Medical Assisting

Medical assisting is a one-year certificate where students will receive training which involves administrative and clinical aspects of health care in clinics and physicians' offices.

AAMA Annual Report 2016

The Columbia Gorge Community College Medical Assisting Program just completed its 10th year. In that time, 136 students have graduated from the program. The 5-year running averages for the CGCC Medical Assistant Program are:

• Job placement rate for our graduates is 82%, with the primary employers being MCMC outpatient physicians, Providence Hood River physicians,  and One Community Health.
• Graduates of the CGCC Medical Assisting Program are satisfied with the education that they received, with a 5-year weighted average of 100%.
• The 5-year weighted average for employer satisfaction is also 100%.
• The retention rate for the same 5-year reporting period is 90%, which indicates a real commitment to student success by the college staff and faculty.
• Since inception of mandatory completion of the AAMA Certifying Exam, 89% of our graduates have taken the exam and 85% have passed the exam.  That is a 95% success rate.

We are proud of the success of the CGCC Medical Assisting Program and commend its faculty for the outstanding work that they do to promote student success even in to the work force.

Clinical Duties

• Assisting the physician and preparing patients for examinations and treatment.
• Taking and recording vital signs and medical histories.
• Performing certain diagnostic tests.
• Preparing, administering and documenting medications.
• Collecting and processing specimens.

Administrative Duties

• Scheduling and receiving patients
• Maintaining medical records.
• Handling telephone calls.
• Correspondence and reports.
• Insurance matters.
• Office accounts.
• Fees and collections.

Prerequisites

College entry-level competencies in English and computational skills. Completion of: WR 121, MTH 60, BI 121, MP 111