How do Medical Assistant Office Hours Work and Are They Worth It?
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Penn Foster’s instructors hold several office hours across many different areas of study throughout the week. Our medical assistant instructors, for example, set up recurring office hours as a valuable learning opportunity and way for medical assistant students to connect with faculty. Learn how these office hours work and what you can learn by attending in this blog post.
Key Takeaways:
- Interactive learning opportunities: Penn Foster’s medical assistant office hours, held weekly via Microsoft Teams, give students the chance to connect live with instructors, ask questions, and learn through real-world scenarios and demonstrations.
- Hands-on experience and professional insight: Instructors like Pamela Ward, CMA, use office hours to share industry experience and lead interactive simulations—helping students apply classroom concepts to clinical practice.
- Ongoing support for student success: With rotating topics like HIPAA, EKGs, and externship prep, these sessions provide valuable insights, boost confidence, and help students stay engaged and career-ready.
How do the medical assistant office hours work?
Our medical assistant instructors hold office hours every Wednesday through Microsoft Teams. Students have the option of two different time slots to attend:
- 12–1 PM ET with Pamela Ward, CMA
- 7–8 PM ET with another medical assistant instructor
Students can access the link to the office hours in a few ways:
- Through Pendo notifications in their Learner Center
- In course announcements on their program pages
- By checking out the Medical Assistant Facebook page
These sessions provide students with a convenient way to ask questions, connect with instructors, and learn from their peers.
Read more: Your Guide to Medical Assistant Duties
Sharing real-world experience and student insights
The office hour sessions our healthcare instructors offer help encourage student curiosity and engagement. This in turn helps instructors identify common learning themes and develop targeted discussions for future sessions.
Pamela Ward, CMA, Healthcare Program Instructor, shares “Facilitating the Medical Assistant Office Hours is truly one of the highlights of my week. I look forward to each Wednesday as an opportunity to share my professional experiences and insights from my time as a medical assistant.”
Read more: Top Healthcare and Medical Careers for 2025
Spotlight session on interactive patient assessment simulation
In a recent interactive office hour session, Pamela walked students through the complete process of patient assessment and documentation:
“A mock patient scenario was created in which the “patient” presented to the office for an appointment. The activity was designed to be interactive, allowing students to actively participate in each stage of the visit, including calling the patient from the waiting area, obtaining vital signs, identifying the chief complaint, and documenting the findings.
Following the mock examination, students were asked to determine the appropriate next steps based on the provider’s notes, which included orders for an EKG and blood work. This discussion naturally led to questions about performing EKGs and understanding the correct order of draw. A live demonstration was conducted using a doll to illustrate proper EKG lead placement, accompanied by an explanation of the rationale and importance of maintaining the correct order of draw when collecting specimens.
Subsequently, the provider ordered medication for the patient, prompting a discussion on medication administration procedures. This was followed by a demonstration of administering oral medications. Once the patient was cleared to leave, the session concluded with a review of the final steps of the visit, including providing patient education, issuing the after-visit summary, performing hand hygiene, and completing documentation of all procedures.”
Students were engaged and responded positively to this type of session. In fact, according to Pamela, one student made an unexpected but insightful observation by connecting clinical documentation to the billing process. She advised that this observation “underscored the broader impact of accurate recordkeeping on reimbursement and compliance.”
Read more: Your Guide to Medical Assistant Duties
Ongoing topics and discussions
Additional themes that have been covered in the medical assistant office hours include:
- HIPAA guidelines
- EKG interpretation
- Externship skills and preparation
- Certification and compensation insights
Topics covered in these sessions can vary, so it could benefit students to attend more than one in order to gain further knowledge and insights from the instructional team.
Why should students attend office hours?
As a Penn Foster student, you have access to more than a few resources to help you succeed, and office hours are one of them! You should attend the medical assistant office hours if:
- You want to meet your instructors
- You want a face-to-face, live interaction with instructors and other students
- You have questions about something you studied online
- You have questions about your externship or what is expected of you
- You need help figuring out how to demonstrate a skill
- You want to speak with an instructor and no appointment times fit your schedule
And, even if you feel like you’re super confident with where you’re at in your studies, it can be a great opportunity just to get a little more insight into the program and the career as a whole!
Join the next session
Whether you join through Pendo, a course announcement, or the Medical Assistant Facebook page, the weekly office hours can be a beneficial and informational part of the Medical Assistant Program. You may get answers to questions you didn’t even know you had! Take advantage of this time with instructors as many times as you need as you continue on the road to becoming a certified medical assistant.
