Associate of Science in Medical Assisting
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Associate of Science in Medical Assisting
Total Credit Hours: 63-66
2025 Spring Announcement
Applications for the 2025 Medical Assisting Cohort are officially open.
If you have completed the required courses for program entry with a "C" grade or better, or will complete the requirements by the end of the 2024 fall semester,
please see Mr. Uchima in room 3222, Monday-Thursday between 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
You may also email him at katsuyoshi.uchima@guamcc.edu
Medical Assistants are the only allied health professionals specifically trained to work in ambulatory settings, such as physicians’ offices, clinics, and group practices. These multi-skilled personnel can perform administrative and clinical procedures. Physicians value this unique versatility more and more, as managed care necessitates the need to contain costs and manage human resources efficiently. Medical Assistants are trained allied health professionals who work primarily in physicians’ offices, outpatient clinics, but also in hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Medical Assistants are trained to perform clinical back office procedures and administrative tasks. In contrast to most other allied health professionals who work in inpatient hospital settings, Medical Assistants, work primarily in outpatient clinics under the direct supervision of a physician. One portion of his or her training that concentrates on administrative medical assisting provides suitable background for employment in health maintenance organizations, home health care organizations, and nursing homes. Their training as clinical medical assistants creates a well-rounded Medical Assistant that can perform a variety of tasks both administrative and clinical. The most common task performed by the medical assistant is recording patient history and personal information, measuring vital signs (such as blood pressure), helping the physician with patient examinations, giving patients injections or medications as directed by the physician, scheduling patient appointments, drawing and preparing blood samples for laboratory tests, and entering patient information into medical records. Once a student has successfully completed the Medical Assisting Program, he or she will be prepared to take the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) national certification examination through American Medical Technologists (AMT). The Guam Community College is an affiliated partner with the American Medical Technologist (AMT).
10700 West Higgins Rd, Suite 150
Rosemont, IL 60018
Phone: 847.823.5169
Fax: 847.823.0458
With the exception of enrollment in MS101 Introduction to Medical Assisting, admission to the Medical Assisting program is required before enrollment in any Medical Assisting technical requirement course. Admission to the Medical Assisting program includes:
- Advisement from Allied Health faculty.
- Completion of English and Mathematics Placement Tests with minimum scores or completion of English and mathematics development courses and attainment of passing scores.
- Health Clearance, which includes physical immunization (PPD, Hep B, 1, 2, 3).
Note: The student must have a “C” or better in all courses to receive a certificate in Medical Assisting. Students must pass each course with a “C” or better to continue toward the next course in the program. Those students who do not successfully complete a core technical of related technical requirement course will have to wait a minimum of one year for reentry. For further information, please refer to Medical Assistant Program Handbook.
Pre-requisite courses are not required for program entry, but must be completed for approval for entry into the program learning group or cohort. When the student enters the learning group, he/she will begin the Medical Assisting Program.
Other Prerequisite:
- Health clearance to include physical and immunizations- PPD, with the addition of a Hepatitis B vaccine or declination form.
- Police and court clearance will be required for acceptance into Medical Assistant cohort.
General Education Requirements | ||
Course | Course Name | Credits |
English (Choose 1) | ||
EN110A | Freshman Composition with Instructional Lab | 4 |
EN110 | Freshman Composition | 3 |
Course | Course Name | Credits |
MA___ | Mathematics Requirement | 3-4 |
Literacy for Life Requirement | 3 | |
Humanities & Fine Arts Requirement | 3-4 | |
Social & Behavioral Sciences Requirement | 3 | |
HL190 | Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology for Allied Health Professionals | 4 |
Major Requirements | ||
Course | Course Name | Credits |
HL120 | Medical Terminology | 2 |
HL131 | Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers | 1 |
HL150 | Study of Diseases | 3 |
HL201 | Medical Law and Ethics | 3 |
HL202 | Nutrition | 3 |
HL252 | Pathology for Health Professions | 3 |
MS 125 | Clinical Medical Assisting: Clinical | 1 |
MS101 | Introduction to Medical Assisting | 3 |
MS120 | Clinical Medical Assisting: Theory | 3 |
MS121 | Clinical Medical Assistant: Laboratory | 2 |
MS140 | Administrative Medical Assisting: Theory | 2 |
MS141 | Administrative Medical Assisting: Laboratory | 2 |
MS145 | Administrative Medical Assisting: Clinical | 1 |
MS160 | Introduction to Pharmacology | 2 |
MS161 | Administration of Medications: Laboratory | 1 |
MS180 | Introduction to Clinical Laboratory | 2 |
MS210 | Medical Assisting Critique | 1 |
MS220 | Medical Assisting Specialties | 3 |
MS225 | Medical Assisting Specialties Clinical | 1 |
MS292 | Medical Assisting Practicum | 5 |
Program Total | 63-66 |
2024-2025 College Catalog
Recognizing the necessity for students to succeed in the complex and rapidly changing workplace, Guam Community College offers a general education curriculum that introduces students to major areas of knowledge and methods of inquiry. All degree programs require an interdisciplinary general education component that promotes the development of intellectual skills that enable students to become effective learners and informed citizens. Critical thinking, the use of language and computation, appropriate social skills, global awareness and respect for diverse opinions are among the learning outcomes provided in the general education requirements of each program.
