The Medical Assistant Certificate Program will educate multi-skilled professionals specifically to work in ambulatory settings performing administrative and clinical duties. The program’s graduate will have a mastery of a complex body of knowledge and specialized skills acquired from both formal education and practical experience providing competence to serve as standards for entry into the profession. By completing the program and achieving certification, the medical assistant program graduate will be prepared to directly influence the public’s health and well-being.
Program Objectives
- Prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.
- Provide academic assessment and development of critical thinking, effective communication, and personal and professional responsibility.
- To prepare students who are professional proficient to perform clinical and administrative duties of a medical assistant.
- Based on domain competencies established by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
- To serve the needs of the communities of interest through continuous program assessment and improvement while monitoring the ever changing health-care environment.
Curriculum Overview
The curriculum for the medical assisting program includes 6-7 months of courses. Upon completion of the program, the student is eligible to take the medical assisting certification exam.
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| GCMA 011 | Introductions to Medical Assisting |
| GCMA 012 | Fundamentals of Medical Assisting - Patient Care II |
| GCMA 013 | The Medical Assistant in the Front Office |
| GCMA 014 | Professionalism and Preparation for Certification |
| GCMA 015 | Professionalism and Preparation for Certification |
| GCMA 016 | Competence with the NHA Medical Assisting Certification Examination |
| RELT 101 | Jesus, Health, and Healing |
| AHCJ 124* | Introductory Medical Anthropology |
| AHCJ 135* | Essentials of Anatomy, Physiology, and Lab |
| HLCS 241* | Medical Terminology |
*Transferrable college units. Optional.
Clinical Experiences
Students will participate in a minimum of 160 hours of clinical experiences. Practicum hours will take place at the SACHS clinic located on the same campus as San Manuel Gateway College. Additional clinical experiences may occur at other local clinics.
Medical Assistant Training - SMGC 2020 Outcomes
- Retention Rate: 90.91&
- Job Placement: 90.91%
- Certification Exam Passage: 100%