Graduates of this program are eligible to sit for the national Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) exam.
Are you interested in health care and do you enjoy helping others? Working with patients, performing medical procedures, and managing a doctor's office are all part of a rewarding career as a medical assistant. The School of Health Sciences at Northwestern College offers an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Medical Assisting where your compassion for others and interest in health care is an advantage.
Upon completion of the program, it is expected that students will be able to:
Medical assisting is projected to be the single fastest-growing major occupation in the United States, and graduates of this program can expect to find employment in a variety of health care settings. Medical assistants are in demand at medical offices, hospitals, ambulatory care clinics, outpatient laboratories, free-standing surgical centers, and occupational medicine clinics.
The Medical Assisting program is designed to prepare you for potential employment in the following: (the occupation listed contains a link to information on the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET website).
31-9092.00 - Medical Assistants
The Northwestern College Medical Assisting Associate in Applied Science degree 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). Curriculum Review Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants Endowment (AAMAE).
Northwestern College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, www.ncahlc.org.
See the Northwestern College Catalog.
The job placement rate for the Medical Assisting program was unable to be calculated at this time, pending the creation of an approved formula for job placement calculations by the U.S. Department of Education. Upon publication of a formula, this web page will be updated promptly.
During the 2010-2011 Academic Year (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011), 16 students graduated from the Medical Assisting program at Northwestern College. Of these students, 6 (or 37%) graduated on-time as defined in the Northwestern College catalog. (Part-time students generally take a longer period of time to graduate because they don’t take a full course load; therefore, the graduation rate is lower since part-time students are not considered to have graduated on-time). The median student loan indebtedness of the Medical Assisting program graduates in 2010-2011 was as follows: Federal Stafford Student Loans (subsidized/unsubsidized) - $20,113; Third-Party Private Education Loans - $0; Northwestern College Institutional (GAP) Loan - $0.
The tuition and fees cost for a student starting the Medical Assisting associate degree program as of the 2011-2012 academic year is estimated at $47,225, based upon six academic quarters of full-time tuition at current tuition rates. (Potential future tuition increases cannot be determined at this time, and hence are not factored into this estimate.) Book and supply costs are estimated at $2,400. (The actual cost will vary depending on multiple factors). Northwestern College does not offer on-campus housing. For additional information on college costs, please visit our Financial Aid Cost of Attendance web page.
