Medical Assistant, A.A.S.
Overview
Medical Assistants are multi-skilled allied health professionals specifically educated to work in ambulatory settings performing administrative and clinical duties. Medical Assistants support physicians and nurse providers in a wide range of duties and are employed in varied healthcare settings examples include, private physician offices, large medical practices, clinics, urgent care centers and, other settings dedicated to providing ambulatory healthcare services.
Students in the Medical Assistant degree program are crossed trained to be entry-level prepared in administrative and clinical knowledge, skills, and behaviors relevant to the requirements of the profession. In their last semester of the program, advancing Medical Assistant students, complete an unpaid, supervised, 160-hour practicum in an ambulatory healthcare setting. Successful graduates of the program are eligible to apply for the national certification exam .
Program Goals and Objectives
- Graduate quality entry-level professionals into the field of Medical Assistant.
- To prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.
- Prepare students to sit for a nationally recognized Medical Assistant exam and become a certified medical assistant per accreditation standards.
Professional Licensure Disclosure
Effective July 1, 2024, federal regulation requires institutions of higher education to make a determination whether a Title IV eligible academic program that leads to professional licensure or certification meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the U.S. State where the institution is located and the U.S. States where “distance education” students are located at the time of initial enrollment in the program, as well as U.S. States where the program is advertised as meeting such requirements, and if applicable, the U.S. State where students attest they intend to be licensed/certified. The Medical Assistant A.A.S. program at SUNY Niagara is registered by the New York State Education Department and thus meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification for New York State. Through a good faith effort, and for the purpose of complying with the federal regulation, we have determined that Medical Assistant A.A.S. program at SUNY Niagara, if successfully completed, is sufficient to meet the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the following U.S. States:| State | Medical Assistant |
| New York (national certification) | https://www.aama-ntl.org/cma-aama-exam |
Virtual Information Sessions
Join us for one of our Virtual Sessions and learn more about the Medical Assistant, AAS program. Session Dates: May 2, 2022 at 2:00 pmAlumni Spotlight
Nidhi Garapati ’19
“The Medical Assistant program offers the ability to do a clinical placement at an office and get hands-on experience which ended up leading to a job opportunity for me once I graduated. I chose SUNY Niagara for the smaller class sizes and the ability to have a one-on-one experience with each of my teachers. The faculty is very understanding and will work with your circumstances, and I truly believe that they want you to succeed. I am pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Health and Wellness and my goal is to work on helping people in the community have a better, healthier lifestyle.”
Annual Outcomes Reporting
2023 MAERB ANNUAL REPORT FORM (ARF) Submitted to MAERB: 2/15/2024
- The medical assisting program at SUNY Niagara has a five-year retention rate of 62.5% for the years 2018-2022.
- The medical assisting program at SUNY Niagara has a five-year average of 86% for job placement for the years 2018-2022.
- The five-year average for the exam passage rate for the years 2018-2022 is 91%.
The SUNY Niagara Medical Assistant Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB). Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs 9355 113th St. N., #7709 Seminole, FL 33775 (727)-210-2350 www.caahep.org
The primary goal of a Medical Assisting Education program is to prepare each graduate to function as a competent Medical Assistant. This survey is designed to help program faculty determine their program’s strengths and those areas that need improvement. All data will be kept confidential and will be used for program evaluation purposes only. We request that this survey be completed by the graduate’s immediate supervisor. Complete the Employer Survey.
The primary goal of a Medical Assisting Education program is to prepare each graduate to function as a competent Medical Assistant. This survey is designed to help program faculty determine their program’s strengths and those areas that need improvement. All data will be kept confidential and will be used for program evaluation purposes only. Complete the Graduate Survey.
