Medical Assisting History, Mission & Goals

Doctors’ need for specialized health professionals who could assist them in caring for patients arose as the demands of providing quality health care grew. In 1934, Dr. M. Mandl founded the first school offering training specifically for assistants to work in doctors’ offices. By 1955, program standards were needed, and the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) was established to standardize practice and offer accreditation. In 1978, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare formally recognized Medical Assisting as an allied health profession.

The AAMA Board of Trustees has adopted the following: "A Medical Assistant is a multi-skilled allied health professional, dedicated to assisting in all aspects of a medical practice under the supervision of a physician." Medical assistants help with patient care management, execute administrative and clinical procedures and often perform managerial and supervisory functions. Competence in the field requires that medical assistants communicate effectively, adhere to ethical and legal standards of medical practice, recognize and respond to emergencies effectively and demonstrate professionalism. Today, medical assistants' employment  outlook is excellent; medical assisting is listed as one of the ten fastest-growing jobs in the United States.

Mission statement

The mission of Wake Tech Community College's Medical Assisting program is to prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive, psychomotor and affective learning domains to enter the profession.

Goals

To prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills) and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.

  • Graduates will demonstrate competence in tasks that are basic to practicing medical assistants.
  • Graduates will find employment in the field of Medical Assisting. 
  • Graduates will be able to successfully complete the Medical Assisting Certification Examination administered by the AAMA and become Certified Medical Assistants.
  • Employers hiring Wake Tech graduates will be pleased with their knowledge, skills and professionalism and consider them an asset.