Medical Assisting Certificate More Information

Mission

The Medical Assisting program upholds the mission of Prince George’s Community College to create conditions for students to achieve academic, career, and personal goals, and meet the region’s present and future priorities by providing excellence in didactic, laboratory, and clinical education and training, and delivering rigorous program and practicum experiences to medical assisting graduates to meet the growing demand for entry-level Medical Assistants in the allied health care fields.

Vision

The vision of the Medical Assisting Program is to maintain the highest standards of education for medical assisting in preparing educationally and technically prepared entry-level medical assistant to serve the diverse needs of the community.

The Prince George’s Community College Medical Assisting Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Educational Review Board (MAERB).
 
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs 
9355 113th St N, #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
727-210-2350
 
Medical Assisting Education Review Board
2339 N. California Ave #47138
Chicago, IL 60647
312-392-0155

• To prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession (CAAHEP, 2022).
• Describe anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology within the scope of practice for a medical assistant as applied to patient care.
• Calculate basic units of measurement as applied to patient care activities.
• Describe the infection control related to medical assisting in a healthcare setting.
• Identify and apply types of effective communication used in a healthcare setting.
• Describe the administrative functions related to the application in medical assisting practice. 
• Describe the legal and ethical standards of care for applying medical assisting practice.
• Rationalize protective practices utilized in healthcare.
• Demonstrate positive the affective behaviors of a healthcare professional

The Prince George's Community College Medical Assisting Degree program annually publishes and makes accessible the Annual Review Report (ARF) to prospective and current students, graduates, and the general public.
 
Below are the approved cumulative results from the 2023 Medical Assisting Education Review for the years 2020-2022:

• Retention: 93.55%
• Graduate Participation: 100%
• Graduate Satisfaction: 100%
• Job Placement: 100%
• Employer Surveys sent: 100%
• Employer Satisfaction: 100%
• Exam participation: 100%
• Exam Passage: 100%

Students may be awarded credit for prior education experiences in which college-level learning may be verified through documentation or assessment. A maximum of 45 credit hours may be transferred to any one associate degree, of which not more than 30 credits may have been earned through nontraditional or non-collegiate sources. The granting of credit for general education requirements for students is determined upon the receipt and review of formal transcripts by the Records and Registration office. This includes high school AP courses and CLEP examinations.

Students can receive advanced placement for MAS 1100 after completing the MAS 1100 advanced placement exam. Students who complete the PGCC MOA (Medical Office Assistant) certificate — or its equivalent — and have a current (NHA) Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) certification will be granted advanced placement for MAS 2010. The granting of advanced placement does not apply to the following courses: MAS 1050, MAS 1060, MAS 2020, MAS 2040, MAS 2050, MAS 2060, MAS 2070, MAS 2110, and MAS 2300.

• Towson State University
• Trinity Washington College
• University of Maryland, College Park
• For a more comprehensive list of all transfer agreements, please click here.

Experiential Learning Prior Learning Assessment Network (PLAN)

Credit is not given for experiential learning in the core Medical Assisting courses due to programmatic requirements to fully assess students' knowledge and achievement of the required cognitive, psychomotor, and affective competencies.

1. Work up to 8-10 hours performing physical tasks such as walking, sitting, lifting, bending, and turning.
2. Perform fine motor movements needed to manipulate instruments and equipment.
3. Communicate effectively — both verbally and written — with peers, patients, and physicians.
4. Monitor and assess patients' needs using auditory and visual skills.
5. Work as a member of the health care team to care for patients while maintaining high standards of professionalism.
6. Work safely with patients who are susceptible to or in the contagious stages of communicable diseases.
7. Establish and work toward goals in a consistently responsible manner.

Medical assisting is a profession with many rewards as a practitioner can perform both administrative and clinical services, filling several roles in a variety of health care environments. 

Medical assistants work directly with providers and patients to provide health care and ensure patient safety. It is a position with a great deal of responsibility. As with any health care position, certain occupational risks come into play with being a medical assistant, and those hazards include the following:

• Exposure to infectious diseases.
• Sharp injuries.
• Bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards.
• Chemical and drug exposure.
• Ergonomic hazards from lifting, sitting, and repetitive tasks.
• Latex allergies.
• Stress.

At the same time, there are protections set up with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and those protections are particularly important within health care environments. OSHA has a series of standards that protect the safety of health care workers and patients.

As an accredited medical assisting program, we are required to teach students about the hazards they will face on the job and protocols that can be put into place to ensure a workplace culture that prioritizes safety.