Medical Assistant

Score of 81 or higher on the Arithmetic portion of the Accuplacer test taken within the past 2 years OR score of 22 or higher on the Mathematics subject area of the ACT test taken within the past 2 years OR Anoka Technical College MATH 0801 with a grade of “B” or better within the past 2 years 

Score of 86 or higher on the Sentence Skills portion of the Accuplacer test taken within the past 3 years OR score of 18 or higher on the English subject area of the ACT test taken within the past 3 years OR Anoka Technical College ENGL 0101 with a grade of “C” or better within the past 3 years

Score of 78 or higher on the Reading Comprehension portion of the Accuplacer test taken within the past 3 years OR score of 21 or higher on the reading subject area of the ACT test taken within the past 3 years OR Anoka Technical College READ 0900 with a grade of “C” or better within the past 3 years

The Medical Assistant faculty believe 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. The student is placed in a medical clinic for uncompensated, practical on-the-job experience. The 320- hour externship is supervised by clinical staff.

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:

1. Perform scheduling of admission, appointments and tests.
2. Organize medical records.
3. Apply administrative policies and procedures effectively.
4. Demonstrate competent written and medical terminology skills.
5. Demonstrate handling and disposing of medical waste.
6. Apply principles and safety for laboratory procedures.
7. Demonstrate efficient interpersonal skills with patients, medical personal and co-workers.
8. Adapt methods and techniques to individual needs/capabilities of patients.
9. Demonstrate professionalism with the legal and ethical boundaries of the medical assisting profession.
10. Demonstrate safety and emergency practices in health care surroundings.
11. 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, venipunctures, capillary punctures, hematology, urinalysis and kit testing.
12. Demonstrate responsibility within the scope of practice of a medical assistant.

• Competently perform as entry level Medical Assistants in the cognitive (learning), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behaviors) learning domains
• Continue to provide quality graduates to support the needs of our community and area employers
• Help students and communities live and learn well
• Foster an environment of critical thinking, effective communication, personal responsibility, and initiative

All Anoka Technical College students seeking an Associate in Applied Science (AAS), diploma, or certification must meet a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher. Please contact your program advisor for any further program graduation requirements.

NOTE: Program plans are subject to change. Please contact your program advisor for the most current program information.

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
25400 U.S. Highway 19 North, Suite 158
Clearwater, FL  33756
727-210-2350

To see how this may transfer into other Anoka Technical College programs or into another college, please visit:

• Minnesota Transfer or
• Anoka Technical College transfer student  

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, taking 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, communicate 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 information is available from the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Deb LeHew
763-576-4748

Lisa Sailor
763-576-4894

Stacey Wanovich
763-576-4843

For service during summer hours contact Enrollment Services
763-576-7710