Medical Assisting

When you walk into a doctor's office, a Medical Assistant may be managing medical records, checking your vitals, or supporting medical or therapeutic procedures.

Medical Assisting programs combine aspects of medical care and the administrative support needs of a busy healthcare office. Medical training will include checking patient vitals, hearing and vision screenings, instrument sterilization, EKGs, urinalysis, hematology, medications, CPR, first aid, drawing blood, and medication administration. As they develop their skills, students have opportunities to work in supervised workplaces such as hospitals and doctor's offices.

Some schools offer State-Approved (Chapter-74) programs in Medical Assisting. These programs provide all of the training required to begin entry-level work in the field. Other schools may offer a more condensed version of this training, which has been designed at the local level. This is known as Non-Chapter 74 or "Perkins-Only." Learn more about the difference between State-Approved and Local CTE programs.