Eastern Maine Community College is offering a one-year medical assisting course free of charge to 40 qualified individuals with an interest in the growing profession.
The costs associated with tuition, fees, textbooks, criminal background checks, one certification exam, a stethoscope, and set of scrubs will be waived for individuals who qualify for the program.
Funding was made possible by a grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges.
Medical assistants are multi-skilled allied health professionals specifically trained to work in ambulatory settings such as physicians’ offices, clinics and group practices, performing administrative and clinical procedures. Like other health care professionals in Maine, they are in high demand.
“There is tremendous state-wide demand for medical assistants, which continues to increase,” Catharine MacLaren, Northern Light Health’s vice president of talent and diversity, said in a news release. “This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who has an interest in beginning or growing their career in health care.”
The one-year program consists of a fall semester that runs from Aug. 26 to Dec. 13, a spring semester that goes from Jan. 13 to May 8 in 2020, and a summer 160-hour unpaid externship that will begin as early as May 11 and end as soon as all hours are completed.
The program will be offered both during the day and in the evening, with some classes available online. Students wishing to participate in it must be willing to complete courses as scheduled within the one-year time frame.
Admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis for qualified applicants, who should apply online in a two-part process.
“We are so pleased to be able to offer this program to the public,” said Liz Russell, EMCC’s vice president of academic affairs. “Our healthcare partners have shared the challenges they face in recruiting qualified medical assistants. I’m delighted that EMCC can provide this program as a way to help them meet their workforce needs.”
A spokesperson told Mainebiz this week that a “good handful” of students have already applied, and the goal is to have all 40 seats filled.