Registration is open and more students are needed for a Clinical Medical Assistant career-training program at Jefferson State Community College.

Offered through the Center for Community and Corporate Education, the CMA course needs two more students to register in order for the upcoming class session to be held as scheduled from Aug. 12 to Feb. 4.

This is the first time the CMA course will be offered at the Chilton-Clanton Center of Jeff State.

The 300-hour, “fast-track career program” course includes clinical hours and covers the following topics: fundamentals of medical assisting, psychological aspect of patient care, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, medical law and ethics, asepsis and infection control, CPR and first aid, ambulatory, fundamentals of pharmacology, laboratory measurements, foundations of chemistry, basic hematology and introduction to urinalysis.

“We’re very excited about it,” Career Programs Coordinator Stephanie Tinsley said. “We have a great employment rate as far as students finding jobs.”

Clinical Medical Assistants help keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and other health practitioners running smoothly.

CMAs may perform a variety of direct medical duties under the supervision of a physician such as collecting and preparing laboratory specimens, performing basic laboratory tests on the premises, disposing of contaminated supplies, sterilizing medical instruments, instructing patients about medications and special diets, preparing and administering medications as directed by a physician, authorizing drug refills as directed, telephoning prescriptions to a pharmacy, drawing blood, preparing patients for X-rays, taking electrocardiograms, removing sutures and changing dressings.

CMAs are also trained in performing administrative duties such as answering telephones, greeting patients, updating and filling patients’ medical records, filling out insurance forms, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services and handling billing and bookkeeping.

Candidates that successfully complete the program will receive a certificate of completion from Jeff State and may sit for the National Health Career Association Certified Clinical Medical Assistant certification exam.

“It prepares you directly for employment in the field, and it also prepares you for certification,” Tinsley said of the program. “They get a certificate of completion from Jeff State, which means they mastered all the learning objectives outlined in the course. The national certification is just icing on the cake. That national certification we prepare them for really gives them that extra edge they need to be employed in the field and to be valued in the field.”

Those interested in registering for the course are encouraged to do so a couple of days, at the latest, before Aug. 12.

Tinsley said as many as 16 more students may join the CMA course.

Debra Sosa, Health Science instructor at LeCroy Career Technical Center and a Registered Nurse, will be lead instructor of the course.

The course fee is $1,595 and is due at the time of registration.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) scholarships may be available for qualified and eligible students.

The “Pay As You Go” registration option is available for this program and allows students to register and pay for three separate courses that, when taken together, comprise one career program.

The course will be held on-campus Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5–9 p.m. at Jeff State in Clanton.

To register, call the Center for Community and Corporate Education at (205) 856-7710.

For more information, visit JeffStateOnline.com and click on the “Community & Corporate Education” tab.