On this episode, you'll hear how Lincoln Tech is focusing on Medical Assistants. You'll hear from former students and administration about the importance of this program and the need for M.A.
https://www.lincolntech.edu/careers/health-sciences/medical-assistant
Our medical assistant graduates are coming back to us extremely happy with the wages that they're making.
00:00:10S2The first thing I would say, just do it. Don't second guess yourself. If there's something that you really want to do, just do it.00:00:17S3I had a job upon graduation, and I owe that all to Lincoln. I would just.
00:00:22S4Recommend for other health care employers that work with Lincoln Tech. I highly recommend that they learn a little bit more about the externship program. That's actually something I had a personal interest in it
.00:00:34S5Welcome to the official podcast of Lincoln Tech. In this episode, we'll be looking at the medical assistant program. We'll find out what you can expect to learn and what kind of jobs are out there. You'll also hear from instructors, former students and employers who work directly with Lincoln Tech to help you succeed in a field that isn't going away. And Lincoln's promise to our students is simple We will work tirelessly to help you succeed on the road to new career opportunities. Now let's dive into some details about the program. Let's meet our.
00:01:02S6Guests.
00:01:03S1So I am Michelle Jones, and I'm a medical assistant instructor at Lincoln Tech in Morristown, New Jersey. I've been a certified medical assistant for 23 years, and I've been training medical assistance for 11 years.00:01:18S5As an instructor, can you fill us in on the medical assistant program and what it consists of and even some of the tasks that students are responsible for.00:01:26S1Medical assistance work in outpatient facilities. So those facilities are doctor's offices, are urgent care centers. We have students work in outpatient surgery centers, health departments. We even have graduates work at state and county correctional facilities. So our medical assistants are running the front office and the back office. So in addition to their clinical skills, our medical assistants are work in the front desk as well. They work scheduling appointments, confirmation calls. They're working in patients, electronic medical records. They're getting into the billing, insurance and coding part of health care and their clinical skills. They're on the back end doing direct one on one patient care. So they're doing the vital signs patients, blood pressure, pulse, respiration. They're taking the patient's temperature, height, weight measuring, maybe if they're in pediatrics, measuring the infant's head circumference in length
.00:02:27S5That's quite a job description. It must take a good deal of training and practice to be able to manage all of that.
00:02:32S1So in addition to those things, the medical assistant is also running EKG on a patient's heart. They're drawing blood, doing phlebotomy. They're assisting in minor office surgeries and assisting with just the physical exam with the physician. So there's a lot of duties that a medical assistant is responsible for, from the front office to administration to the back clinical side of it.
00:02:58S5How long does a program typically take?
00:03:00S1So our medical assistant come to school for? It's about eight month program. They do six five week modules or six five week terms. The course is broken up that way. So they do six five week modules and then they go off to a five week clinical internship where they're doing hands on directly in a doctor's office. We have preceptors at the doctor's offices in our community that bring on our students and they finish their training hands on.00:03:31S5And as an added bonus, at the end of that process, they're also prepared to take a medical assisting certification exam. So now we know the training process from an instructor's viewpoint. We're also going to hear from an employer in just a few minutes. But first, let's meet some of our graduates.
00:03:45S2My name is Kathy Garcia. I am a graduate of Lincoln Tech and currently working as a supervisor at Reconstructive Orthopedics.
00:03:54S5Kathy, what made you decide to go to Lincoln Tech?00:03:56S2So to be completely honest, I loved what I did prior, but I wanted more. I always was the go to. We didn't have a nurse on site, so I was the go to person for any bumps, bruises, nosebleeds, anything like that at the daycare. And I always thought I would end up in the medical field somehow, someway. So one day I saw an advertisement on TV and I drove over to Lincoln Tech and they ran through everything with me. And right then and there I decided that I was going to take charge of my life and change something. And. And I did.00:04:32S5How were the instructors?00:04:33S2They're amazing. They are amazing. It wasn't like a teacher student. They were there. It felt more like. Like a friend. When I needed anything, they were there. It didn't matter what time of the day they were there for you.00:04:49S5What kind of training did you get?00:04:51S2The training was we did phlebotomy EKG. We learned about the anatomy and then just regular book stuff.00:05:00S5What was your first job after? And what did you do before Lincoln Tech?00:05:03S2So my first job, I was a teacher's aide for three and four year olds prior to going to Lincoln Tech. And then after graduation from Lincoln Tech, I did my externship at Reconstructive Orthopedics and they hired me.00:05:19S3My name is Denise Bravo. I am a former graduate alumna of Lincoln Tech in Melrose Park. I graduated in right in the heart of the pandemic around 2020. I believe we had to have a drive by graduation.00:05:35S5Denise, tell us about your experience.00:05:37S3My experience there was one of the most invaluable things I've gone through the guidance counselor. She was the first person I met. Her name was Adela, and she was amazing. She took her time with me. Just try to figure out what programs, because the funny thing is, I actually went to Lincoln Tech to look into the electrical program.00:05:55S5That's pretty interesting. How did that come about? Why did you change your mind?00:05:59S3As I was touring, we passed