The Anoka Technical College Medical Assistant associate in applied science (AAS) is a 60-credit program. The program prepares students to provide these medical office services under the supervision of a physician:
Prerequisites
Courses with the MAST prefix are restricted to students admitted to the Medical Assistant Program.
Also see Graduation Requirements.
Background Study
State law requires that any person who provides services that involve direct contact with patients and/or residents at a health care facility have a background study conducted by the state. A student who is disqualified as a result of a background check will not be allowed to enter the program major. A student must receive a “Background Study Clearance” within 90 days preceding the start of clinical or fieldwork courses to be placed at a partnering facility. Any student failing to receive clearance will be disqualified from enrollment in the course. Arrests, charges, or convictions of criminal offenses may cause a student to fail a background study. If a student is disqualified, the student has the right to request reconsideration of the disqualification. It is the responsibility of the student to request consideration by the MN Department of Health Commissioner if he or she chooses to do so. An applicant is considered to be disqualified while in the reconsideration process.
Credits
| TOTAL CREDITS |
60
|
| Technical Education |
|
| Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
| BIOL1106 |
Introduction to Biology |
4
|
| EMED1075 |
First aid & CPR |
1 |
| HLTH1000 |
Disease Conditions |
2
|
| HLTH1005 |
Anatomy and Physiology |
4
|
| HLTH 1040 |
Medical Terminology |
2
|
| MAST 1007 |
Medical Administrative I |
2
|
| MAST 1025 |
Laboratory I |
4
|
| MAST 1035 |
Laboratory II |
4
|
| MAST 1040 |
Clinical Procedures I |
3
|
| MAST 1055 |
Pharmacology I |
2
|
| MAST 1150 |
Medical Assistant Seminar |
2
|
| MAST 2007 |
Medical Administrative II |
2
|
| MAST 2030 |
EKG |
1
|
| MAST 2043 |
Clinical Procedures II |
3
|
| MAST 2055 |
Pharmacology II |
2
|
| MAST 2050 |
Externship |
7
|
| TOTAL |
|
45 |
| |
General Education/MnTC Requirements
|
|
Fifteen (15) general education credits of Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) are required.
Students are required to take: |
| COMP 1004 |
Electronic Health Records |
2 |
| ENGL 105 |
Composition I |
4
|
| *MATH 1020 |
Math for Health Care |
2 |
| Four (4) credits must be selected from the following: |
| PSYC 1405 |
Lifespan Human Development |
4 |
| PSYC 1505 |
General Psychology |
4 |
| |
|
|
| Three (3) credits must be selected from the following: |
| SPCH 1120 |
Public Speaking |
3
|
| SPCH 1200 |
Interpersonal Communications |
3
|
| TOTAL |
|
15 |
|
* The pre-requisite for this course is a score of 81, higher on Accuplacer test or MATH 0801 “Basic Math” with a “B”, or better.
|
Full-Time Sequence
| FULL-TIME Sequence |
| First Semester |
| Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
| COMP 1004 |
Electronic Health Records |
2
|
| *HLTH 1000 |
Disease Conditions |
2
|
| *HLTH 1005 |
Anatomy and Physiology |
4
|
| *HLTH 1040 |
Medical Terminology |
2
|
| MAST 1150 |
Medical Assistant Seminar |
2
|
| *MATH 1020 |
Math for Health Care |
2
|
| |
| TOTAL |
|
14
|
| |
| Second Semester |
| *BIOL 1106 |
Introduction to Biology |
4
|
| MAST 1007 |
Medical Administrative I |
2
|
| MAST 1025 |
Laboratory I |
4
|
| MAST 1040 |
Clinical Procedures I |
3
|
| MAST 2007 |
Medical Administrative II |
2
|
| |
| TOTAL |
|
15
|
| |
| Third Semester |
| EMED 1075 |
First Aid & CPR |
1 |
| *ENGL 1105 |
Composition I |
4
|
| *PSYC 1405 |
Lifespan Development |
4
|
| OR |
|
|
| *PSYC 1505 |
General Psychology |
4
|
| *SPCH 1120 |
Public Speaking |
3 |
| OR |
|
|
| *SPCH 1200 |
Interpersonal Communication |
3 |
| |
| TOTAL |
|
12
|
| |
| Fourth Semester |
| MAST 1035 |
Laboratory II |
4
|
| MAST 1055 |
Pharmacology I |
2
|
| MAST 2030 |
EKG |
1
|
| MAST 2043 |
Clinical Procedures II |
3
|
| MAST 2055 |
Pharmacology II |
2
|
| |
| TOTAL |
|
12
|
| |
| Fifth Semester |
| MAST 2050 |
Externship |
7
|
| |
| TOTAL |
|
7
|
|
Although the general education courses are listed in the sequence above, the courses may be taken any semester and in any order.
