The Highlands College Medical Assisting program, will be observing National Medical Assistants Recognition Week, October 20-24. The College will hold a special celebration on Wednesday, October 22nd to honor the medical assisting profession and celebrate the 9th year of the Medical Assistant Program at Highlands College.
The theme of the 2014 Recognition week, “Medical Assistants, Providing Care For Life,” emphasizes the medical assistants’ commitment as a vital member of the healthcare team. At the October 22nd celebration, Highlands Medical Assistants and their coworkers in the healthcare community will honor the vital role and the professional excellence that medical assistants provide in the delivery of healthcare to patients.
The unique training of medical assistants allows them to perform both “front office/administrative” duties such as medical coding and billing, scheduling, and bookkeeping as well as “back office/clinical” responsibilities such as administering immunizations, and assisting with physical exams and minor office surgery and performing select lab tests.
Highlands College graduates receive an Associates of Applied Science in Medical Assisting and are encouraged to take a national exam to become Registered Medical Assistants. The program at Highlands was launched in 2006 and has now has 64 graduates and currently work in medical clinics in and around Butte, across Montana, in Wyoming and Washington. Seven additional students expect to graduate in May, 2015.
“Medical assistants provide an invaluable service to both the patient and the healthcare providers in the community. We recognize their dedication to the profession and to the industry.” says Christopher A. Damon, J.D., Executive Director of the American Medical Technologists.
For more information on the Medical Assistant Program at Highlands College of Montana Tech, please contact Gretchen Geller at 406-496-3779 or Dr. John M. Garic, Dean of Highlands College.