through the medical assistant area and she said that she noticed when we went through that area that I just lit up. And quite frankly, it always has been an interest of mine. So we decided to go with that program and it was the best decision I ever made with the dealer's help. I learned so much there and I have been a successful medical assistant ever since and plan on continuing my education right now. I currently work for one of the top ten hospitals in the nation. I'm with Northwestern Medicine. I actually just joined the Northwestern team in January of this year.00:06:34S5Impressive. How has that worked out for you so far?00:06:36S3It's been one of the best experiences ever. I work in the specialty clinic in Glenview, Illinois, and I work in pulmonology, which was actually quite interesting because I myself have asthma. So to be placed in that role, it's like a great experience because I can totally relate to the patients. I can empathize with them. I know exactly kind of what they're going through. So it makes for a better rapport with my patients here. And I've developed some really interesting relationships with some of the patients I work for, for pulmonologists, and I have a great rapport with all of them.00:07:12S5How long did it take you to land a job after graduation?00:07:15S3It did not take me long at all. And the reason was because, you know, we have to do our externship at a facility. So I was paired up with innovative express care where I completed my externship hours there. And then before my hours were completed, they invited me to stay. So I had a job upon graduation. And I owe that all to Lincoln Tech because, like I said, I would not be where I am without them. And each and every instructor that I had, something resonated with me from each and every instructor. And I bring that with me to the job every day.00:07:50S5Talking more about jobs. Michelle, Is there a demand for medical assistance?00:07:54S1There is a demand for this job. So I did some research and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, their data shows that employment for medical assistance is projected to grow 16%. And that's like 100,000 new medical assistant jobs opening yearly. So there's absolutely no shortage of medical assistant jobs out there.00:08:18S5And if you'd like to check those numbers out yourself, the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which Michelle referred to, keeps those statistics at one online morgue. Up next, we've got a link to tech hiring partner who puts some of the medical assistant graduates to work.00:08:34S4My name is Yasmin Lozano. I am the senior corporate recruiter for Euro Partners, and I have been with the company for a little over five years now. Originally I started with just recruitment, so essentially posting all our open positions, conducting phone screening, scheduling of interviews, things like that. As I have grown into a senior role, I've been able to take on full cycle recruitment. So recruit for positions at all levels, including operations. It billing clinical laboratory surgery center. So we do have a large variety that we work with here, so that's been really rewarding.00:09:12S5What role do medical assistance play in your industry?00:09:14S4So medical assistance play a very important role. They're essentially the right hand, you know, to the physicians. Our offices have two different setups. So in select locations, RNAs work alongside one physician only and then at other offices where we have larger locations where there's up to 6 or 7 providers in one set location, then we may have our medical assistance rotate where they actually get to work with a variety of the doctors there. So what does the daily responsibilities look like for a medical assistant that would include checking patients in rooming patients, taking vitals, drawing blood, updating patient notes into our EMR system, some things that are specific to urology that are really enjoy that they get. To participate in some small procedures, such as prostate biopsies. They assist with catheter removals, urinalysis and bladder scans. So those would be some examples of small procedures that they help out with an office. I think our Mas have expressed that they really enjoy being able to take on more complex clinical responsibility instead of just your normal grooming vitals and drawing blood. So that's some really good feedback that I hear from the medical assistant.00:10:29S5What made your company decide to partner with Lincoln Tech?00:10:32S4So I choose to partner with Lincoln Tech. I think they are a incredible educational institution. As soon as they started working with the Career Services Department, it was very clear to me that they care about their students so much and really want to see them be successful and find jobs related to the programs that they're studying. This was really helpful for me because as Lincoln Tech has a medical assistant program, as I mentioned, especially in the pandemic, it was really hard to find medical assistance. So this essentially just became another tool that I was able to utilize to help me build that pool of candidates.00:11:05S5Can you tell us more about them as a school?00:11:07S4Lincoln Talk? They've been very thorough, really great about communication. Any questions that I have? I truly always receive an email or a phone call same day. So the staff is truly incredible in that sense that they're really great about being professional, very concise, and I think that they really prepare the students to go out and be successful on a different level. I work with a number of schools, but I cannot express the number of times that I've heard such positive feedback from managers in regards to Lincoln Tech students specifically, just the work ethic that they bring, the energy they bring. They're really excited to be there. They're eager to learn, hit the ground running.00:11:44S5Would you say that's not necessarily commonplace when you're evaluating Lincoln grads versus other schools?00:11:49S4This isn't always common feedback that it received from all schools. So I think just receiving that kind of feedback commonly from all offices, wherever we've sent experience has been really incredible and