Medical Assistant Program Curriculum – Students will have to learn and be tested on the following information laid out in the curriculum. All information can be accessed in the resources and lecture videos listed below the curriculum.
Subject Requirements to Complete a Medical Assistant Certificate:
Medical Terminology
Anatomy and Physiology
Common Medical Scenarios and Common Medical Diseases
Patient Care
Pharmacology
Phlebotomy
Description of Courses
- Medical Terminology – This course teaches students the basics of medical terminology, and how to use it within the workplace to better assist their presiding physician. Various word components such as suffixes, prefixes, special endings, plural forms, abbreviations, symbols, key phrases, etc. will be taught. Students will learn the language system that medical terminology is and will be able to construct and build new terms. Students will also learn proper spelling and grammar pertaining to the medical field.
- Anatomy & Physiology – This course will teach students basic human anatomy and physiology and will use their knowledge from medical terminology instructions in learning the various parts of the human body.
- Common Medical Problems / Disease – This course will teach students how to identify the causes and symptoms of the many most common medical problems and diseases they may see while within a clinical setting. This course also will briefly teach students the very basics of which drug treatments to use on a case-by-case patients as the disease and medical problems are diagnosed and addressed.
- Patient Care – This course teaches students basic clinical skills, such as interviewing patients, taking their vitals, and assisting with the the physical exams.
- Pharmacology – This course will teach students how to identify and classify various groups of drugs and substances. While doing so, students will learn about the adverse reactions that each drug can cause, as well as each drug’s main effect and side effects. Once these basics are learned, students may then be instructed in how to administer medicine in multiple routes, such as orally, parenterally, transdermal, and through inhalation.
- Phlebotomy – This course will teach students how to perform various blood collection methods using proper techniques. These methods include: capillary skin puncture, vacuum collection devices, syringes, blood culture, butterfly needles, and specimen collection in individuals of all ages. Students are taught how to prevent certain infections and diseases, and how to store specimen that has been collected.