Medical Assisting Diploma (MA22)
The Medical Assisting diploma program prepares students for employment in a variety of positions in today's medical offices. The program provides learning opportunities which introduce, develop, and reinforce academic and occupational knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement. Additionally, the program provides opportunities to upgrade present knowledge and skills or to retrain in the area of medical assisting. The Medical Assisting program at West Georgia Technical College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), 25400 US Highway 19 North, Suite 158, Clearwater, FL 33763; phone 727.210.2350 (www.caahep.org), upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB), 20 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 1575, Chicago, IL 60606; phone 800.228.2262.
NOTE: According to the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), a person may be denied the opportunity to take the certification examination and/or may be denied certification to practice Medical Assisting if the person has been convicted of a felony or any crime violating federal or state controlled substance laws or other grounds as specified by law.
Career Opportunities
Graduates have many choices for future employment, including private physicians' offices, clinics, emergency care facilities, hospitals, and other health care organizations. Positions include medical assistant, transcriptionist, receptionist, insurance clerk, office manager, EKG technician, lab assistant (phlebotomist), and private duty care. The field is presently experiencing rapid expansion, and the trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
Competitive Selection Process
Medical Assisting Preparatory/Core courses
The annual deadline is July 1 for the Murphy Campus. To be eligible for the Medical Assisting program selection, the student must complete the following requirements by the applicable deadline.
- The student must complete the following courses with a minimum grade of C: ALHS 1011, ALHS 1090, ENGL 1010, and MATH 1012.
- Must complete PSYC 1010 and CISM 2201 with a minimum grade of C prior to entering the program, but the grade for this course is not calculated in the GPA for the competitive selection process.
Medical Assisting Competitive Selection
In addition to completion of the core courses listed above, the Medical Assisting program requires students in competitive selection to complete the Psychological Service Bureau (PSB) Health Occupations Aptitude Examination, Edition 3. Please refer to the Admissions section of this catalog for details of the Competitive Selection Process applicant requirements and scoring method. Additional information is also available on the MA program web page.
Students ranked with the highest overall scores for required course completion and PSB exam will be selected for program admission.
Medical Assisting Occupational and Clinical Courses
Students selected for admission to the Medical Assisting program will complete the occupational and clinical program courses in a prescribed sequence as a cohort. A class is admitted each fall semester at the Murphy Campus.
Credit Required for Graduation: Minimum of 54 credit hours
Curriculum
Basic Skills Courses
Occupational Courses
CISM 2201: Students who successfully complete COMP 1000 prior to January 2018 may use that course to fulfill the CISM 2201 requirement for graduation.