Guam Community College believes that general education provides the academic foundation necessary for students to achieve their life goals. General education is intended to offer students a breadth of quality student learning experiences, encourage their respect for cultural heritage, promote their ethical and responsible social behavior and facilitate their life-long learning.
The General Education program strives to foster student learning and skill development in civic engagement, critical thinking, understanding of the relationship between the individual and society, information literacy, oral communication, quantitative reasoning, and written communication.
Guam Community College believes that high quality general education opportunities for all citizens are necessary for democratic principles and practices to exist and for a sound economy to flourish. The College continually scrutinizes the general education curriculum in order to assure that all degrees and certificates granted by the College support this vision of general education and that it serves as a means to inspire hope, opportunity and responsibility in all its constituencies.
Requirements for General Education follow the options described below. Students declared prior to fall 2010 will follow the requirements indicated in the applicable catalog in which they first declared their major program at the College.
Notes on General Education requirements
Students are advised to check the requirements for their specific programs before taking General Education courses.
Courses chosen to meet the general education requirements may not be used to meet the Major Requirements of a student’s specific degree program.
The list contains courses with pre-requisites, so students should make their choices carefully and thoughtfully. Students may consult a counselor or an academic advisor for guidance in choosing any of the course options listed.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some programs require different levels of coursework to meet General Education requirements, please review the individual programs for more information.
GENERAL EDUCATION | ||
Scope 1: Skills for and Application of Lifelong Learning | ||
Freshman Composition (Choose one course from the following to meet the required 3-4 credits) | ||
Course # | Course Name | Credits |
EN 110 | Freshman Composition | 3 |
EN110A | Freshman Composition with Instructional Lab | 4 |
EN 111 | Writing for Research | 3 |
Mathematics (Choose one course from the following to meet the required 3-4 credits)* | ||
Course # | Course Name | Credits |
MA 110A | Finite Mathematics | 3 |
MA 115 | Fundamentals of College Algebra | 3 |
MA 161A | College Algebra & Trigonometry I | 3 |
*Any college level math will be considered for the completion of this category | ||
Literacy for Life Skills (Choose one course from the following to meet the required 3 credits) | ||
Course # | Course Name | Credits |
CO 110 | Critical Thinking for Civic Engagement | 3 |
CS 151 | Windows Applications | |
CS 152 | Macintosh Applications | |
Scope 2: Broad Comprehension of the Development of Knowledge, Practice and Interpretation | ||
Humanities & Fine Arts (Choose one course from the following to meet the required 3-4 credits)* | ||
Course # | Course Name | Credits |
ASL 100 | American Sign Language I | 4 |
CH 110 | Chamorro I | 4 |
ED 265 | Culture & Education in Guam | 3 |
CO 125 | Introduction to Human Communication and Speech | 3 |
EN 210 | Introduction to Literature | 3 |
HI 121 | World Civilization (Pre-historic Time to 1500) | 3 |
HI 122 | World Civilization (1500 to Present Time) | 3 |
HI 176 | Guam History | 3 |
HM 110 | Introduction to Community Services | 3 |
HM 201 | Social Welfare & Development: Global Challenges | 3 |
HU 120 | Pacific Cultures | 3 |
HU 220 | Guam Cultures & Legends | 3 |
JA 110 | Japanese I | 4 |
KE 110 | Korean I | 4 |
PI 101 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
TH 101 | Introduction to the Theater | 3 |
