Medical assistants are multi-skilled allied health professionals that can perform both administrative and clinical procedures in ambulatory medical settings.  NMCC's two-year medical assisting program provides these skills to students.  Some of the skills taught throughout the program include managing electronic health records, coding, bookkeeping, medical insurance processing, obtaining vital signs, performing CLIA waived laboratory tests, performing EKGs, and collecting blood samples.  The curriculum consists of classroom instruction and skills laboratories. In the final semester, students spend 160+ hours in an off-campus supervised externship.  When in this setting, students take the skills taught on campus and directly apply them in the ambulatory medical setting.
 
Graduates of the medical assisting program will be competent medical assistants that can secure employment in medical offices or ambulatory clinics.  In the State of Maine, medical assistants work under the direction of health care providers.  Upon graduation, students are eligible to sit for the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) national certification exam. 

The purpose of medical assisting program at NMCC is to provide additional opportunities for Northern Maine residents to continue their education in a healthcare field, to meet local employer needs for additional medical assistants, and to provide an additional program offering at NMCC that meets current and future market demands. Medical assisting has been identified as one of the fastest growing professions by several key organizations, including the US Department of Labor.

Medical assistants have a dual focus for both administrative and clinical responsibilities. Their administrative duties include keeping patient records, managing financial matters, handling insurance arrangements, processing correspondence, and managing an office. In the clinical setting, the medical assistant prepares and assists in patient examination, records laboratory data, assists with office surgical procedures, performs basic physical assessment and measures vital signs.

Several area medical practices and hospital departments have already been identified as clinical externship sites. Students of the NMCC program will be precepted in a variety of sites by experienced medical assistants.

Graduates of the medical assisting program may find employment in medical offices and clinics of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other medical professionals, as well as outpatient surgical centers, laboratories, or hospitals.

Upon graduation, students may elect to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) (The American Association of Medical Assistants) or Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) (American Medical Technologists) certification examinations. Once NMCC’s program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied health Programs (CAAHEP), graduates will be eligible to sit for either of these exams.