Online Medical Assistant Program Curriculum

In this course, you’ll develop the necessary skills to ensure your success in the program. You’ll learn how you can improve your study skills, so you’re able to use a number of tools that will help you to be successful. This course will also introduce you to healthcare, the healthcare industry in the United States, and the roles that healthcare workers play in that industry.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Identify skills needed to be a confident and independent online learner
• Describe the United States health care industry and the professional roles within it

Information literacy is a fundamental skill of writing and recording research. In this course, you’ll learn what it means to formulate correct and effective research questions. You’ll also learn how to go about conducting and refining that research for any given project. 

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

• Identify how to formulate focused and specific research questions and the need for information
• Explain the different types of research tools, how they’re used to conduct different searches, and how to evaluate the quality and usefulness of the information found
• Explain how to cite sources properly using various citation styles in consideration of academic integrity, plagiarism, and ethical use of resources

Microsoft® Office allows people to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases. This course will teach you how to use three popular tools from the Microsoft® Office Suite — Word™, Excel®, and PowerPoint®. In this course, you'll learn how to use Word™ to create and edit text documents, insert figures and tables, and format pages for a variety of uses. You'll then learn how to use Excel® to organize and format data, including charts, formulas, and more complex tables. Next, you'll learn how to use PowerPoint® to create and deliver slide shows. Finally, you'll complete a graded project, which will test the skills acquired in Word™, Excel®, and PowerPoint®.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Create various Microsoft® Word™ documents.
• Produce a thorough Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet.
• Identify the basic skills needed to use Microsoft® PowerPoint®.
• Synthesize what you’ve learned by integrating Word™, Excel®, and PowerPoint®.

This course teaches the skills and techniques of effectively developing, drafting, and revising college-level essays toward a specific purpose and audience: active reading, prewriting strategies, sentence and paragraph structure, thesis statements, varied patterns of development (such as illustration, comparison and contrast, and classification), critical reading toward revision of structure and organization, editing for standard written conventions, and use and documentation of outside sources. Students submit two prewriting assignments and three essays (process analysis, comparison and contrast, and argumentation).

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Use writing skills to construct well-written sentences and active reading skills to understand and analyze text
• Develop paragraphs using topic sentences, adequate detail, supporting evidence, and transitions
• Contrast the revising and editing steps of the writing process
• Distinguish between different patterns of development
• Write a process analysis essay using prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing skills
• Recognize how to determine the reliability of secondary sources and to give proper credit to sources referenced in an essay
• Write a comparison and contrast essay by using persuasive writing techniques to defend a claim
• Create a sound written argument using techniques of drafting and evaluating sources

In this course, you’ll learn how law affects healthcare practitioners, the origin of law that affects medical professionals, the basics of the process of litigation and its alternatives, the common-law basis for the confidentiality of healthcare information, and the laws regulating healthcare information collected and maintained by government agencies.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Interpret civil and criminal laws related to healthcare
• Assess ethical issues healthcare professionals face today
• Assess an ethical dilemma in the medical field
• Apply confidentiality laws and regulations
• Evaluate HIPAA laws in regards to patients’ rights

You’re taking this course because you’re most likely interested in pursuing a health and science career, which entails proficiency in communicating with healthcare professionals such as physicians, nurses, or dentists. As an aspiring member of a healthcare team, accurate understanding, pronunciation, and spelling of frequently used medical terms are imperative. The textbook titled Quick and Easy Medical Terminology, 8th Edition, by Peggy C. Leonard will provide basic knowledge and understanding of medical terminologies. Competence in using medical language doesn’t happen instantaneously. A strong medical vocabulary is a product of excellent time management skills and fervent commitment to learning the terminology.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Analyze the fundamentals and building methods of medical terminologies 
• Categorize the medical terms and meanings related to diagnoses, interventions, and body structures
• Distinguish between the medical terms related to the musculoskeletal, circulatory, and respiratory systems
• Differentiate between the medical terms associated with the digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems
• Point out the medical terms related to the integumentary, nervous, and endocrine systems
• Choose the correct medical pronunciation based on various medical scenarios

Nutrition is the science that investigates how the body takes in, breaks down, and uses foods. The course will provide you with basic information on how these processes take place, including information about nutrients and how they contribute to the way the body functions. This will help you to have a better understanding of your decisions about food and diet. You’ll also learn about physical activities that can contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Because a central focus of nutrition studies is on health promotion, suggestions for individual nutrition choice will be discussed, as well as tactics for maintaining a healthy weight and keeping food supplies safe. 

