Medical Assistant - MEDA.COC

Accreditation and Program Outcomes

Springfield Technical Community College’s Medical Assistant Certificate program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education programs (www.caahep.org) upon recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB). 

Program Goals

1. Prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills) and affective (behavior) learning domains.
2. Provide students with the most current, state of the art technology, equipment and supplies to best prepare them to meet the demands of the health care field.
3. Prepare students to communicate effectively and work as part of a health care team in a professional, legal and ethical manner.
4. Prepare graduates to find employment and to meet or exceed employer expectations of an entry level Medical Assistant.
5. Provide the community and employers with an adequate number of qualified and credentialed graduates to meet the demands of the health care field.
6. Prepare students to successfully pass the national credentialing exams, namely the CMA (AAMA),or RMA.
7. Educate and encourage students/graduates to participate in their professional organization, seek and participate in continuing education opportunities and promote the career of Medical Assisting.  
8. To foster an atmosphere of professionalism and competence as our students develop their professional values.

Applying to this Program

• Applications are accepted on a rolling admission basis, applications will be accepted until the program is full. Review of applications for consideration will begin after March 31 of the acceptance year.
• Fall start only, day program only
• This is a competitive admissions program, an average of 26 students will be accepted each fall. Student applications will be evaluated and scored based on the admission pre-requisites as noted below:

Admission Prerequisites:

• Proof of High School transcript, GED or HISET
• English
  • Completion of 4 years of high school English (grade of C or higher) ; OR
  • Placement examination score  at ENG-101  level: OR
  • Successful completion of DWT-099  or a higher level college  English (grade of C or higher)
• Math
  • Completion of high school pre-Algebra (grade of C or higher, within 5 years); OR
  • Placement examination score at MAT-081  : OR
  • Successful completion of Pre-Algebra MAT-078  (grade of C or higher, within 5 years)
• Medical Terminology
  • Completion of MED-100  (grade of C or higher, within 5 years); OR
  • Passing score on the STCC MED-100  challenge exam
• Admission Checklist (click here to download/print)
  • In order to strengthen your application, it is strongly recommended you submit this document along with all other requirements.

Notes:

• Mid-semester grades for spring required and prerequisite courses will be considered. Students requesting consideration for course work being performed at another accredited college must submit a mid-term grade report to the Admissions office along with their application.

• Conditional acceptances will be given for applicants who have incomplete courses in the spring semester. The condition will state what final grade must be earned to gain full acceptance. Students not meeting stated conditions will not be granted admission to the program.

• Courses with designated time frame must be current within 5 years from the start of the program (fall of application year)

• The following are examples of how to strengthen your application for admission ;
  • Completion of College level Biology (BIO-101  , BIO-104  or BIO-231  ) ( grade of C or higher, within 5 years)
  • Completion or mid-term grade in Human Body in Health and Disease (MED-102  ) (grade C or better, within 5 years)
  • College GPA of 2.0 or better
  • Students currently enrolled AND/OR who have completed 12 credits of liberal arts/general education and science courses at STCC.
  • Previous college degree (Associate degree or higher)

Applying for Re-Admission to this Program

Students who leave this health program before completing it may apply for re-admission.  Students reapplying to the program must resubmit an application, all supporting documents and essay with updated official transcripts. Students will be eligible to receive up to a maximum of one re-admission. Click here  for information about the re-admission policy and process. 

Additional Requirements for Accepted Students

Deposit: If offered admission, a non-refundable $50.00 deposit will be required to secure your acceptance to this Program.

Mandatory Health Records:  All required health records, immunizations, and physicals MUST be filed in the STCC Health and Wellness Center by July 1 of the admission year. The Health and Wellness Center is located in the Building 19 Room 177 (413-755-4230). For additional information and required forms please visit the Health and Wellness Center website at http://www.stcc.edu/healthservices. The college/program reserves the right to rescind the admission status of any student not meeting, as well as not submitting, all post-admission requirements in a timely manner. 

Background Check: College programs involving potentially unsupervised contact with children, the disabled, or the elderly, including fieldwork (a clinical affiliation, internship, externship, or field placement) with a private or public healthcare provider or daycare provider, will be required to undergo state-wide and/or national criminal background checks, including but not limited to: Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and Sex Offender Record Information (SORI), Seven (7) year residential Search, and FBI Fingerprinting checks. The purpose of the background check is to ensure a safe and protective environment for all clients, particularly members of vulnerable populations.

Students choosing not to consent to the required background checks will be ineligible to participate in fieldwork involving vulnerable populations. Ineligibility to participate in fieldwork may affect a student’s ability to successfully complete the program.

