Medical Assisting

What is Medical Assisting?

As a medical assistant, you will be a healthcare professional that works alongside doctors in clinics and medical offices. You will be responsible for providing a smooth work flow for your doctor by getting patient vitals, history and assisting with exams. This job is challenging, rewarding and can lead to many great opportunities. 

What will I do on the job?

Perform administrative and clinical/technical skills like: 

• scheduling and monitoring appointments
• arranging hospital and outpatient admissions
• managing medical records
• processing insurance claims
• managing office financial records
• preparing patients for exams, procedures, and treatments
• assisting with physical examinations.
• recording medical histories.
• taking vital signs.
• charting patient information.
• administering injections.
• performing electrocardiograms.
• assisting with minor office surgeries.
• performing venipuncture.
• collecting/preparing specimens.
• performing basic laboratory tests.
• performing radiography (after receiving additional education).

What are my career choices?

You can expect to work anywhere from doctors’ offices, outpatient clinics, and other ambulatory health care facilities. Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 16 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.

About 123,000 openings for medical assistants are probable each year over the decade. Many of those openings are likely to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or retire.

Job placement for OCTC's Medical Assisting program for 2019 was 83.33%.

What are my degree, diploma, or certificate options?

Degrees

• Medical Assisting - AAS Pathway 1 (60-67 credit hours)

Diplomas

• Medical Assisting - Diploma (46-53 credit hours)

Certificates

• Medical Assisting - Certificate (38-44 credit hours)
• Medical Office Administrative Assistant - Certificate (15-19 credit hours)
• Medical Office Insurance Billing and Coding - Certificate (12-16 credit hours)
• Electrocardiograph Technician - Certificate (17-22 credit hours)

Length of Program

The program length is one year for the Medical Assisting Diploma and one additional semester for the AAS in Medical Assisting.

This information should not be considered a substitute for the KCTCS Catalog. You should always choose classes in cooperation with your faculty advisor to ensure that you meet all degree requirements.

Medical Assisting Program Goals

1. Prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning domains, to meet the growing demands of the healthcare industry throughout the Owensboro Community and Technical College service area that includes, Daviess, Hancock, McLean, and Ohio counties in Kentucky.
   
   
2. Prepare proficient graduates for successful completion of a national certification exam in medical assisting.
   
   
3. Prepare a medical assistant workforce that demonstrates an exemplary work attitude and ethic including but not limited to: critical thinking, taking responsibility, self-discipline, being a good team member, safety consciousness, showing respect for others, honesty, dependability, productivity, and acceptance of advice: to meet the expectations of the healthcare employer.
   
   
4. Provide an educational pathway incorporating stackable credentials for students pursuing a profession in medical assisting.
   
   
5. Create an educational pathway for students seeking employment in a high demand healthcare profession.
   
   
6. Partner with local healthcare professionals to assure program content is relevant and consistent with the needs of the healthcare industry.

Additional Information

The Medical Assisting program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
9355 - 113th St. N. #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
727-210-2350

Medical Assisting Retention Data