Medical Assisting Degree

Entrance date: Varies

Core courses: Each semester

Occupationally specific courses: Varies

Beginning Spring 2022 (January 2022), ALL FIRST TIME college students will be required to take the College Success (COLL 1020) course.

Students at Albany Technical College, Medical Assisting program are satisfied with the education that they receive, as there is a 100% graduate satisfaction rate over the past five years.

Minimum Test Scores

ACCUPLACER NEXT GENERATION– | Reading | 236 | ACCUPLACER- | Sentence Skills | 70 Writing | 249 | Reading Comprehension | 64 Quantitative Reasoning | 245 | Algebra | 57

High School diploma or equivalent required for admission.

Applicant must be at least 17 years of age.

Applicant must pass the PSB test with a score of “40” or better. Students must attend program orientation.

The Medical Assisting program includes an internship. All students must show proof of the following prior to clinical rotation:

- Physical exam - Dental exam - PPD (negative or chest x-ray) - Immunization record - Liability insurance - Hepatitis series or signed declination form

Students who refuse to take the Hepatitis B vaccination series must sign a declination form and be aware that clinical sites may refuse you an opportunity to gain clinical experience.

- Drug screening

A positive drug screening will result in termination from the Medical Assisting program

- Criminal background check

All criminal background checks will be approved by the externship site. Please be advised that sites may allow you to extern but may not hire you based on your criminal record. Conviction of a felony or gross misdemeanor may prohibit employment in the field and may make the student ineligible to extern, thus not completing the program for graduation. For more information, contact the appropriate program advisor. All of the above tests and records are the student's expense.

Graduates are required to take the American Association of Medical Assistants Certification Examination to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA).

Felons will not be eligible for CMA Exam unless the Certifying Board grants a waiver based on one or more of the following mitigating circumstances:

- The age at which the crime was committed; - The circumstances surrounding the crime; - The nature of the crime committed; - The length of time since the conviction; - The individual’s criminal history since the conviction; - The individual’s current employment references; - The individual’s character references. Other evidence demonstrating the ability of the individual to perform the professional responsibilities competently and evidence that the individual does not pose a threat to the health or safety of patients.

If a student fails or withdraws from the same class twice, whether it be a core, allied health, or medical assisting course, the student will be dropped from the program and unable to reenter for five (5) years. *This also applies to students in the Business Technology diploma (Medical Administrative Assistant Specialization), and the Health Information Coding diploma taking the MAST 1120 Human Diseases course.