Medical Assisting Certificate

The Medical Assisting Certificate (C1_MED1) is offered at LSC-CyFair and LSC-North Harris and has additional entrance requirements. For more information, please contact the Medical Assisting Department.

Program Description

Medical assisting is a versatile health care profession that prepares an individual to perform various clinical and administrative functions in a health care facility. These functions, performed under the direction of a licensed physician and/or licensed physicians assistant, are completed while examining and treating patients. Medical assistants are responsible for performing a variety of the tasks that enable a health care facility to properly treat its patients. These tasks include, but are not limited to: preparing treatment rooms for patients' examinations; scheduling appointments and maintaining medical records; interviewing patients, measuring vital signs, weight and height, and then recording the information; administering injections, performing venipuncture, electrocardiograph (EKG), and other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests; and completing insurance forms. The exact duties that a medical assistant performs are unique to the setting in which she or he is employed. Industries that employ medical assistants include doctors' offices/clinics, urgent care centers, ambulatory care facilities, and osteopathic offices/clinics.

The medical assisting certificate is a three-semester program. The final semester includes both a review course to prepare for the American Association of Medical Assistants' Certified Medical Assistant Exam and a clinical/externship. The clinical experience allows students to apply the knowledge, skills, and abilities that she or he has learned in the classroom and gain practical experience in a health care setting. The program has the following goal defining minimum expectations: "To prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains."

Admission Criteria

Students applying to the medical assisting program must:

1. Complete an assessment test (THEA, Compass, ASSET, or equivalent) with college level scores on the reading and writing sections; or complete the developmental sequence in reading (ENGL 0305 or ENGL 0365) AND writing (ENGL 0307 or ENGL 0375) to be eligible to enter ENGL 1301.
2. Complete MATH 0306 with a grade of "C" or achieve placement into a higher level math through an assessment test (THEA, Compass, ASSET, or equivalent).
3. Register for and take the PSB Health Occupations Aptitude Test.
4. Attend a mandatory medical assisting information session as posted on the LSC-CyFair or North Harris Web site.
5. Submit a completed application packet to the preferred college's medical assisting program. Application deadlines are posted on the college Web site.
6. Submit official high school/GED transcript and/or official transcripts from all non-LSCS colleges and/or universities attended.
7. Final acceptance into the program is contingent upon a satisfactory background check that is completed by a college approved agency at the student's expense. Clinical facilities may also require completion of a satisfactory drug screening.

Program Plan

First Year Credits