*May be completed ahead of required semester plan.
**All required course work must be successfully completed before participating in the externship.
|
Program Rationale
The Medical Assistant faculty believes that learning is a dynamic method facilitated by role modeling and surrounding students in a series of simulated classroom, clinical and laboratory settings.
The Medical Assistant program offers full and part-time classes. Prior to the externship, students successfully complete First Aid/CPR for Healthcare Workers. The student is placed in a medical clinic for uncompensated, practical on the job experience. The 320- hour externship is supervised by clinical staff. Many medical offices hire only certified medical assistants as they are well trained, credentialed and sufficiently competent to meet the medical doctor, physician assistant and/or registered nurses’ specific needs.
The medical assistant is qualified to work in clinics, urgent care clinics, blood collection centers, research facilities, and insurance companies. Medical assistants can tailor their hours to fit their family’s schedules.
Program Outcomes
This program offers an educational program for students who wish to pursue a career in the medical assistant field. This profession is the only allied health specifically trained to work in ambulatory health settings. Medical assistants are multi-skilled employees, competent to perform administrative, clinical and laboratory procedures within the supervising physician’s scope of practice consistent with medical assisting education, training and experience.
Upon successful completion of program requirements, graduates will be able to:
- Perform scheduling of admission, appointments and tests.
- Organize medical records.
- Apply administrative policies and procedures effectively.
- Demonstrate competent written and medical terminology skills.
- Demonstrate handling and disposing of medical waste.
- Apply principles and safety for laboratory procedures.
- Demonstrate efficient interpersonal skills with patients, medical personal and co-workers.
- Adapt methods and techniques to individual needs/capabilities of patients.
- Demonstrate professionalism with the legal and ethical boundaries of the medical assisting profession.
- Demonstrate safety and emergency practice in health care surroundings.
- Perform vital signs, exam room preparation, patient data collection, documentation, billing, medical transcription, medical and surgical asepsis, dressing changes, catheterization, injections, drug administration, nutrition, electrocardiograms, veinipunctures, capillary punctures, hematology, urinalysis and kit testing.
- Demonstrates responsibility within the “scope of practice” of a medical assistant.
Program Goals
- Prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in cognitive (knowledge) psychomotor (skills) and affective (behavior) learning domains.
- Become an employer of choice.
- Help students and communities live and learn well.
- Foster an environment of critical thinking, effective communication, personal responsibility and initiative.
Graduation Requirements
All Anoka Technical College students must demonstrate basic competency in Math, English, and Reading. Competency may be demonstrated through achieving minimum cut scores in new student assessments (Accuplacer); through other assessment exemptions; or through successful completion of Basic Math, Basic English, and Reading courses, earning a “C” or higher before receiving a diploma or an associate in applied science degree.
Also see graduation standards in Anoka Technical College Student Handbook.
NOTE: Program plans are subject to change. Please contact your program advisor for the most current program information.
Accreditation
The Anoka Technical College Medical Assistant program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
1361 Park Street
Clearwater, FL 33756
727-210-2350
Certification
Graduate can take the National Certification Examination to become certified with the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).
Transfer Opportunities
To see how this program transfers to other programs, review the Anoka Tech articulation agreements at Minnesota Transfer. Articulation agreements are transfer agreements with specific programs and partnering schools. These agreements detail how specific courses transfer to a specific program at the partnering school. For a complete list of Anoka Tech’s articulation agreements listed by program please see this Minnesota Transfer link.
This program may also include Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) courses. MnTC courses transfer to meet MnTC general education courses throughout the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. MnTC courses from Anoka Technical College transfer to any MnSCU institution to meet the same goal areas that are met at Anoka Tech.
Students are encouraged to contact the Office of Records and Registration at all transfer schools for details about the institution’s transfer process and policies.
For more information please visit our Transfer page.
Industry Information
A medical assistant is eligible to work in clinics, urgent care/express care/ minute clinics, blood collection centers, research facilities and insurance companies.
Duties could include administering injections, and blood pressure readings, rooming patients, drawing blood, performing commonly ordered laboratory tests and electrocardiograms (EKG), insurance coding, medical records and scheduling patients for special procedures or other medical appointment.
Medical assistants have direct patient contact and work closely with physicians, nurses and other health care professionals. The ability to demonstrate professionalism, communicates effectively, multitask, and perform procedures quickly and accurately is essential for success.
Advancement typically requires more training and certification. Many medical assistants choose to become nurses or other health care workers through further study. Administrative positions provide another popular career path because an administrative medical assistant can rise to the position of office manager without additional education.
Wage/Outlook/Advancement
Faculty