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Medical assistants play an essential role in the daily operations of healthcare settings, including physician offices, urgent care centers, clinics, nursing facilities, and hospitals. In this role, certified medical assistants support both patient care and office functions, performing tasks such as recording vital signs, assisting with clinical procedures, managing patient information, and coordinating appointments.

American National University’s fully online Medical Assisting associate degree program is designed to help students build practical, job-ready skills. Through interactive clinical lab courses and the use of at-home lab kits, students apply classroom learning in hands-on ways that reflect real healthcare environments. The program also includes a required externship, providing additional opportunities to practice skills, strengthen competencies, and gain real-world experience valued by employers.

Beyond preparing students for entry-level medical assisting roles, this accelerated program also lays the groundwork for continued education. Graduates can build on their associate degree by pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Medical and Health Services Management, supporting long-term career growth in the healthcare field.

Your Learning Experience

Your coursework includes hands-on medical assisting training to develop the skills you need, such as:

• Working within an office environment. You will learn administrative skills, like scheduling and coordinating appointments for patients in inpatient or outpatient settings, or utilizing technology to access electronic health records, sensitive patient information, and handling accounts receivable. You will learn how to do all of their administrative tasks within legal and ethical boundaries as well as within federal and state healthcare legislation and regulations. Additionally, this includes working with other medical professionals like nurses, doctors, and other medical assistants.
• Medical procedures training to cover areas such as taking patients’ vital signs, collecting laboratory specimens, performing routine tests such as electrocardiography (EKG), and administering therapeutic injections and vaccinations. You will also learn how to prepare patients for procedures and treatments as well as assist doctors and nurses with examinations, procedures, and treatments.
• How to communicate with not only their fellow medical professionals, but how to speak with patients with sensitivity to culture and diversity. You will learn to understand and utilize verbal, non-verbal, and written communication to and from a patient with compassion and empathy. You will become a liaison for patients as they navigate their health through tasks like promoting disease prevention, giving instruction on treatment and health promotion, as well as locating community resources.
• You will also complete a foundation set of courses in anatomy, pharmacology, math computations, reference information, and pathology. This will also teach you how to be patient navigators and support in explaining treatment, procedure, and examinations, and answer questions a patient may have about their care.
• A clinical externship of 162 hours of real-world work experience to include caring for patients one-on-one, performing medical procedures, gathering patient information, and helping healthcare facilities stay organized. (See if there is an existing clinical site in your local area.)

For a full version of the lab kit click here. WARNING: Graphic content in this video

In addition to the program outcomes listed, students are eligible to take the CCMA (Certified Clinical Medical Assistant) exam, administered by National Healthcareer Associate (NHA), RMA (Registered Medical Assistant) exam, administered by the American Medical Technologists (AMT), CMA (Certified Medical Assistant) exam, administered by AAMA (American Association of Medical Assistants), or the CMAC (Clinical Medical Assistant Certification) exam, administered by AMCA (American Medical Certification Association), CPR through the American Red Cross, Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT), and Certified EKG Technician exams offered through National Healthcareer Association (NHA). Students must successfully complete the CCMA certification exams to pass that class in which they are offered and to complete the program.

There are some occupational risks for medical assistants. Read about them here.

Check out our “Not-What-You-Would Expect” Guide to Medical Assisting to learn more about this high-demand field.

Online Tuition Comparison

Total tuition for an associate’s degree in Medical Assisting at ANU is only $28,032. Large online colleges with course-based programs are 26% – 123% higher and do not include fees or textbooks.(1) ANU tuition includes all fees (application, course, technology, graduation, etc.), textbooks, and lab equipment (where applicable).