Medical Assisting: Administrative (AS) Health Sciences Total Units: 29.5

Term Effective: Fall 2006

The requirements for this program of study are effective beginning the semester shown above. If you began working on this program before the effective semester, you may not be affected by the changes. Consult with the program contact person or the department chair to determine your eligibility to complete the program under previous requirements.

Term Inactive: Spring 2011

Associate Degree Requirements:

The major is one of several requirements students need to fulfill in order to be awarded the Associate Degree, the highest level of academic achievement recognized by Santa Rosa Junior College. Please note that all of the following requirements must be met in order for the degree to be conferred:

For all students admitted for the Fall 2009 term or any term thereafter, a grade of "C" or better, or "P" if the course is taken on a pass/no pass basis, is required for each course applied toward the major.

Description:

The Medical Assisting: Administrative major prepares students for work in physicians' offices, medical clinics, hospital outpatient clinics, health agencies, and educational institutions. This major provides training in administrative (front office) skills.

The duties of a medical assistant vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the physician's specialty. In small practices, medical assistants are usually generalists, handling both clerical and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager or physician. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area under the supervision of department administrators.

Administrative Medical Assistants' duties include greeting patients, answering telephones, scheduling appointments, maintaining and filing client medical records, completing insurance forms, arranging hospital admissions and laboratory services, handling billing, bookkeeping, and physician correspondence. They also help maintain a neat, clean waiting room and front office. They may advance to office management positions.

The employment outlook is very good. Job titles include administrative medical assistant, administrative assistant, medical receptionist, medical records clerk, medical secretary, hospital unit secretary, insurance claims processor, and medical research assistant.

This program of study is also available as a certificate option. Students interested in the order for taking classes in this program, can view the recommended course sequence.

Program Requirements:

The requirements for the Medical Assisting: Administrative program are:

  • Complete 29.5 units from
    • Medical Assisting Core Requirements
    • Medical Assisting: Administrative Requirements
    • Information Learning Resources Requirement

Medical Assisting Core Requirements - complete 18.50 units
BOT 73.12AMicrosoft Word--Core Level for the Office Professional1.50
HLC 160Medical Terminology3.00
MA 160Introduction to Medical Office Practice3.00
MA 161Law and Ethics for Medical Assistants1.00
MA 162Disease Processes4.00
PSYCH 1AGeneral Psychology3.00
Complete a combination totaling at least 3.00 units from the following:
CourseDescriptionUnits
ANAT 58Introduction to Human Anatomy3.00
ANAT 140 AND
Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology2.00
HLC 140Health Care Implications of Anatomy and Physiology1.00
 
Medical Assisting: Administrative Requirements - complete 10.00 units
MA 166.1Externship: Medical Assisting3.50
MA 167ABasic Diagnostic Coding1.50
MA 168Basic Medical Office Insurance Billing1.50
MA 169Procedural Coding1.50
MA 170ABeginning Medical Transcription2.00
 
Information Learning Resources Requirement - complete 1.00 units
Complete any combination totaling at least 1.00 units from the following:
CourseDescriptionUnits
LIR 10Introduction to Information Literacy1.00
LIR 30Information Literacy for Research Projects1.00
LIR 110Finding and Using Information1.00

Course Prerequisites and Advisories:

Courses in a program of study may have prerequisites or advisories; that is, courses that must or should be completed before taking that course. Please check for prerequisites or advisories by clicking on the course numbers in the Program Requirements section.

It is important that students who are completing an Associate Degree and desire to transfer to a four-year institution meet with a counselor to plan their lower division coursework. While many majors at SRJC are intended to align with lower division major preparation required by California public universities, specific lower-division major requirements vary among individual campuses. See a counselor, visit the Transfer Center, and check Guides For Transfer in Specific Majors, and ASSIST to review transfer preparation guides for specific schools and majors.

Notes:

All courses taken in conjunction with this program must be completed with a letter grade of 'C' or better.

Contact
Information
Phone Email Website
(707) 527-4927
srjcmajor002040@santarosa.edu