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A medical assisting career is a great way to get your foot in the door of the healthcare industry. But before you begin your career as a medical assistant, you’ll need to receive the necessary training.

Unlike other healthcare careers, you don’t need a degree to be a medical assistant. You just need to complete a medical assistant training program, which can be done in about half a year.

Below, we’ll explain what you can expect from a medical assistant course in Canada.

What can you expect to learn in medical assistant training?

As a medical assistant, your job will cover a lot of ground. You’ll be an essential member of a healthcare team that jumps from handling patient care tasks to administrative work. Because of this, your coursework will include technical know-how and valuable transferable skills.

Technical skills you’ll develop during your medical assistant course

As a medical assistant, there are many minor medical procedures you will participate in. These could include:

• Ablations
• Cauterizations
• Biopsies
• Cystoscopy
• Splint and brace fitting
• Staple and suture removal
• Incisions and drainage

To develop these skills, you’ll be required to learn about aseptic techniques, infections, and pathologies. You’ll also need to understand how to take a patient’s blood pressure and measure heart and respiration rates. As part of the job, you’ll also need to learn how to draw blood and operate an electrocardiogram.

In addition to patient care, you will need to grasp how to tackle administrative tasks. This could include navigating electronic medical records and understanding medical terms.

Transferable skills you’ll develop during your medical assistant course

While technical skills are essential, you’ll also gain valuable transferable skills in your medical assistant course in Canada. Some of these skills include:

• Learning empathy: This is easily one of the most essential skills to have in the healthcare industry. Understanding different perspectives can help you communicate better with patients and peers.
• Communication: Regardless of whether you’re speaking with a physician or typing up an email, communicating effectively is vital to the job. You can easily impact the quality of care of a patient if you pass over an important detail or fail to relay information.
• Teamwork: In the medical field, teamwork is a crucial component of the job. You need to be able to work well with others to achieve overarching goals.

How are medical assistant courses taught?

While each program is a little different, you can expect to learn the same foundational information. Those who participate in AlphaLogic Career College’s Medical Assistant Program will learn medical terminology and medical billing. You will also learn the cost codes widely used in healthcare offices throughout Canada. You also have the option to participate in an eight-week co-operative work placement to showcase your skills and gain valuable on-the-job experience.

Take a Medical Assistant Course in Canada with AlphaLogic Career College

AlphaLogic is a career college offering training programs that give professionals the tools they need to advance. We offer a Medical Office Assistant program to prepare for today’s advanced medical office environment. You can expect to be equipped with the latest Microsoft Office Applications and have the opportunity to earn two Microsoft Certifications to prove your proficiency.

Have questions about our program or want to learn more about our campus? Reach out to speak with an advisor about our career college programs in London, Ontario.