Medical Assisting

Become a Medical Assistant with Mercy College
SECURE YOUR FUTURE

BECOME A MEDICAL ASSISTANT

Become a certified medical assistant (MA) in just one year! This career is in such high-demand the Mercy College of Health Sciences medical assistant program can lead to many opportunities to earn a competitive wage while completing your certification and/or employer tuition reimbursement options. Earn your certificate through 100% online instruction; two, six-hour skills labs; and 160 hours of clinical practicum experience with one of our local healthcare partners.

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1-YEAR

Program Length

2

In-Person Skills Labs

$10,000*

Approximate Tuition Cost

3

Start Dates Per Year: Fall, Spring, & Summer

100%

Employment Rate Among Graduates1

YOUR BODY OF WORK

WHAT DOES A MEDICAL ASSISTANT DO?

Medical assistants provide critical physician support services to ensure healthcare facilities run smoothly. Using excellent communication and interpersonal skills, MAs help keep patients at ease throughout their visit. They are often responsible for administrative as well as clinical tasks, such as maintaining patient records, preparing patients and rooms for examination, assisting physicians with exams, and performing other critical tasks. As a MA you will act as an important patient liaison in a variety of healthcare settings — such as clinic offices for physicians, podiatrists, and other health practitioners.

The purpose of Mercy College of Health Sciences’ medical assisting program is to prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.

WANT AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE?

You can earn an associate of science in medical assisting by completing the additional Core requirements prior to starting the MA certificate. Those courses would include: Math Elective (3 Credits), Natural Science Elective (4 Credits), Humanities Elective (3 credits), Natural/Social Science Elective (3 Credits), Core Elective (3 Credits), Comp I (3 Credits), Comp II (3 Credits), and Servant Leadership (3 Credits) for an additional 25 credit hours. Servant Leadership can be completed while earning your MA Certificate.

FIND A COHORT NEAR YOU
We offer a number of cohorts around the country. Find one closest to you and join us online (and in-person!).

Looking for a turnkey solution for your entire healthcare system? Become a partner.

*Tuition for the Medical Assisting program is charged on a semester basis over the course of the three-semester program. Learn more about Mercy College’s tuition and fees here.  

Accreditation

ACCREDITED BY THE COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION OF ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

The Medical Assisting certificate and associate degree is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP). At the conclusion of your MA coursework, you will be eligible to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) Exam.

Faculty

Our MA faculty team includes a full-time program chair as well as many medical professionals in the clinical setting. Our full-time liberal arts and science faculty members are PhD-prepared and adept at integrating their subject matters into a comprehensive health science curriculum. As a student, you will receive an exceptional level of personalized instruction from experienced educators dedicated to your success.

Meet Your Faculty

Tuition

The Medical Assisting tuition is calculated on a program basis and only applies to MA-### courses. It is designed to be completed over the course of 3 semesters for a total cost of around $10,000. Students taking additional coursework may incur additional charges.

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Students

Earning my degree online allowed me the flexibility to be home with my children and not have to rely on expensive daycares, which would have increased the cost of earning my degree. Even though I wasn’t on campus, I was able to contact my instructors, tutors, advisors, and librarians virtually and through email.

Beth D., BSN Candidate, 2020

COMPLETE A FREE APPLICATION
The Medical Assisting program is a direct admit program. When you are admitted to Mercy College, you are admitted into the Medical Assisting program! To get started, complete the Mercy College application. If you are transferring credits, please visit our transfer page to learn more.

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The following courses and sequencing is a sample of required courses to graduate from the Medical Assisting program. The following courses are designed to allow students to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) Exam.

Semester 1

8-Week Term
MA 101 – Medical Assisting Administrative Procedures (4 cr)
7-Week Term
MA 106 – Anatomy and Physiology (4 cr)

SEMESTER 2

8-Week Term
MA 102 – Medical Assisting Clinical Procedures I (4 cr)
7-Week Term
MA 122 – Medical Assisting Clinical Procedures II (4 cr)

Semester 3

8-Week Term
MA 108 – Diseases of the Human Body (3 cr)
MA 203 – Medical Assisting Practicum I (2 cr)
7-Week Term
MA 201 – Medical Assisting Professional Components (2cr)
MA 204 – Medical Assisting Practicum II (2 cr)

TOTAL: 25 MAJOR CREDITS

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The Medical Assisting program has three convenient start dates to match your needs. View our full academic calendar.