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe how nutrition supports a body's wellness
• Recognize the body's use of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins 
• Identify the body's use of water, minerals, and micronutrients
• Discuss what nutritional needs are for a healthy weight and for an athletic lifestyle 
• Define food safety and the nutritional needs of humans over a lifetime
• Prepare a research paper on a nutritional topic 

The anatomy and physiology of the human body is presented as an integrated science. Each major body system is described and analyzed to illustrate normal function as well as pathology. Topics include basic biochemical elements, skin, bone, muscles, the nervous system, the senses, and the endocrine system.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Analyze the basics characteristics and functions of the human anatomy and physiology
• Categorize the characteristics and functions performed by the muscular, integumentary, and nervous system
• Prepare a report of a medical disorder using the mentioned software program
• Analyze the recorded screen captures and video to complete your lab assignment

This course will build on the knowledge you gained in completing Anatomy and Physiology 1. After completing this course successfully, you’ll have a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology.

This course is intended to accompany the textbook, Anatomy & Physiology for Health Professions, An Interactive Journey, Third Edition. Don’t rely solely on this course. It’s important to read the textbook. The course emphasizes critical information and explains difficult concepts in the assigned material.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Identify the characteristics and functions of the organs in various body systems
• Prepare a report of a medical disorder using the mentioned software program
• Prepare a lab assignment using the recorded screen captures for this assignment

In this course, the student will gain an understanding of artistic media, historical periods and artistic movements, the roles of the artist and the viewer, and the principles of art criticism.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Define the language, visual elements, and principles of design of art
• Identify two-dimensional media
• Identify three-dimensional media
• Explain the evolution of art from ancient Mediterranean cultures through eighteenth century Europe
• Identify features and popular examples of art throughout the history of African, Asian, Pacific, and American cultures
• Compare the genres of the Modern and Postmodern eras of art from around the world

In this course, you’ll understand how to appreciate music and learn about the roles of the composer and the listener, the principles of music theory and instrumentation, musically significant historical periods, and varying styles of music.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• O Identify the building blocks of music a composer can use to create a piece, such as rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, form, and timbre
• Differentiate between the music of the baroque era and the musical styles of previous time periods
• Recognize the major characteristics of classical music, including form, melody, and instrumentation
• Describe the musical trends and innovations that occurred during the romantic era
• Relate musical styles of the early twentieth century to comparable movements in art and literature
• Explain the evolution of American popular music in the twentieth century
• Recognize the influence of world music on modern western composition
• Write an essay researching composers’ influence in their respective genres

This course will allow you to develop your critical thinking skills and broaden your knowledge of the main genres of literature—fiction, poetry, and drama.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Explain how to effectively read fiction for both knowledge and enjoyment
• Identify different styles and forms of poetry
• Use what you’ve learned in this course to discuss, write about, and understand literature
• Prepare a critical interpretation of fiction or poetry based on what you’ve learned in this course
• Discuss how literary dramas differ from fiction and poetry
• Identify different strategies of critical literary analysis

This course provides an introduction to the various methods of organizing material for a professional setting. Students will compose business documents using the ABC method such as memos, emails, outlines, reports and proposals, descriptions, and organizing materials. Students also work on honing their grammar skills.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Recognize how to use words correctly and effectively
• Produce a well-constructed interoffice memo, workplace email, and business letter
• Produce a brief business report based on findings obtained using research techniques and methods of documentation
• Produce an informal report that lists findings of an investigation and provides recommendation for issues raised in the findings
• Describe procedures for creating proposals, descriptions, instructions, and manuals for the workplace
• Create a detailed proposal designed to solve an internal human resource issue

In this course, you’ll develop more effective personal communication skills to increase their chances for professional success. You’ll identify the basic tenets of interpersonal communication, including diction, gesture, tone and facial expression, and practice methods for improving your skills in each area. You’ll also improve your listening skills. The course also reviews the standards for professional communication, including making introductions, interviewing, and dressing professionally.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

