Medical Assisting
www.linnbenton.edu/medicalassisting
The Medical Assisting program trains students in cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains to successfully sit for the appropriate certification exam and practice in the workplace as medical assistants. The program teaches medical assistant students to 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 EKGs; phlebotomy, wound dressing and other duties. Medical assistants may also have administrative duties, which may include completing insurance forms, scheduling appointments, billing, and bookkeeping. These duties and their associated knowledge and skills are taught in both practical and didactic educational environments.
Program Requirements
Designed to be completed in four terms of full-time attendance. This assumes that the student has placed at or above the necessary levels on the college entrance placement tests 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.
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). Students who graduate from LBCC’s Medical Assistant One-year Certificate program 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). The Medical Assisting Program Bulletin can be found online at the program webpage and contains all Admission Requirements.
Facilities
The Medical Assisting program has a fully functional clinical classroom with simulated exam rooms and equipment, and a fully functional physician office laboratory. The Healthcare Occupations Center (HOC) in Lebanon, Oregon, where the program is located, has large computer labs and ample modern classroom space with multimedia technology. The presence of other allied health programs and students provides an environment for medical assisting students to network and study with interdisciplinary students.