The Medical Assisting (MA) program prepares students for career opportunities, which require knowledge of basic office, patient care and laboratory skills in medical offices, clinics, and hospitals.
Medical assistants are multi-skilled allied health professionals specifically educated to work in ambulatory settings performing administrative and clinical duties. The practice of medical assisting directly influences the public’s health and well-being and requires mastery of a complex body of knowledge and specialized skills requiring both formal education and practical experience that serve as standards for entry into the profession.
Well-balanced instruction in business skills and medical procedures enables the graduate to assist the physician in routine practice. The responsibilities of medical assistants vary, depending on whether they work in a clinic, hospital, large group practice, or small private office.
Externships in area medical practices provide clinical experience in obtaining patient histories, assisting in examinations and certain diagnostic testing, acquiring patient specimens, performing laboratory tests, processing and coding insurance, scheduling appointments for the physician, collecting payments, and patient education. Externships are available only during day hours. The student may be required to travel out of town for selected clinical experience. Assignment of clinical externship is based on availability of affiliated clinical facilities.
The MA program enjoys a very supportive relationship with local physician’s offices, clinics, and hospitals. As a result of these relationships, these facilities provide externship opportunities for the Medical Assisting students and a large number of the graduates are subsequently employed by these sites.
The MA curriculum provides the student with a general health care background, which can be used as a stepping-stone to other health care or administrative fields. MA graduates can pursue nursing, medical laboratory technology, radiologic technology, respiratory care technology, word processing, medical transcription, or office systems technology careers.
The Medical Assisting program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB). CAAHEP, 1361 Park Street, Clearwater, FL 33756; telephone: (727) 210-2350; www.caahep.org. Graduates of the program are eligible to take the certification exam for medical assistants given by the American Association of Medical Assistants, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1575, Chicago, IL, 60606; telephone: (312) 899-1500; www.aama-ntl.org.
A student may enroll in a CAAHEP accredited Medical Assisting program, but upon graduation may not be eligible to take the certification exam and become a Certified Medical Assistant without a waiver as established by the Certifying Board. Note: Individuals who have been found guilty of a felony or pleaded guilty to a felony are not eligible to take the CMA Exam; however, the Certifying Board may grant a waiver based upon mitigating circumstances. Students who may be affected by this should contact the American Association of Medical Assistants at 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1575, Chicago, IL 60606-2903 to clarify eligibility status to sit for the AAMA exam.
Admission to the MA program is based on successful completion of required placement tests and proof of high school diploma or G.E.D. Admission requirements may be obtained by attending a Health Information Programs (HIP) session. All applicants are required to attend a seminar as part of the admissions process. A listing of scheduled sessions can be obtained from the Admissions Office or online at www.octech.edu on the Health Sciences page.
An admissions physical examination validating health status is required. Proof of CPR (infant, child, adult and AED-BLS for healthcare providers) is required before the MA goes to clinicals. As part of the admissions process, students will be required to have a Criminal Background Check and Drug Screen through facilities specified by the College.
The Commission on Allied Health Education Programs certified the Diploma Medical Assisting Program and judged it to be in compliance with the nationally established standards on September 20, 2013. This Continuing Accreditation is in effect until the next scheduled on-site review to occur Fall of 2020.
