Medical Assistant

The hybrid medical assistant certificate program provides dual skills training in both administrative and clinical areas, in preparation for national certification examination. Medical assistant administrative skills are taught including electronic health records, document processing, and medical insurance processing. The clinical components of the program include first aid, CPR, taking vital signs, administration of medication, pharmacology, and phlebotomy. Routine patient care clinical duties include preparation, assisting, and follow-up of patients for medical examinations and treatments, specimen collection, and basic office diagnostic procedures. Additionally, this comprehensive program includes training in patient education, working with the geriatric population, nutrition, and cultural diversity. A six-week externship offers an opportunity to gain confidence, industry experience and professional exposure in a medical facility. Completion of this program is designed to prepare students to challenge a national certification exam.

Available at the Madison Heights, Dearborn, Roseville, Saginaw, Wayne and Woodhaven Campuses.

Externship

Students participate in an externship during the last module of training, providing professional exposure and unpaid work-related clinical and administrative experience in a medical facility. Students must complete 180 externship hours during the six-week module.

Professional Certification

Professional certifications enhance the prospect of ultimately securing and maintaining rewarding employment. Dorsey College graduates are encouraged to sit for applicable certification examinations. Dorsey College will pay the cost one time for medical assistant program graduates to challenge a certification examination as selected by Dorsey College, contingent upon the graduate meeting Dorsey College exam preparation requirements.

Admissions inquiries may be directed to a Dorsey College campus convenient to you, or you can call 888-422-1188 to arrange a convenient appointment with an admissions representative. A career planning session will be scheduled to review Dorsey College’s career programs and the applicant’s attitude, motivation, and commitment to training. Successful applicants will be provided with a copy of their fully executed enrollment agreement.

The medical assistant program length is 11.1 months (48 weeks) of contact time, which is scheduled over approximately 12 months.

Tuition includes course e-textbooks and textbooks (except non-consumable textbooks, which remain the property of Dorsey College). One complimentary “medical scrub” uniform, a blood pressure kit with stethoscope, CPR certification and an electronic device are provided to all students enrolled in the medical assistant program.

Types of Financial Aid

After completing the FAFSA and establishing eligibility, students at Dorsey College receive a financial aid offer that may include one or more types of assistance.

Scholarships — Typically awarded on the basis of academic achievement or other qualifying criteria. Scholarships do not need to be repaid. Examples include the Fostering Futures Scholarship, Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS), Mi Gear Up Scholarship, Dorsey Great Start Scholarships, and several memorial scholarships.

Grants — Need-based awards that may be funded by the federal government, the State of Michigan, Dorsey College, or private organizations. Grants do not require repayment. Examples include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (CVTG), Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG), Ruth Dorsey Grant, Pat Fischer Culinary Arts Grant, and Dorsey Veterans Grant.

Loans — Low-interest student loans are available and must be repaid when a student graduates, withdraws, or drops below half-time enrollment. Options include the Federal Stafford Loan Program, Direct PLUS Loan (for parents), Dorsey Institutional Loan, and private educational loans.

Federal Work-Study — Provides part-time employment opportunities, enabling students to earn wages that can be applied toward educational expenses.

Other Benefits and Job Training Opportunities — Students may also qualify for state-sponsored programs, veterans’ benefits, or other workforce development and job training initiatives, including the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) Phase I, EMS Career Programs Advance Payment Incentive, Tuition Reimbursement, Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS), Michigan Merit Award, Veterans Education Benefits, Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and UAW Tuition Assistance Plan.

The Dorsey College financial aid department provides students with both entrance and exit loan counseling.

Total program tuition is $22,320 (tuition only; any fees billed separately).

Career Services

Career services coordinators assist program completers in establishing and accomplishing personal employment goals, polishing resumes, and providing job search and interview techniques, in support of Dorsey College’s objective to “assist students to secure training-related employment.” The Dorsey College career services coordinators can be reached at each campus or online at www.dorsey.edu.

Dorsey College maintains an impressive graduate employment (“placement”) rate, serving as its hallmark. Dorsey College calculates its placement rate according to the requirements of its institutional accreditor. Thousands of graduates from Dorsey College have launched new, exciting, and rewarding careers with many of Michigan’s leading employers. These graduates fulfill Dorsey College’s objective to educate students who are well prepared to enter the workplace, and assume the tasks and challenges associated with their new careers and satisfy the performance requirements of employers. Licensure must be obtained from the State of Michigan to work as a practical nurse, registered nurse, massage therapist, emergency medical technician, paramedic, cosmetologist, manicurist, esthetician, EMT instructor/coordinator or as a pharmacy technician.

Dorsey College does not guarantee job placement or starting salary. Dorsey College has developed and continues to develop long-term relationships with employers to enhance employment opportunities for completers.

A Message From the President

At Dorsey College we take great pride in providing our students with a positive learning environment that includes smaller classes taught by credentialed instructors with real-world experience. Training at Dorsey College is hands-on and performance based, using simulated work environments to ensure you are equipped with the practical skills needed to meet the demands of your chosen career field. Most of our programs are taught in a hybrid learning model that includes online and on-ground courses to provide flexibility and convenience. Classroom and laboratory training is combined with clinical training or an externship in most programs, where students go on-site to an employer in their field to gain real life industry experience.

Established in downtown Detroit in 1934, Dorsey College continues the heritage of its founder, Ruth Dorsey, as a trusted name for comprehensive, quality career training. Now in operation for over ninety years, Dorsey College has continued to be a mark of educational distinction with tens of thousands of graduates enjoying successful careers throughout the country. Institutional facilities consist of seven campus locations with well-equipped classrooms and laboratories, including medical labs, dental labs, HVAC and electrical labs, culinary kitchens, cosmetology clinics and massage therapy clinics furnished with program-appropriate equipment to simulate the work environment for which the student is training.