Medical Assistant

For questions about the Medical Assistant degree program, please contact Dr. Punita Bhansali.

The A.A.S. degree program in Medical Assistant builds upon the existing 30-credit Certificate in Medical Office Assistant. By completing the Associate Degree program, students will increase their general medical knowledge and administrative skills and will gain proficiency in additional clinical procedures that a typical medical office would employ. Graduates will be competitive in the continually expanding Health Care field, the fastest growing industry in the United States.

Medical assisting is an allied health profession whose practitioners function as members of the health care delivery team and perform a combination of administrative and clinical procedures. Administrative duties include answering telephones, greeting patients, updating and filing patient's medical records, filling out insurance forms, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handling billing and bookkeeping.

Clinical duties include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, preparing patients for examination and assisting the physician during examination. Medical assistants also collect and prepare laboratory specimens or perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They will draw blood, prepare patients for X-rays, take electro-cardiograms, and remove sutures and change dressings under the supervision of the practitioner.

Degree Program Requirements

Explore Potential Careers

This Career and Technical Education (CTE) degree program has additional benefits to students made possible by Perkins funding.

Learn about CTE @ QCC

National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Professional Certification available.

A student enrolled in BI-961 (Phlebotomy Practice) has the opportunity to take the NHA Phlebotomy Certification exam to become a certified Phlebotomy Technician.
A student enrolled in BI-452 (EKG Technology) has the opportunity to take the NHA EKG Certification exam to become a certified EKG Technician.
A student who graduates from the Medical Assistant A.A.S. Degree program can take the NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant Exam. This national certification will open the door to many Medical Assistant jobs.

Degree Plans

Student Learning Outcomes for Academic Programs

A.A.S. in Medical Office Assistant

General Education Outcomes

A robust general education is founded on the knowledge, concepts, methods, and perspectives that students gain through the study of many academic disciplines. These disciplinary studies stimulate intellectual inquiry, global awareness, and cultural and artistic appreciation: they equip students to make informed judgments and remain engaged beyond the classroom. To that end, QCC promotes educational activities that allow students to demonstrate that they can:

Communicate effectively in various forms
Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions
Reason quantitatively as required in various fields of interest and in everyday life
Apply information management and digital technology skills useful for academic research and lifelong learning
Apply scientific methods and reasoning to investigate issues or problems in the natural and social sciences in order to draw conclusions

To support these institutional general education outcomes, the academic departments-;through their programs-may also assess the ability of students to:

Integrate knowledge and skills in the program of study
Make ethical judgments while recognizing multiple perspectives, as appropriate in the program of study
Work collaboratively to accomplish learning objectives

Approved by the Academic Senate on April 13, 2021.

Program Outcomes

Accurately use basic medical terminology and apply relevant human biological principles to patients’ needs
Execute medical office responsibilities and tasks within ethical and legal boundaries
Practice patient-centered and coordinated care.
Employ state-of-the-art software to complete administrative tasks, including patient medical records management, collections, and insurance processing
Perform the most commonly used clinical testing procedures, such as EKS and phlebotomy

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