Pima Medical Institute - East Valley

Health care administrative assistants are key members of the front-office medical office staff. You will greet patients, manage electronic health records and ensure the office operates efficiently while also fostering a friendly and positive patient experience. These entry-level professionals in the field of health care administration do not interface directly with patient care, rather they greet patients, triage appointments and provide other assistance.

Through our courses, you will gain hands-on experience and upon graduation be prepared to:
work within electronic health records with current software technologies
verify medical insurance
perform medical billing and coding tasks
prepare correspondence
assist physicians with reports, articles and conference proceedings
triage appointments

With this training, you will be prepared for a career as a/an:
health care administrative assistant
medical administration assistant
medical secretary
medical receptionist
medical office specialist
office manager
medical records clerk

Medical billing and coding professionals are responsible for providing complete and accurate information and records for the patient and the insurance companies. You might work in hospitals, physicians’ offices, nursing care facilities, home healthcare services or pharmacies.

The Medical Coding and Billing professional is responsible for providing complete and accurate information and records for the patient and the insurance companies. Medical and insurance offices depend on Medical Coding Specialists for the accurate transcription of diseases, injuries and procedures into numeric codes.

While in school, your education will include courses in computer basics, billing procedures, advanced medical terminology as well as medical coding and medical law and ethics for coding and billing. You will graduate prepared to work in a fast-paced environment. This is a blended program with courses conducted both online and on-campus.

As a medical billing and coding professional, students have a variety of flexible career opportunities including:
Hospitals
Physicians’ offices
Nursing care facilities
Home healthcare services
Pharmacies

Medical assistants work closely with healthcare team members, including doctors and nurses. They treat patients from newborns to senior citizens. As a medical assistant, you may work in physicians’ offices, hospitals, clinics or outpatient medical facilities. You also may work in administrative support occupations, medical assisting education or office management.

The specific duties of a medical assistant vary by practice type, specialty and applicable state and local laws. Generally, however, a medical assistant serves as a liaison between a doctor and their patients. They help receive these patients, answer their questions, ensure they’re comfortable and perform a range of clinical duties.

Here are just some of the common tasks that a medical assistant might perform:
Medical assistant clinical duties:
Prepare patients for examinations
Take patients’ medical histories
Go over treatment procedures with patients
Assist physicians or nurses during exams
Collect/prepare lab specimens
Perform basic lab tests
Facilitate prescription refills
Inform patients about medications
Remove sutures
Change dressings

A nurse aide or nursing assistant serves a vital role on the healthcare team, helping patients with daily activities and maintaining patient hygiene. With this certificate, you may work in clinics, hospitals, home healthcare agencies, long-term care facilities, retirement communities or assisted living facilities.

You will offer patients compassion and patience while assisting them with tasks such as dressing, bathing and feeding. You may also support doctors and nurses in diagnostic procedures and technical treatments. Certified nursing assistants or nurse aides (CNAs) also typically assist in patient charting and instruction, documenting any care that is given and reporting significant observations to the nursing staff.

As a student in the Nursing Assistant/Nurse Aide program, you’ll learn how to:
assist in a broad range of areas including infection control, safety and emergency procedures
document patient care services and report observations to the nursing staff
assist doctors and nurses in diagnostic procedures and therapeutic treatments
develop communication and interpersonal skills

Nursing assistants enjoy solid job security and frequently work a flexible schedule. Typical work environments include:
clinics
hospitals
home healthcare agencies
long-term care facilities
retirement communities
assisted living facilities
The NA program is quick, thorough, current and relevant with courses that offer you great experience and the ability to get into the healthcare field in just a couple of months.

Patient care technicians work directly with patients and members of the healthcare team, providing support and performing procedures such as checking vital signs, conducting blood draws and wound care, as well as dialysis. Patient care technicians can work in emergency departments, in home healthcare, long term care and dialysis facilities.