amazing and really excited about continuing to grow that relationship with Lincoln Tech. So it's been great. I've been going there for career fairs and working with them now since 2019, and we've been placing students every single semester since.00:12:14S5Going back to teaching. Michelle, Is there a hands on training like working on actual people and is there are lots of bookwork?00:12:20S1Okay. So the fun part of this is they're only in class for 17 hours a week. So the student comes in depending on what shift they are. They're with us in the classroom four hours and 15 minutes a day, four days a week. That's where we do. We reinforce what they may have read on their own time. We do some lecture, but mainly we're doing hands on clinical skills. So every day they're practicing a new skill and then they'll learn a new skill. So they may come in in one week, 17 hours. We'll do blood pressures, pulse, respiration, and then the next week we may add on phlebotomy and EKG while continuing to do their blood pressure, pulse and all their vital signs as we go on. So the goal is by the time the student is ready to start their career, their skills are so strong from doing it every day. They're constantly practicing these skills in class.00:13:18S5What's the process of getting a certificate?00:13:20S1Okay, so the process for getting their certificate is we guide them through the whole process. We never let a student be alone in the process, so they register for their certification. And we typically do that as a class. They get registered and then we schedule their cert date. But prior to that, we want to make sure that they're ready for their certification. And every student is different. We all learn different. Every student is an individual and we always keep that in mind when it's time to sit for a certification test. There's planning that goes into it on our end that we make sure each individual's needs have been met and they are ready to sit for it and pass it. And that's the goal for us.00:14:04S5You really do walk the student through the whole process.00:14:07S1Then we will schedule it, we'll register it together, we'll schedule it together, and then we'll schedule some dates and then we'll fill in and they'll sit and they'll take their certification. And once they pass, they get their certificate actually comes in the mail. So that certificate is good for two years. Now, all they need to do beyond that point is recertify. They never have to sit for that test again. Once they're certified, they will just recertify.00:14:35S5What's the certification process like?00:14:37S1So what they need to do to recertify is simply stay current in the field. So they need to do continuing education units or continuing education credits. And that is they read a little article, maybe something new in health care. When Covid was big, there was a lot of new information coming. So we were always reading our articles. And there may be a. And 20 question, little quiz at the end to make sure that you retain the knowledge that you read. And then they gained credits. Every article they read, they gain credits. So once they're certified to recertify, they just gained their ten little credits that they need and then they're re certified, never having to sit for that test again.00:15:20S5We're back now with Kathy Garcia, who went from Lincoln Tech student to front desk supervisor. Kathy, what program did you do and did Lincoln Tech help you find a job?00:15:29S2So the program that I did was I was there for full time. So I did the nine month program. They placed me in an externship. But yes, they do help you find a job. I was fortunate to get hired during my externship, but during the externship they were sending out my resume to other companies that were looking for medical assistance. There was a bidding war for me, if lack of a better word. It was between the company and I went. Right now, reconstructive and virtual. They both wanted me.00:16:00S5It seems like. Thanks to Lincoln Tech, you had to exert minimal effort to find a job.00:16:04S2Exactly. Yeah. So they set everything up for me. They set the interview up, they spoke with the representatives there and everything, and all I had to do really was show up and do the interview.00:16:16S5What would you say to somebody contemplating going to Lincoln Tech?00:16:20S2So Lincoln Tech is a great school. They are all about their students. They are not there for a paycheck at all. If you need help, the instructors are there to help you. It is a small classroom size, so you even have your classmates there to help you as well. During my time I made some friends there that I am currently friends with now and it was the best experience that I had.00:16:50S5And Denise, final thoughts?00:16:51S3I'm just so happy where I am and what I'm doing and just being around the patients and helping them. If I can make a patient smile when they're coming in here feeling like garbage, then I know I've done my job. You know, not to brag, but I have gotten praise for that. You know, when they do the patient surveys on how their visit was, I get a lot of nice mentions, but again, I take away I have little pieces of what I learned from every one of my instructors, and I carry them with me every day. Every day I'm thinking about someone when I'm dealing with a patient and everything that I learned. Because like I said, who would have thought my little me? I used to work in a warehouse, drive a forklift, you know, I was climbing the ladder in warehousing, but I wasn't happy. You know, it was a job. This after Lincoln Tech is a career and I plan on going nowhere but up. Even if I stay in a may for the rest of my days, I am 100% happy with that because there are so many doors here that are opening and I'm learning so much and it's a specialty clinic, so I'm doing a little bit of everything.00:17:57S5Thanks for listening to the official podcast of Lincoln Tech at Lincoln Tech. Your success is our success. If you think you'd like to learn more about the medical Assistant program, contact Career Services today online at Lincoln Tech, Edu and set up a campus tour or talk with an instructor today. That's Lincoln tech.edu.
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