Medical Assistant
Become an integral member of a medical team.
Berkeley College offers a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited Medical Assistant Certificate program. Enrolling in a CAAHEP accredited program will ensure you are on the right path to building a successful career as a Medical Assistant.
The College also offers an Associate in Applied Science Medical Assistant degree program, which is an extension of the career-track Certificate program. Unlike other Medical Assistant programs, graduates of Berkeley College’s degree program also receive a Certificate in Medical Assistant.
Both the Certificate and Degree Medical Assistant programs are designed to prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession. This is accomplished by providing curriculum relating to patient care skills, general study, and administrative/business skills.
Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. A medical assistant takes vital signs, prepares patients for and assists physicians during examinations, collects and prepares laboratory specimens, performs basic laboratory tests on the premises, schedules appointments, bills patients, fills out insurance forms, and much more.
Berkeley College’s Medical Assistant Certificate and Associate in Applied Science degree programs prepare students to enter the high-demand field of healthcare and to work in a variety of settings, including physicians’ offices, hospitals, and other professional healthcare facilities. Graduates are prepared to meet both the clinical and administrative challenges of today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment.
The Associate in Applied Science degree program is an extension of the career-track Certificate program.
Graduates of the Medical Assistant programs are eligible to participate in a variety of certification examinations, including:
- Certified Medical Assistant - CMA (American Association of Medical Assistants)
- Registered Medical Assistant - RMA (American Medical Technologists)
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant - CCMA (National Healthcareer Association)
- Certified Electrocardiography - CET (National Healthcareer Association)
- Certified Phlebotomy - CPT (National Healthcareer Association)
- Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers - BLS (American Heart Association)
Students gain experience in a wide variety of areas, including:
- Clinical procedures such as electrocardiography (EKG), venipuncture, and specimen collection
- Medical office administration
- Medical terminology
- Pharmacology and human diseases
Benefit from:
- A strong foundation in both the theory and practice of clinical care
- Hands-on learning in on-site medical laboratories that simulate the clinical environment
- Instruction in the use of relevant medical devices and software
- Valuable, practical experience through a program-related, faculty-monitored practicum
- Liberal arts and sciences courses that provide students with a foundation of skills and knowledge necessary to reason clearly and communicate effectively
Certification
The Medical Assistant Certificate program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB). Graduates of CAAHEP-accredited Medical Assistant programs are eligible to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant - CMA (AAMA) exam. The CMA (AAMA) designation is a national credential awarded by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), indicating that the Medical Assistant meets certain standards of competence as determined by the AAMA. Although certification is not required to work in most states, employers prefer to hire certified Medical Assistants. In the State of New Jersey, Medical Assistants who hold the CMA (AAMA) credential are permitted to administer injections.
As reported on the 2022 Annual Report for the MAERB, the retention rate for students who began their Medical Assistant certificate program in 2020 was 77.19%, and the examination pass rate for all individuals who graduated from the Medical Assistant certificate program during the calendar year 2020 was 70 percent. Both of these rates far exceed the 60 percent threshold set forth by the MAERB.
Academic Programs