The Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) program at Saint Joseph’s College prepares you to excel by providing positive patient experiences. Our in-depth program cross-trains you to develop your patient care skills through hands-on relevant learning, along with communication and customer service disposition. Before students are sent out for their clinical experiences, we replicate real-life situations in our medical lab, allowing our students to practice and perfect their learning and skills. Those who complete our certification have the potential to advance to the top of their career as a valued part of the medical community.

Upon completion of the program, you will be eligible to sit for your CCMA national certification.  The certification is through the National Healthcareers Association (NHA).

At Saint Joseph’s College, we understand you have a lot on your plate, that’s why we offer both in-person and hybrid class settings for our Medical Assisting program. We provide flexibility through online lectures to accommodate your busy schedule while still having the accountability of meeting in person. Online lectures will be taught synchronously. Synchronous instruction is real-time instruction that requires students to attend online lectures at scheduled times.  

If you have an inquisitive mind and communicate well, you may already be well-suited for a career as a Medical Assistant. 

Clinical Medical Assistants are vital to the patient experience in a healthcare setting. They’re typically the first medical professional a patient interacts with during a visit - they serve as a connector between a patient and their physician. Medical assistants will prepare examination rooms, conduct a medical history interview to gather concerns and symptoms, and measure various vital signs that will be passed along to the physician. 

Medical Assistants also help put patients at ease to overcome “white coat syndrome” – an anxiety condition that causes elevated blood pressure readings while in a physician’s office. They find ways to relax their patients by talking about their interests, joking around, or talking about seasonal plans.

A medical assistant may help up to 25 patients each day, but what they assist with depends on the nature of the patient’s visit. However, a few tasks are essential to perform for almost all patients:

• Reviewing notes from a patient’s appointment to abstract all diagnoses, procedures, treatments, and other services
• gathering general information such as height and weight
• measuring vital signs including blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate and temperature.

Other tasks include:

• Administering medications
• Providing patient education
• Assisting with examinations
• Obtaining laboratory specimens
• Perform EKGs
• Give injections
• Remove sutures or staples

As a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant, you’ll confidently gain employment opportunities in diverse medical environments. The skills learned through our certification program are fundamental to hospitals, health clinics, specialist offices, nursing homes, hospice care centers, and outpatient facilities.

Once medical assistants have some general experience under their belt, they may want to look at specializations in ob-gyn, ophthalmology or podiatry. Having numerous certifications and specialized training certificates can broaden the medical horizons, and they look great on a resume!