PCTs help patients with procedures such as taking vital signs, performing electrocardiography (ECG), blood draws and other needs. In addition, a PCT will:
provide bedside care and advocate patients’ needs
interact in daily communication with patients, nurses, doctors and patients’ families
conduct catheterizations, saline locks, and wound care procedures
prepare, initiate and discontinue dialysis treatment of the patient in both hemodialysis and central venous catheters

Our hands-on training and specialized courses will teach you how to:
draw blood and insert intravenous catheters
perform urinary catheterizations and nasogastric tube removal
provide wound care, including the removal of sutures and staples
operate dialysis equipment and readjust treatment parameters as defined by protocols and patient prescriptions
perform emergency room skills such as splint and cast immobilizations, crutch training, throat cultures, urinalysis and oxygen therapy

Phlebotomy technicians assist patients with the collection of blood and other clinical specimens. These techs can work in clinical labs, hospitals, independent laboratories, physicians’ offices, health maintenance organizations, public health agencies, nursing homes, research institutions, blood donor centers or mobile laboratories

As an important member of the clinical laboratory team, you will:
draw blood specimens by venipuncture, syringe and micro-collection techniques
collect and process other clinical specimens
prepare samples for laboratory testing and analysis
assemble and maintain medical instruments such as needles, test tubes, blood vials, and centrifuges

In just a three-month program you will gain hands-on experience and learn to:
draw blood from patients and blood donors
put patients at ease during procedure
verify a person’s identity to ensure proper labeling of the blood
label the drawn blood for testing or processing
enter patient information into a database
learn to process specimens for testing

A veterinary assistant cares for animals in an animal hospital or clinic setting, under the supervision of a veterinarian or veterinary technician. With a veterinary assistant certificate, opportunities such as a laboratory animal caretaker or animal care and service worker will open up. You may work in private veterinary clinics, animal shelters, animal hospitals or even zoos.

Veterinary assistants are there to help the veterinarians and veterinary technicians with multiple duties to ensure efficiency and optimal care for the animals. They may help with both administrative duties and directly assisting in medical procedures. Providing compassionate care is a big part of their job.

The objective of the program is to provide students with educational and clinical training in preparation for entry-level employment in animal care. Students have the opportunity to develop professional skills as well as learn in-office procedures, animal nursing, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and surgical procedures.

The courses in our program provide students with hands-on experience so they have practical, applicable skills to assist with the care of animals. In our Veterinary Assistant program, you’ll learn how to:
Provide preventative healthcare
Collect and prepare laboratory samples
Assist with small animal nursing
Assist with diagnostic imaging
Properly communicate with clients
Administer medications
Assist with surgery
Provide pre- and post-operative care
Keep medical records
Recognize animal behavior norms
Sterilize lab and surgical equipment
Understand pharmacology basics

Veterinary technicians gain specialized knowledge of animal behavior and care, laboratory testing, surgical assisting, and nursing procedures to nurture the health and well-being of animals. You can work in clinics, hospitals, laboratories, ranches, zoos, biomedical facilities or wildlife facilities, humane societies and animal control facilities or other professional veterinary settings.

These credentialed professionals are passionate about animal care and are dedicated healthcare professionals who nurture the health and well-being of animals through education focused on specialized knowledge of animal behavior and care, surgical assisting, laboratory testing and nursing procedures. Veterinary Technicians are qualified to work closely with veterinarians in the areas of surgery, lab procedures and radiography.

Upon completion of the program, you will be prepared to:
observe the behavior and condition of animals
provide nursing care or emergency first aid to recovering or injured animals
bathe animals, clip nails or claws, and brush or cut animals’ hair
restrain animals during exams or procedures
administer anesthesia to animals and monitor their responses
collect laboratory samples, such as blood, urine, or tissue for testing
perform laboratory tests, such as urinalyses and blood counts
take and develop X-rays
prepare animals and instruments for surgery
administer medications, vaccines and treatments prescribed by a veterinarian
collect and record patients’ case histories