Medical Assistant Certificate

Board of Higher Education Approved Certificate Program

Massasoit offers quality training in Medical Assisting through a nine-month (full-time) certificate program on our Canton campus.

Upon completion of the program, graduates are eligible to become credentialed through the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants after passing the CMA (AAMA) Certification Examination.

Graduates from the Massasoit Medical Assisting program receive a certificate of course completion. Once course work is completed, graduates must take a national certification exam to become certified medical assistants. Requirements regarding certification for employment vary by practice and state. Scope of practice laws by state web site.

Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks. Duties vary with type of practice.

Administrative duties include greeting patients, demonstrating effective communication skills in a professional manner, telephone interaction, scheduling appointments, utilizing electronic health records, and practice management software programs.

Clinical duties include obtaining medical histories, recording vital signs, preparing patients for examinations (pediatrics to gerontology), performing EKG’s, sterilization of instruments, collecting and identifying specimens, routine urinalysis, fecal analysis, clinical bacteriology, and phlebotomy. Medical assistants who work for specialists will have additional duties.

A seven week/245-hour clinical practicum in a health maintenance organization/health care facility is required for graduation.

Admission Requirements

1. Submit an application form to the Admissions Office. The Priority Application deadline is April 30. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
2. Submit documentation of high school graduation, GED / HiSET, or other state approved equivalency credential (transcript or diploma). All foreign high school transcripts must be evaluated.
3. Applicants must attend a Medical Assistant program information session, which includes an overview of the program with the program director and the associate director of admissions. Register for a medical information session online, or call 508-588-9100 x2114.
4. Complete required college placement tests in reading, writing, and mathematics. Schedule a testing appointment.

Career Opportunities

Graduates are in high demand in HMO’s (Health Maintenance Organizations), outpatient facilities, clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities.

The Medical Assisting Program at Massasoit Community College has an exam passage rate of 71 percent and a 94.7 percent job placement rate for the 2021 graduates and 100 percent retention rate for the 2020 admission cohort based on the data from the 2022 Annual Report submitted to the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

The Medical Assisting Program at Massasoit Community College is accredited by CAAHEP on recommendation of the MAERB.