VC 101 | Introduction to Visual Communications | 3 |
*Any foreign language, humanities, or fine arts course will be considered for the completion of this category | ||
Natural & Physical Sciences (Choose one course and the corresponding lab from the following to meet the required 4 credits)** | ||
Course # | Course Name | Credits |
SI 101/101L | Introduction to Chemistry: Theory (3) & Introduction to Chemistry Laboratory (1) | 4 |
SI 103/103L | Introduction to Marine Biology: Theory (3) & Introduction to Marine Biology Laboratory (1) | |
SI 105/105L | Introduction to Physical Geology (3) & Introduction to Physical Geology Laboratory (1) | |
SI 110/110L | Environmental Biology: Theory (3) & Environmental Biology Laboratory (1) | |
SI 141 | Applied Physics I | |
SI 150/150L | Introduction to Microbiology: Theory (3) & Introduction to Microbiology Laboratory (1) | |
SI131/131L | Human Anatomy & Physiology I: Theory (3) & Human Anatomy & Physiology I Laboratory (1) | |
SI132/132L | Human Anatomy & Physiology II: Theory (3) & Human Anatomy & Physiology II Laboratory (1) | |
**The exception to this would be SI141 which does not include a laboratory requirement | ||
Scope 3: Preparation for and Acceptance of Responsible Participation in Civil Society | ||
Social & Behavioral Sciences (Choose one course from the following to meet the required 3 credits) | ||
Course # | Course Name | Credits |
EC 110 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
PS140 | American Government | 3 |
PY 100 | Personal Adjustment | 3 |
PY 120 | General Psychology | 3 |
PY 125 | Interpersonal Relations | 3 |
SO 130 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
CJ 100 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
WG 101 | Introduction to Women and Gender Studies | 3 |
*Any social and behavioral science course will be considered for the completion of this category | ||
Minimum General Education Requirements | 19 |
2024-2025 College Catalog
Year 1 | ||||||
Semester 1 | Semester 2 | |||||
Course | Course Name | Credits | Course | Course Name | Credits | |
EN___ | English Requirement | 3-4 | MS101 | Introduction to Medical Assisting | 3 | |
MA___ | Mathematics Requirement | 3-4 | MS140 | Administrative Medical Assisting: Theory | 2 | |
HL150 | Study of Diseases | 3 | MS141 | Administrative Medical Assisting: Laboratory | 2 | |
Literacy for Life Requirement | 3 | MS145 | Administrative Medical Assisting Clinical | 1 | ||
HL190 | Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology for Allied Health Professionals | 4 | HL131 | Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers | 1 | |
HL120 | Medical Terminology | 2 | ||||
HL202 | Nutrition | 3 | ||||
Total | 16-18 | Total | 14 | |||
Year 2 | ||||||
Semester 3 | Semester 4 | |||||
Course | Course Name | Credits | Course | Course Name | Credits | |
HL201 | Medical Law and Ethics | 3 | MS120 | Clinical Medical Assisting: Theory | 3 | |
MS160 | Introduction to Pharmacology | 2 | MS121 | Clinical Medical Assistant: Laboratory | 2 | |
MS161 | Administration of Medications: Laboratory | 1 | MS225 | Medical Assisting Specialties Clinical | 1 | |
Humanities & Fine Arts Requirement | 3-4 | MS220 | Medical Assisting Specialties | 3 | ||
Social & Behavioral Sciences Requirement | 3 | MS 125 | Clinical Medical Assisting: Clinical | 1 | ||
Total | 12-13 | Total | 10 | |||
Year 3 | ||||||
Semester 5 | ||||||
Course | Course Name | Credits | Course | Course Name | Credits | |
MS180 | Introduction to Clinical Laboratory | 2 | ||||
MS210 | Medical Assisting Critique | 1 | ||||
MS292 | Medical Assisting Practicum | 5 | ||||
HL252 | Pathology for Health Professions | 3 | ||||
Total | 11 | Total | ||||
Program Total | 63-66 |
2024-2025 College Catalog
- Describe legal and ethical principles that affect the role of a medical assistant.
- Demonstrate proficiency in administrative medical office procedures.
- Demonstrate proficiency in clinical procedures.
- Perform medical laboratory procedures.