Medical assistants work directly with patients in small or large healthcare settings. Medical assistants ensure that patients receive the care they need while providing health professionals with vital patient information.
The Oregon Employment Department forecasts that Portland-area medical assistant job openings will increase by 29.9% through 2027.
Why choose Medical Assisting at PCC?
Salary
The Oregon Employment Department reports that Portland-area medical assistants earn between $16 to $24.59 per hour.
More information
Portland Community College’s high expectations for our medical assisting students make you a more competent, more employable professional. Our program emphasizes soft skills and professional development. We are ahead of the curve in teaching the Patient-Centered Medical Home model and associated clinical quality measures. No other school currently teaches this model. Employers note they see a difference in our graduates compared to other programs.
Nationally accredited
Our program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP) in collaboration with the American Association of Medical Assistants. Our graduates are eligible to take the CMA (AAMA) national certification examination, conducted by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants.
Successful graduates
In the past five years, the PCC Medical Assisting program has demonstrated strong credentialing exam pass rates and employer satisfaction. We currently have a 95% pass rate on the CMA (AAMA) national exam with a 99% employer satisfaction score.
Degrees and certificates
PCC offers many options to meet your goals: short-term certificates, two-year degrees, and university transfer options.
| Award | Length | Financial aid eligible | Currently accepting students? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate: Medical Assisting | 1 year | Limited entry, see how to get into this program |
Locations
Cascade
Willow CreekWhat will you learn?
Class information
PCC’s program is designed to develop your skills in:
- Communication
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Understanding data collection
- Clinical procedures
- Administrative procedures
What will you do?
You will be an essential part of the medical team. Duties may include:
- Scheduling and receiving patients
- Scrubbing medical records
- Taking medical histories
- Gathering patient data
- Recording vital signs
- Assisting with examinations and treatments
- Performing diagnostic tests
- Obtaining and processing specimens
- Preparing, administering, and documenting medications
- Maintaining instruments and equipment
- Utilize electronic medical records system
- Phone calls, correspondence, and reports
- Collecting clinical quality measures
- Processing data for insurance
Who will hire me?
Graduates of the PCC Medical Assisting program work for large and small outpatient medical facilities such as:
- Legacy Medical Group
- Providence Medical Group
- Oregon Health Sciences University
- Adventist Health
- And many more
Next steps
Applying to PCC is free and only takes a few minutes.Apply now
Limited entry awards have an additional application process. Learn about the prerequisite requirements for the Medical Assisting program.
Not quite ready to apply?
We can help you get the info you need.
Related programs
PCC offers more than 90 programs.