Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center Medical Assistant Altoona, Pennsylvania

The Medical Assistant Program at Greater Altoona CTC equips students with a comprehensive set of clinical and administrative skills essential for success in health care.

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Clinical Skills:

• Performing medical history and physicals
• Taking vital signs
• Providing patient education
• Assisting patients for examinations
• Conducting phlebotomy procedures
• Performing electrocardiography (EKG)
• Administering injections

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Administrative Skills:

• Conducting telephone triage
• Managing patient reception and discharge
• Handling electronic medical records
• Processing insurance information
• Managing medical billing and coding
• Handling correspondence
• Scheduling inpatient and outpatient appointments

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Courses Offered:

• Anatomy & Physiology I & II
• Business Communications
• Disease
• Electronic Health Records
• Introduction to Medical Assistant
• Medical Coding
• Medical Math
• Medical Office Procedures
• Medical Terminology I & II
• Clinical Procedures
• Clinical Externship

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Certifications Available:

• Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) through AAMA
• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant
• Certified Medical Administrative Assistant
• Certified Phlebotomy Technician
• Certified EKG Technician
• Certified Medical Billing and Coding Specialist

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Program Features at Greater Altoona CTC:

• Integrated theory, on-site clinical experiences, and an externship
• Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
• Eligibility to sit for national certification examinations through AAMA and NHA
• 87.5% of 2021 graduates passed Certified Medical Assistant exam
• 100% of 2022 graduates obtained employment as medical assistants
• Occupational risks training included, such as exposure to infectious diseases and bloodborne pathogens
• Articulation agreement for Health Occupations program graduates to exempt from 9 credits

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Outcome:

• Graduates have been employed at local facilities like Blair Gastroenterology Associates and UPMC Altoona Hospital
• Employment of medical assistants projected to grow 14% from 2022 to 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Medical Assistant program at Greater Altoona CTC has an estimated program length of 1,380 hours. The program is offered in two formats: 

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1. In-person program: The next session will begin on September 9, 2024, and conclude on August 8, 2025. Classes are held Mondays through Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the GACTC.

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1. Hybrid program: The anticipated next session is scheduled to start in January 2025 and conclude in November 2025. Students in this program will participate in courses asynchronously and remotely, and will attend in-person classes in the evenings at the GACTC once or twice per week (depending on the term). In-person class sessions will be held on two weekday evenings per week from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center (GACTC) is a vocational school located in Pennsylvania. 

The center offers over twenty-five approved secondary programs on a half-day basis and a number of full-time adult programs. GACTC is accredited by the Middle States Association of Secondary Schools and has institutional accreditation.