Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) will offer an associate degree and certificate options through the Medical Assisting Technology program on the Shoals campus beginning with the 2012 fall semester.
The Medical Assisting Program will offer options in Office Transcription, Medical Billing and Coding and Phlebotomy. The program will provide hands-on training and prepare students to provide patient care in physician’s offices, minor emergency centers, long-term care facilities, and other types of free-standing medical clinics.
According to NW-SCC Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Glenda Colagross, the new program will provide students with a strong desire to work in the medical field a great opportunity to do so during a very beneficial time.
“Much of the research today shows a growing trend in utilizing multi-skilled medical assistants allows doctors to care for more patients,” said Colagross.
“This makes individuals serving as medical assistants a tremendous asset to the growing health care industry.”
According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook publication, employment for Medical Assistants is expected to grow 34 percent from 2008 to 2018.
Also, according to Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, medical assistants are the ninth fastest growing occupation in the State.
The program was approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) on June 8 and is pending Alabama State Board of Education approval later this month.
Fall semester registration begins July 14th and classes begin August 17th. For more information on the Medical Assisting Technology program, contact the NW-SCC Vice President of Instruction’s office at 256.331.5217.