VGCC Medical Assisting Program Earns Renewed National Accreditation
The Medical Assisting program at Vance-Granville Community College was recently accredited for the second time by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
“National accreditation signifies that our program meets a high standard,” said Dr. Angela Ballentine, VGCC’s Vice President of Instruction. “It confirms that we are successfully preparing graduates to enter the workforce as skilled medical assistants. The job market for graduates of accredited programs is very strong.”
The Medical Assisting curriculum program prepares multi-skilled health care professionals who are qualified to perform administrative, clinical, and laboratory procedures. They carry out administrative duties such as filing insurance claims and maintaining patient records, as well as clinical procedures such as screening tests, EKGs, administering medications, and assisting physicians with exams and surgeries.
VGCC offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science in Medical Assisting, in addition to a one-year diploma program. Because VGCC’s program is nationally accredited, graduates are eligible to sit for the American Association of Medical Assistants’ (AAMA) certification examination to become Certified Medical Assistants. With this certification, they are qualified to work in their field anywhere in the nation. Graduates are in high demand to fill jobs in physicians’ offices, health maintenance organizations, health departments and hospitals.
Since its inception in the fall of 1998, the Medical Assisting program has been conducted at the college’s Franklin County Campus near Louisburg. The program was first accredited by CAAHEP in 2001. CAAHEP (www.caahep.org) accredits educational programs that prepare health professionals in 20 different disciplinary areas. Accreditation is one step in a process that is meant to protect the public and ensure a supply of qualified health care professionals. As part of the accreditation process, the program’s resources, personnel, curriculum and student exam success were reviewed.
In a recent letter to VGCC President Randy Parker, CAAHEP president William Horgan wrote, “The commission recognizes you and your colleagues for your commitment to continuous quality improvement in education.”
Registration for Medical Assisting and other VGCC curriculum programs is currently ongoing. The spring 2008 semester begins Jan. 8. For more information, call VGCC at (252) 492-2061.
Above: VGCC Medical Assisting students, from left, Brittany Fox and Amy Minor, both of Creedmoor, train in the program’s lab on the college’s Franklin County Campus before they both graduated in August 2007. (VGCC Photo)
