Free Medical Assistant Training & Programs

Medical Assistant Free Training and Programs

A medical assistant is a person who works beside a physician and assists them in their day to day activities. They usually perform both administrative and clinical duties and are often the first person who has the job of putting a patient at ease. Many employers prefer that their employees are certified by The American Association of Medical Assistants.

The duties of medical assistants vary by state, but some of their responsibilities include:

• Measuring vital signs
• Preparing blood samples
• Entering patient information
• Scheduling appointments
• Assisting physicians with an exam

There are several free training courses and programs to assist students interested in entering this field in their endeavor. They provide the necessary knowledge and information these students need to be successful in their journey to become a medical assistant or enhance the knowledge of someone already in this field. Keep reading to learn what materials and information these universities arm their students with as they enter the area to become a medical assistant.

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University provides a free online course called Health Information Technology Standards and Systems Interoperability. Students are able to download all materials for free which includes slideshow presentations accompanied by MP3s, a list of readings, and a syllabus. The course is informative and covers the topic in depth to expand upon a student's knowledge of Health Information Exchanges.

A few of the topics discussed within the course include:

• Network for health information
• Standards for business processes
• Information exchange standards
• Identifiers standards
• Privacy and security
• Testing and product certification
• HIT standards and HIT standardization procedures

STERIS University

STERIS University offers several free continuing education courses that discuss the process of sterilizing different pieces of medical equipment. Many times in a clinical setting medical assistants are responsible for equipment sterilization and these courses discuss how it is done, as well as the different devices used to ensure they are correctly sterilized. They provide video, guides, and templates for students to use to their advantage.

A list of the courses available for students to take includes:

• Best practices in immediate-use steam sterilization
• A journey of a surgical instrument
• Moisture assessment: it's more than wet packs

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago provides a free online training called Arterial Puncture and discusses the proper way to take a blood sample. Depending on the state of employment, medical assistants are often responsible for collecting blood from patients. This course outlines the steps medical assistants should take in writing, but there is also a video that shows you how to do it correctly. It even provides a short quiz to test what a student learned throughout the course.

The topics discussed in this course are as follows:

• Complications that can occur
• Strategies for avoiding these complications
• Steps to take blood (in text and video formats)