FALL: September
SPRING: January
SUMMER: May

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*Pending final approval from the Medical Assisting Educational Review Board.

MEDICAL ASSISTANT PROGRAM OUTCOMES1

Exam Passage

Job Placement

Exam Passage

100%

Job Placement

100%

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much do medical assistants make?
According to Indeed.com, the average salary for a medical assistant is $16.11 per hour in the United States, however, compensation varies according to many factors, including location, work setting and experience.

How do you become a certified medical assistant?
After completing our one-year medical assistant program, students are eligible to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) exam to earn their certification.

Do I need SAT or ACT scores to enroll?
No, the only requirement for this program is a high school diploma or GED.

How will I complete the required 160 hours of clinical practicum?
Mercy College will work with you to secure 160 hours of clinical practicum with one of our healthcare partners near you. This practicum is very important as it allows students to experience hands-on learning in actual medical offices.

Do medical assistants draw blood? Can medical assistants give shots?
Medical assistants in our program do learn to draw blood and administer shots as needed, however, it depends entirely on their place of employment if they will perform these duties.

Is medical assisting a good career?
Absolutely. Becoming a medical assistant takes only one-year to complete, pays well, is a high-demand healthcare career option and provides fulfilling, meaningful work. You will never be bored with this job — every day is different. Many have found that medical assisting is a great launching pad into other advanced healthcare career fields as they gain more experience.

How hard is the medical assistant certification test?
Mercy College’s medical assistant program touts an impressive 100% pass rate among graduates for the Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) exam. The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions administered in four 40-minute segments. The question categories are general, administrative and clinical.

How is a medical assistant different from a physician assistant?
Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks with physician supervision. Physician assistants examine, diagnose and treat patients while working under a physician, who may or may not be on-site.

How much does it cost to complete the medical assisting program?
The Mercy College medical assistant program costs around $10,000. This equates out to approximately $3,572 per semester of the program. If financing your education is a major hurdle, there are lots of tuition reimbursement and scholarship opportunities for you to explore!

Is the program all online or in person?
The medical assistant program is 100% online instruction through our online platforms, however there are two in-person skills labs that must be completed in order to graduate.

Where are the medical assistant skills labs located and when do they take place?
The two, six-hour skills labs take place at any one of our cohort locations unless you have enrolled through an external cohort partnership. Mercy College is continuously expanding cohort locations as demand continues to rise across the United States. Skills labs begin in the second semester of the program.

How long does it take to complete the MA program?
Mercy College’s medical assistant program takes one year to complete. The program is offered over the course of three semesters, which are broken into two smaller, accelerated 7-8 terms. Our goal at Mercy College is aimed to be as flexible as possible to remove any barriers to higher education, so you can work with your enrollment coach to determine your program trajectory to fit your schedule.

What is online learning like?
The Mercy College online platform hosts discussions boards, educational videos, writing assignments, and other activities to enrich your learning experience — all at the click of your mouse. You can learn more about online learning here.

1 Job placement and Exam Passage are based on graduates from 2020. Retention is based on the total percentage from the 2020 admission cohort/s.
2 Projected growth: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Medical Assistants.

1Public Health Practitioner Salary in the United States, 2021. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/public-health-practitioner-salary.
2Completion time varies depending on each student’s unique situation.

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Next step before transforming into a life-saving hero: complete the form below. Our admissions team will get you all the info you need to know.

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Email
Email

Admissions: admissions@mchs.edu

Phone
Phone

Admissions: (515) 635-1133
General: (515) 643-3180

ABOUT US

Mercy College of Health Sciences has been transforming students into healthcare professionals since 1899. Located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, we offer master’s degreesbachelor’s degreesassociate degreescertificate programs, and continuing education courses.

Mercy College is the only private Catholic college in central Iowa and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), in addition to numerous programmatic accreditors.

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