2001 Certification Examination, individuals with a felony are not eligible to sit for the examination unless the national Certifying Board grants a waiver.

Special Requirements Upon Acceptance*

MA Students are required to:

1. Provide proof of health insurance coverage.
2. Have a satisfactory physical examination including tuberculin skin test, and proof of immunizations.
3. Malpractice liability insurance (paid with tuition).
4. Completion of Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers and American Red Cross Standard First Aid Certification.
5. Assume all responsibilities for transportation to and from clinical facilities to which they are assigned for their MA externship.
6. The externship experience must be supervised and students will not receive remuneration for their externship.

Continued progress in the program is dependent upon the student earning “C” grades or above in all courses. The MA Externship must be passed successfully.

NOTE: Courses listed in the first/third semester will be scheduled for the fall; courses listed in the second/fourth semester will be scheduled for the spring. Students are encouraged to use the curriculum planner to keep track of courses taken and those still needed. In some cases, one or more courses may be taken in a different order than indicated on the planner. However, individual course prerequisites must be observed.

Prerequisites/Corequisites: Some courses require another course to be taken beforehand or at the same time. To check if a course has a prerequisite or corequisite, see the course description.