Medical Assisting, Certificate

Purpose

The Medical Assistant certificate program (Plan Code 166) prepares individuals as multi-skilled health care practitioners who are competent in urgent care, physician’s offices, hospitals, and long term care environments. Graduates will be prepared to perform traditional medical assistant responsibilities to include clinical and administrative duties. Clinical functions could include, but are not limited to, direct patient care and preparation, ECG, phlebotomy, and pharmacology. Administrative duties include scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records, bookkeeping, and billing and insurance processing. (NCCT, 2017). Upon completion of the program students are eligible to take the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) for certification as a Medical Assistant (NCMA).

Program Admission Requirements

The program will enroll approximately twenty (20) students annually so only selected applicants fulfilling the following prerequisite requirements will be admitted.

Prospective students must:

1. Complete an application to Eastern Shore Community College (ESCC).
2. Have a high school diploma, transcript, or GED certification sent to the ESCC Registrar office.
3. Complete placement testing and (1) be eligible to enroll in ENG 111 (through placement or completion of developmental course work) and (2) test out of or complete developmental course for MTE 1 through MTE 4. Students can schedule placement testing by calling Student Services at (757) 789-1720.

Program Requirements

These requirements must be fulfilled prior to the start of the second semester or before the start of the clinical internship. Student must be current, certified and or maintain these standards through the end of the program for all program requirements.

1. Have CPR certification. CPR classes provide certification for two years and need to be repeated if the date of expiration has been reached. If the CPR certification has expired, the student will need to enroll in a recertification course, or if too much time has elapsed, the student will need to retake the full CPR class prior to clinical rotations.
2. Responsible for costs necessary for program completion such as required testing fees, liability insurance, uniforms, stethoscopes, medical assisting pins and graduation uniform, books, criminal history and sex offender crimes against minors’ background checks.
3. Purchase of ESCC approved Student Uniforms, Blood Pressure cuff and stethoscope, non-skid white shoes, drug handbook, and basic calculator.
4. Complete a physical examination, two step PPD (or chest x-ray if already PPD positive). Immunizations must be up to date including tetanus, MMR or positive titers, varicella or positive titers, Hepatitis B series or positive titer, tetanus, and current flu vaccine.
5. Complete drug screening and criminal background check with no records of concern or pending actions. Potential for random drug screening.
6. Be eligible for employment with the Riverside Health System and Eastern Shore Rural Health entities.
7. Be responsible for transportation to off-campus facilities for clinical experiences.
8. Appropriate professional and social media use as defined by the college or syllabus.
9. Participate in community based activities that support student development.
10. Receive a grade of at least a “C” (80%) or better in all MDA courses to remain in the program.
11. Maintain an overall grade point average of 2.0 or better.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Apply diagnostic testing skills.
• Apply the principles of law and ethics in performing office operations.
• Apply medical terminology in the workplace appropriately.