Medical Assistant Certificate

Medical professionals examining documents

Become a medical assistant

Program facts

Stackable to degree: Yes
Employment outcome: Certified Medical Assistant

Harper College's Medical Assistant Certificate program provides training in a variety of administrative and clerical tasks to facilitate physicians’ work. You'll gain skills in patient communication, computer functions, and record keeping, along with clinical skills such as assisting with examinations, treatments, diagnostic testing, patient education and preparation/administration of medications. Other areas of study include legal and ethical issues in health care, maintaining patient confidentiality and principles of insurance billing.

After successfully completing the program, you will be eligible to take the examination necessary to become a Certified Medical Assistant. Credit earned for the Medical Assistant Certificate can be applied to the Health Care Office Manager AAS degree.

Certificate program requirements

This concentrated 36 credit-hour certificate program is designed for the individual who is interested in becoming a medical assistant in a physician's office or other outpatient health care setting. The curriculum provides training in a variety of administrative and clinical tasks to facilitate the work of the physician. Administrative duties include patient communication, computer skills and record keeping. Clinical duties include assisting with examinations, treatments, diagnostic testing, patient education, and preparation and administration of medications.

The program may be taken part-time and many courses are available as asynchronous online courses. An orientation and planning session is recommended by the coordinator. Detailed information is available on the website harpercollege.edu.

The Medical Assistant certificate program at Harper College has been accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP) upon recommendation of the Medical Assistant Education Review Board (MAERB). Graduates of the programs are eligible to sit for the national certification examination sponsored by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). The MOA graduate who successfully completes this national examination is credentialed as a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA-AAMA).

Please contact the program coordinator for current name(s) and pertinent information regarding the national professional organization(s) affiliated with the programs in the Medical Office Administration department.

Required

A grade of C or better in all BIO, HSC and MOA courses is required for all students.

Required (Hours required: 36)
Number	Course Title	Credits
BIO 135	Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology	4
ENG 101	Composition I	3
HSC 112	Medical Terminology	2
MOA 100	Introduction to Medical Assisting	3
MOA 145	Health Care Records Management	2
MOA 150	Math Applications in Health Care	1
MOA 195	Principles of Health Insurance Billing	3
MOA 215	Clinical Procedures ¹	8
MOA 235	Health Care Office Procedures	3
MOA 280	Medical Assistant Externship ¹	3
MOA 291	Certified Medical Assistant Exam Review	1
PSY 101	Introduction to Psychology	3
Total Hours		36

¹: Students must submit an American Heart Association Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for the Health Care Provider (CPR) certificate before entering externship.

Program learning outcomes

Coordinate and facilitate patient care throughout the ambulatory care setting.
Effectively communicate with patients, families and members of the health care team.
Perform clerical functions necessary to maintain medical office appointments, transcription and health care records.
Maintain patient confidentiality.
Apply basic billing and collection, insurance, coding and managed care guidelines to maintain office bookkeeping.
Collect, process and transport specimens.
Perform, assist and follow up on procedure and diagnostic tests.
Perform within legal and ethical boundaries.
Instruct patients regarding health maintenance and disease prevention, perform operational and maintenance functions such as inventory of supplies and equipment, routine maintenance of equipment.
Utilize computer software to maintain office systems.
The student is able to effectively perform the clinical competencies of the medical assisting profession as outline by the AAMA in MOA 215 - Clinical Procedures.
The student will be prepared to take and pass the national Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) exam within one year of completion of the program.

Student achievement outcome data

Harper College provides annual statistics on retention rates and outcomes for the Medical Assistant Certificate program:

Date	Retention	Job Placement	Exam Passage
2024	100.00%	86.67%	83.33%
2023	85.71%	64.00%	90.00%
2022	82.76%	61.54%	87.50%
2021	87.50%	80.00%	92.86%
2020	81.25%	66.67%	100.00%
Five-year Average	87.12%	72.41%	88.89%

All students must be able to complete all technical standards and understand occupational risks for the medical assistant externship as outlined by the medical assistant handbook.

Accreditation

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program
9355 113th Ste N #7709 Seminole, FL 33775
www.caahep.org

Related programs

Students interested in medical office administration may also be interested in:

Health Care Office Manager AAS Degree

Resources

COVID Vaccine Requirement

For more information about medical assisting courses at Harper College, contact Admission Outreach at 847.925.6700, or submit a request information form. You can also apply online.