Overview
Medical assistants are multi-skilled professionals who perform administrative, clinical, and management functions in medical practice organizations.
The Medical Assistant certificate prepares students to work in physicians’ offices providing patient care, performing administrative tasks, and managing the medical office. Job responsibilities may include:
- Administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, handling correspondence, maintaining and filing patient records, billing, bookkeeping, and completing insurance forms
- Clinical tasks including taking and recording medical histories, preparing patients for examinations, assisting with examinations and office surgeries, measuring vital signs, performing therapeutic and diagnostic tests, and giving injections
- Management tasks related to patient care, office personnel, and physician time
Medical Assistant students complete supervised clinical practice, including 160 hours of unpaid practicum experience, to develop their medical assisting competencies. Students who complete the program successfully are eligible to take the examination to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA).
Accreditation
The Cincinnati State Medical Assistant Certificate program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).
The Medical Assisting Education Review Board is located at 2339 N. California Ave., #47138, Chicago, IL 60647.
The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs is located at 25400 US Highway 19 N., Suite 158, Clearwater, FL 33763. Phone 727-210-2350. Website: http://www.caahep.org.
The program’s curriculum is guided by the standards developed by the Commission. The accreditation status means Cincinnati State has met the standards required of the profession and helps to assure the public that program graduates are competent clinicians. It also qualifies the College’s Medical Assistant Certificate graduates to sit for the CMA (AAMA) certification examination.
Verification of accreditation can be viewed at the CAAHEP website: https://www.caahep.org/Students/Find-a-Program.aspx.
Contacts
Program Chair
Career Outlook
Graduates Are Prepared To
- Work in physicians’ offices providing patient care, performing administrative tasks, and managing the medical office
- Take the examination to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)
Representative Job Titles For Graduates
- Medical Assistant
Graduate Employment Outlook
Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 29 percent through 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. The growth of the aging baby-boomer population will continue to spur demand for preventive medical services, which are often provided by physicians. As their practices expand, physicians will hire more assistants to perform routine administrative and clinical duties, allowing the physicians to see more patients.
$36,833 median annual salary
Graduate Starting Salary Projections
Contacts
Program Chair
Curriculum
Effective 2024-2025 academic year
| Semester 1 | Lec | Lab | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA 100 | Clinical Procedures for Medical Assistants | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| MA 109 | Administrative Procedures, Coding, and Billing for Medical Assisting | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| MCH 104 | Comprehensive Medical Terminology | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| BIO 117 | Human Body in Health and Disease | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| ENG 101 | English Composition 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Semester 2 | ||||
| MA 110 | Medical Office Laboratory Procedures | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| MA 115 | Pharmacology for Medical Assistants | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| PSY 110 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| MCH 100 | Healthcare Informatics | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Semester 3 | ||||
| MA 125 | Externship and Seminar for Medical Assistants | 2 | 12 | 4 |
| Total Credits: | 27 | 19 | 32 | |
• This curriculum displays only course numbers without the added letter.
• The alternative version, when available, meets the requirements of the course version without the added letter.