• Analyze various factors that help develop interpersonal communication
• Apply interpersonal communication skills in real-world scenarios

This course is designed to introduce the student to major reimbursement systems in the United States. The focus is on prospective payment system, third-party payers, and billing and insurance procedures. The course also covers additional information including prepaid health plans, fee-for-service methodologies, chargemasters, fee schedules, and managed care.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Examine the basics of health insurance
• Summarize the health insurance claims process
• Identify the concept and goals of managed care and other government-sponsored health programs that integrate managed-care concepts into their plans
• Examine the proper use of medical codes for reimbursement and coding practices for procedural coding, evaluation, and HCPCS
• Explain electronic reimbursement processes and the differences between physician office and hospital billing and coding
• Manage a patient’s record as well as coding and billing information
• Recognize uses of medical codes and reimbursement in the healthcare industry

In this course, you’ll begin with an overview of coding concepts, terms, and procedures. You’ll explore the history of the ICD-10 coding system. You’ll code diagnoses in the ICD-10-CM and use the chapter-specific coding guidelines to code diseases and conditions with specific and unique rules. You’ll then learn how to code procedures in the ICD-10-PCS, rounding out your training in the basics of coding with ICD-10.

Then, you'll concentrate on the diagnoses or procedures that don’t seem to fit into any specific coding category. You’ll also learn about general coding guidelines for inpatient and outpatient procedures and physician office coding using CPT, HCPCS Level I, and HCPCS Level II procedure coding.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Explain how to use the ICD-10-CM to assign codes for medical diagnoses
• Identify the purpose of the ICD-10-PCS and how it's used
• Outline the procedure for assigning codes from the E/M and Anesthesia sections of CPT
• Outline the types of services and procedures described in the CPT
• Explain the types of procedures coded in the hemic, lymphatic, digestive, reproductive, and urogenital systems
• Describe the procedures coded in the endocrine, nervous, ocular, auditory, radiology, pathology, and medicine sections of the CPT
• Assign CPT and HCPCS codes for physician procedures and services

This course is designed to help you understand the reimbursement process and the various methodologies involved. You’ll be introduced to billing cycles and how health information technology is used in medical offices, and learn about basic accounting transaction terminology and apply this information to enter patient charges and payments.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

• Describe the contents of the Electronic Health Record, application of SimChart for the Medical Office, and security, privacy, and confidentiality associated with medical records
• Explain the administrative and clinical roles in the medical office and functions within the EHR that are utilized routinely in these roles
• Describe the billing and reimbursement process and the use of both patient portals and personal health records in continuity of patient care
• Complete simulated health records in SimCharts

This course covers biology and behavior, consciousness, memory, thought and language, intelligence, personality and gender, stress, and community influences.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

• Describe the science of psychology, basic structure and function of the human nervous system, and basic structure and function of the sensory system
• Explain various states of consciousness, learning theories, and thought processes and development
• Summarize the nature of human motivation and development, the human development cycle, and approaches to understanding and assessing personality
• Prepare an essay on the topic of conditioning, memory, or motivation and emotion
• Recognize psychological disorders and available treatments
• Explain social psychology as it relates to attitudes, influences, behaviors, and stress
• Use critical thinking skills to determine the likely causes of behaviors of individuals and groups discussed in case studies

Algebra is the mathematical language used to interpret and represent patterns in numbers by using variables, expressions, and equations. Algebra is an essential tool used in business, science, and computer technology. Throughout this course, you’ll be introduced to algebraic concepts, along with real-world application problems from a variety of fields. In addition to providing a springboard to the discovery of underlying mathematical properties, these applications illustrate the importance of mathematics in your world.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Demonstrate effective quantitative skills
• Solve algebraic equations, linear equations, inequalities, and absolute value equations
• Solve and graph linear equations and inequalities
• Solve polynomials
• Apply algebraic operations to rational expressions and rational equations
• Solve problems involving radicals and complex numbers
• Solve quadratic equations, rational inequalities, nonlinear equations, and nonlinear inequalities
• Calculate exponential and logarithmic functions
• Solve binomial expansions, sequences, and arithmetic and geometric series
• Prepare for the final exam

