Medical Assistant Training Meant Career Advancement for Graduate

It takes just three semesters to gain the training to become a medical assistant, a well-paid career that typically requires no weekend work or bedside patient care. That's why Program Director Dee Loucks is so eager to make sure potential students are aware of Kalamazoo Valley's Medical Assisting Technology training.

"Our community is at crisis level now," Loucks said. "The last time I checked, there were 65 job openings for medical assistants in our area. It's a wonderful career. In three semesters, you can be working in your field and there's always a demand for skilled employees. I receive calls weekly from Bronson, Borgess and WMed looking to hire our graduates." Some local physicians are willing to pay tuition for medical assistants who will commit to working for them after graduation and sign-on bonuses and paid externships are also commonly offered, Loucks said.

Tuition and fees for the program amount to about $4,000. "It's a great opportunity for those who want to get into the medical field," Loucks said. "We need to give back to our community post-Covid."

Kalamazoo Valley offers both a one-year certificate program and an associate of applied science degree in MAT. Loucks said the training makes perfect sense for students who are waiting for admission to a nursing program or who want to add to their pre-med skills. "We can help students with their hands-on skills and professionalism," she said.

The training also makes sense for certified nurse assistants (CNA) who want to advance in the work place or food service employees looking for a change. "If you're tired of physical, strenuous work or high-paced restaurant work, you can transition beautifully into medical assisting," Loucks said. "Put your brain to work rather than your body."

Loucks explained that a medical assistant opens the doctor's office, greets patients, checks vitals, records prescriptions and administers vaccines and electrocardiogram tests as well as draws blood for lab work. They are also familiar with pediatric care and pharmacology. "Students get so much information from this stepping stone," she said. "And there's a lot of room for advancement into management and leadership," Loucks said.

Kalamazoo Valley's MAT teaching laboratory was remodeled a few years ago to resemble a medical office. "It's set up like a real provider's office with a laboratory," Loucks explained. In addition to hands-on experience, students receive test preparation assistance for certification exams. A student who earns a MAT certificate can go straight to work or continue on to earn an associate degree.

To accommodate students who are already employed, Kalamazoo Valley's MAT classes are primarily offered during the evening. Some are offered online and the instructors are all working in the field.

"We need to make students aware that this is an option," Loucks said, calling the program a hidden gem. "Due to the huge demand in our community, we are taking late applications." Quenisha Dugas earned her associate degree in Medical Assistant Technology in 2021 and works for Residential Opportunities, Inc. as a program coordinator running a group home. The 2009 Kalamazoo Central High School graduate said the training she received at Kalamazoo Valley enabled her move up from an assistant program coordinator position.

"My MAT training helped me to understand lab work so that I could be a better advocate for clients. It definitely helped me get the promotion for the position I'm in now," Dugas said.

During her training, she was placed in an externship with Bronson Hospital's pediatric gastrointestinal department. "That was awesome. I loved it there. They really taught me a lot," she said. Dugas works with many people who consider CNA training as their first step into the medical field and she always encourages them to enroll in the MAT program. "It's an amazing program and I recommend the program to everybody who wants to work in the medical field. The evening courses were doable even while being employed full-time and being a parent. It's not easy, but with hard work and dedication, it's doable. "

She especially enjoyed learning to give immunizations and draw blood. "It was all fun to me," she said. Dugas said she struggled to choose a major when she first started taking college classes. She choose MAT training after more than a decade of providing direct care. "I still want to study nursing," she said. "Kalamazoo Valley will see me again."

Go to https://www.kvcc.edu/programs/health_careers/ for more information or contact Dee Loucks at .