The first classes for the certificate program will begin Spring Term 2018. To complete the Medical Assistant certificate, students must earn 36 credits and shadow a medical assistant working in a clinical setting. Graduates of the program can choose to sit for the American Association of Medical Assistant’s national accreditation test, the Certified Medical Assistant Exam.

“With the changing healthcare landscape, medical assistants are now the primary professionals you interact with whenever you visit a clinic, large or small,” said Janie Griffin, dean of health professions and nursing at MHCC. “Students in this program must be motivated to work with people and to learn basic office operations and clinical care.”

The new Medical Assistant certificate at MHCC was developed with input from clinical partners, among them Providence Health and Services, Legacy Medical Center, Oregon Health and Science University, and Kaiser Permanente. During an advisory committee meeting held spring 2016, these partners expressed a need for qualified, well-trained medical assistants across the state, with the greatest need here in the Portland metro area.

In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projected that employment of medical assistants will grow 23 percent (much faster than the average employment growth rate of 7 percent) from 2014-2024, due largely to the increased need for preventative medical care. The BLS also estimated the median pay in 2015 for medical assistants at $30,590 per year, or $14.71 per hour.

Learn more about this restricted-entry program by visiting mhcc.edu/MedicalAssistantCurriculum or attending the next information session on August 23, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., in Room AC2756. Students can apply for a registration interview beginning January 2018.