Based upon the results of the background checks, a student may be deemed ineligible to participate in academic or clinical activities, which may impact a student’s ability to successfully complete program requirements. Background checks are reviewed by the College’s CORI Board. The CORI Board determines eligibility to participate in academic and/or clinical activities. Students have the right to appeal the determination of the CORI Board by filing a written appeal with the Vice President of Student and Multicultural Affairs within 10 business days of receiving the CORI Board’s determination.

Furthermore, please be advised that eligibility to participate in College academic and/or clinical activities following a background check does not guarantee eligibility to sit for a professional credentialing examination(s) or for employment upon program completion. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the certification or licensure board for a particular healthcare or other service profession to determine the standards that must be met for credentialing, licensing and/or employment in that field.

Drug Screening Policy for Clinical Placement: The School of Health & Patient Simulation is committed to high quality education and providing excellent clinical experiences to students in the health professions. Students are expected to perform at their highest functional level during all educational and clinical experiences in order to maximize the learning environment and ensure patient safety. Thus a student’s performance at all times must be free of any impairment caused by prescription or non-prescribed drugs or alcohol use. Students enrolling in Health Professions programs are required to undergo and pass a drug and/or alcohol screening analysis in order to be eligible for placement in a clinical facility. Students assigned to clinical education experiences at our contracted facilities may also be required to undergo and pass random drug screening analysis in order to remain at that clinical facility and in the program. Students who fail a screening, or refuse to submit to a screening within the designated time frame will be ineligible for clinical placement, which will affect their status in the program. Students with a positive drug test may challenge the results of the test within five (5) business days of notification of the drug test results. This challenge must be in writing and delivered to the college’s Director of Health Services. Students may re-apply for re-entry into a health program after one year. Requests for re-admission will be considered on a case by case basis.

Students who are notified of a negative-dilute result will submit to a random drug test within 24 hours of the previous test in order to confirm the negative status of the screening. Additional random testing may also be required under the guidelines listed in your program’s handbook. A student who claims that he/she tested positive due to a prescription drug and was unable to clarify this matter with the medical review officer (MRO) from the drug testing lab shall be required to provide evidence from a health care provider of the type of prescription, dates of permissible use and dosage amounts within five (5) business days of notification of the drug test results to the college’s Director of the Health and Wellness Center. Failure to complete this notification will result in the student being ineligible for clinical placement, which will affect their status in the program

Students who test positive for marijuana are unable to continue in a clinical placement, which will affect their status in the health program. A student who has a prescription for Medical Marijuana and tests positive for marijuana will be reviewed on a case by case basis in order for the college to determine the availability to provide accommodations and clinical placements due to the federal restrictions on the use of marijuana and clinical site placement policies.   

Programmatic Technical Standards: Technical Standards reflect performance abilities and essential skills that a student must demonstrate in order to successfully complete the requirements of a specified program.  These Standards must be satisfied by all students in all aspects of the program, with or without reasonable accommodations, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including in the classroom, laboratories, and externship. If you are an individual with a documented disability who seeks reasonable accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Services at (413) 755-4785 or stop by Building 19, Room 141 as soon as practicable for information concerning the College’s accommodation process. Additional information can also be found on the Office of Disability Service’s website: https://www.stcc.edu/resources/academic-support/ods/. Please note that Program Technical Standard forms found in your admission acceptance packet must be submitted to the Health and Wellness Center by July 1. The Health and Wellness Center is located in Building 19, Room 177 and can be reached at (413) 755-4230.  

Health Program Latex Policy  

Program Requirements and Advancement

• Minimum Grade Requirements: To continue in the progression of courses offered in the Medical Assistant program, a student must obtain a grade of “C” (73%) or better in all courses. Students not meeting the minimum grade requirement of “C” (73%) will be withdrawn from the program.

• Graduates of this accredited program are eligible to become credentialed by successfully completing the certification exam administered by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants  (AAMA.) They will earn the credentials; CMA (AAMA). Graduates may also be eligible to take the Registered Medical Assistant exam administered by American Medical Technologist and earn the credentials RMA (AMT) as well as a national certification exam for Phlebotomists.

• Students who successfully complete this program may continue into the two-year Medical Assistant associate degree program. They must submit an application for the Associate degree program.

• Program Length and Hours: It should be noted that the clinical experience is scheduled from late May through the end of June and may fall outside school hours. It consists of five weeks with forty (40) hours per week.

• Programmatic Technical Standards: Students with disabilities must be able to meet the technical standards of the program with reasonable accommodations as defined by the ADA.”   Click on the link below for full program specific policy information.

• Additional Expenses: Students will be expected to pay for the application fee for the national certification exam,  the fee is approximately $125, additional expenses include: uniforms, school name tag & patches, shoes, stethoscope, and watch.

• Students must adhere to the strict attendance policy in lecture, lab and practicum in order to graduate.

(MEDA.COC) Curriculum

Department Personnel