Medical Assistant

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The Medical Assistant program is a two-year program that will incorporate the cognitive knowledge in performance of the psychomotor and affective domains in their practice as medical assistants in providing patient care. The program trains students in office administrative and medical skills and to work well with people. Medical assistants perform a variety of basic medical duties primarily in the outpatient setting. These duties may include taking patient histories; recording patients’ vital signs; collecting and preparing laboratory specimens; preparing patients for exams, X-rays and procedures; taking patient EKG’s; phlebotomy, wound dressing and other duties. Medical assistants may also have clerical duties, which may include completing insurance forms, scheduling appointments, billing, and bookkeeping.

Medical Assistant students must demonstrate the ability to:

• lift/carry/push/pull and move heavy objects, patients, supplies and equipment (at least 50 lbs.);
• demonstrate manual dexterity and eye-hand coordination;
• stand and walk for prolonged periods;
• reach, stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, stretch and squat;
• distinguish letters and symbols and, with corrected normal vision and hearing, be able to distinguish changes in a patient’s vital signs
• not have color blindness.

LBCC’s Medical Assistant program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), on recommendation of the Medical Assistant Education Review Board (MAERB). CAAHEP may be reached at the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, 1631 Park Street, Clearwater, FL 33756; Phone: 727-210-2550 or at www.caahep.org.

Program Requirements

The Medical Assistant program has special admission requirements and one class is accepted each fall term. (See Special Admissions Programs in the “How to Get Started – Admissions” section of the catalog.) The Medical Assistant program is designed to be completed in six terms of full-time attendance. This assumes that the student has placed at or above the necessary levels on the Computerized Placement Test (CPT), or has taken the necessary coursework, to place into the required program courses. It is advisable to take the placement test as early as possible to identify courses needed prior to enrolling in this program. Students should work with an advisor to interpret the test scores and get help in planning their program.

Students must complete required immunizations and a criminal background check in order to be eligible for admission. Students with a felony record will not be able to complete the program. A urine drug screen and a physical exam will also need to be completed. Students must read the Student Handbook found on the advisor’s webpage. Students will also be required to participate in 270 hours of an unpaid practicum experience that may require driving to towns in our area.

Students who graduate from LBCC’s Medical Assistant program with an Associate of Applied Science degree are eligible to sit for the national certification exam given by the American Association of Medical Assistants. Successful completion of this exam grants the graduate the credential of CMA (AAMA).