Medical Assisting Technology

Program Description
The Medical Assisting Program is intended to prepare students to provide patient care in physician’s offices, minor emergency centers, long-term care facilities, and other types of free-standing medical clinics. In the clinical role, the medical assistant provides assistance to the physician during assessment and examination of patients, treatment interventions, and in-office diagnostic protocols. Students in this program will learn to perform physical assessments, take medical histories, take and record vital signs, administer medications, assist with diagnostic procedures, take electrocardiograms, interpret life-threatening arrhythmias, perform venipuncture, and interpret basic laboratory results.

Career Opportunities
According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook publication, employment for Medical Assistants is expected to grow 34% from 2008 to 2018. The annual report cites the increasing prevalence of conditions, such as obesity and diabetes and an aging population, as factors contributing to the demand for healthcare services and medical assistants. Utilizing multi-skilled medical assistants allows doctors to care for more patients and will further stimulate job growth for this sector of the medical field.

Also driving the growth in this field is the increasing number of medical practices, clinics and other healthcare facilities that utilize a high proportion of support personnel, particularly medical assistants, who can handle both administrative and clinical duties.

Expected Earnings/Salary
The earnings of medical assistants vary, depending on their experience, skill level, and location. Median annual wages of wage-and-salary medical assistants were $28,300 in May 2008. The highest 10 percent earned more than $39,570. The middle 50 percent earned between $23,700 and $33,050.

Skills Needed
Medical assistants deal with the public; therefore, they must be neat and well groomed and have a courteous, pleasant manner and they must be able to put patients at ease and explain physicians' instructions. They must respect the confidential nature of medical information. Clinical duties require a reasonable level of manual dexterity and visual acuity.

Types of Programs Offered
Drake State offers the Associate in Applied Science degree for those students who complete the required 76 degree credit hours. The college also offers two certificate options for the program: Career Entry Certificate requiring 59 credit hours and a Career Skills Certificate requiring 26 credit hours.

The following listing outlines the categories of courses required to complete each certificate or degree in the Medical Assisting Program. The course names and options in each category are subject to change. For a complete listing refer to the appropriate Drake State Catalog.\

For more information about this program, please contact Kristin Treadway, Health Sciences Pre-Admission Coordinator, at 256.551.3110 or Dr. Mattie Davis, Program Coordinator, at 256.551.3159.