Pharmacology, a branch of medical practice and research, is the study of the use and actions of drugs. It is the study of the effects of drugs on the body (and living systems in general), but also the effect of the body’s processes on drugs. The practice of pharmacology depends on knowledge of how drugs act from the organism level to the molecular level. This branch of medicine covers not only the beneficial effects of drugs, but also their adverse, toxic effects. Pharmacology includes knowledge from other science disciplines including biology, chemistry, physiology, and other biomedical subject matter. This course will introduce you to the basic concepts of pharmacodynamics (action of drugs on the body) and pharmacokinetics (action of the body on drugs) and will provide a review of drug classes and categories related to their modes of action and the organ system-specific disease classes they’re used to treat.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Point out the importance, principles, and uses of phramacology and mathematics in medical calculations
• Analyze the classifications and effects of drugs used to treat multisystem application and problems
• Categorize the drug therapies to treat multi-systems like endorine, circulatory, and cardiac problem
• Analyze the importance and effects of drug therapies to treat respiratory and gastrointestinal system
• Point out the importance and effects of drug therapies to treat nervous system problems
• Categorize the drug therapies used to treat musculoskeletal and reproductive system
• Prepare a research paper based on your knowledge about drug classifications and treatments
• Answer questions covering a range of pharmacological issues
• Prepare a summary of the drugs Tetracycline and Amiodarone

This course will provide you with the theoretical principles and clinical skills that are essential to working as a medical assistant. These tasks range from greeting patients and getting information from them to administering injectable medication and teaching patients about special procedures and their plan of care. An applied learning approach to the role of the medical assistant is threaded throughout each unit of the textbook. The specific tasks assigned to you as a medical assistant depends upon many different factors, including the following:

• The laws of the state in which you work
• The policies that apply in the medical setting in which you work
• The physician or physicians for whom you work
• Your own level of skill and professionalism

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Categorize the concepts of professional communication with safe practice of OSHA standards of infection control
• Analyze therapeutic communication, vital signs, and other skills required for successful patient interactions
• Point out the procedures used when assisting with medication
• Compare the essential diagnostic procedures and the skills needed to perform them
• Categorize the procedures used when analyzing blood and urine
• Prepare a handout for an in-servicing training

In this course, you’ll learn about assisting doctors and other healthcare professionals within an ambulatory care setting. You’ll examine the role of a medical assistant within the major specialty areas and while helping with minor surgical procedures. The course is composed of four teaching modules, and you’ll be expected to acquire the knowledge necessary to enable you to satisfactorily perform clinical tasks in a professional manner.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Analyze the procedures and role of a medical assistant in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology, and gastroenterology
• Categorize the procedures and role of a medical assistant in urology, gynecology, and pediatrics medicine
• Point out the procedures and role of medical assistants in neurology, endocrinology, cardiology, and geriatrics
• Categorize the role of medical assistants, instruments, and procedures while assisting with minor surgeries
• Apply knowledge gained throughout this course by completing a three-part project

This course focuses on clinical lab procedures. The first thing to take care of while working in a clinical lab is safety. The spread of infection and diseases can compromise the specimens and the people who work in the labs. As you plan on taking the responsibilities associated with the healthcare setting, you must understand that discipline is extremely important to analyze and perform the tasks related to labs. This course will not only provide you with tasks to practice your skills in the field, it will also help you understand the effective techniques used to ease the lab processes. Read the lessons carefully and apply the knowledge on completing the tasks assigned in the course to be a successful healthcare professional.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

• Analyze the processes related to infection control, asepsis, and inhalation medication
• Categorize the various lab procedures and the methods related to them
• Apply knowledge of medicine administration by completing a drug calculation exam

The medical assistant externship provides students with hands-on training in a primary care clinic, an urgent care clinic, or a medical practice. The goal of this externship is to provide students with the hands-on experience necessary for developing their skills as a medical assistant. Students will practice under the direct supervision of a certified medical assistant, nurse, physician assistant, or medical doctor. This externship consists of 160 hours of clinical experience. Students are required to complete and submit weekly timesheets signed by their externship preceptor.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

• Demonstrate the skills and abilities required of a medical assistant through an externship experience