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.
- Prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.
- Prepare students to sit for a nationally recognized Medical Assistant exam and become a certified medical assistant per accreditation standards.
Alumni 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
2019 MAERB Annual Report Form (ARF) Submitted to MAERB: 2/21/2020
| Outcome | Year 2020 |
|---|---|
| Job Placement Rate | 80% |
| Outcome | Year 2020 |
| Retention Rate | 62.5% |
| National Certification Exam Passage Rate | 50% |
NYS Department Of Labor (DOL) Long-Term Projections
Expected Growth of Occupations1
NYS DOL Long-Term Industry Projections estimates Ambulatory Health Care Service Industry Employment will increase in NYS by 39.1% and in WNY by 24.3% by 2024.2NYS DOL Long-Term Occupational Employment Projections, 2012 – 20223
| NY State | Western NY | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Annual Wage, Entry-Level MA | $26,310 | $26,790 |
| Employment Change | 23.7% | 18.7% |
| NYS Employment Prospective | Very Favorable | Very Favorable |
