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Medical Office Assistant
Medical Office Assistant jobs are rewarding and fast-paced, but to get the skills you need to succeed in the healthcare industry, you need the right education.
Students learn the most up-to-date medical office skills and practices such as billing software, medical record maintenance, performing basic medical tests, medical terminology, and medical transcription. Students also gain core knowledge in other medial areas such as interpersonal relations skills, pharmacology, clinical procedures, human anatomy and diseases.
Graduates of this program receive a Medical Office Assistant Diploma, a Standard First Aid Certificate and a CPR "C" Certificate.
“I chose Vancouver Career College because I knew that the school could provide me with the knowledge I needed to fulfill my goals. I liked everything about this program, especially all the instructors that I had. Everything I learned at Vancouver Career College helped me to be a more effective Medical Office Assistant. Practicum was very important. It allowed me to get a background on what I would do at an actual job.” - Clarissa V., Vancouver Career College Graduate
This program is 33 weeks in length.
Job Opportunities
- Admitting Clerk
- Emergency Room Admitting Clerk
- Medical Secretary
- Medical Transcriptionist
- Medical Receptionist
- Medical Billing Clerk
- Medical Office Assistant
Program Courses
The program outline below is for British Columbia.
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| SSSE |
Student Success Strategies |
25 |
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- This course will introduce students to skills and concepts that will help them achieve personal, academic, and career success.
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- This course will present the MS Word application interface, tools and features. You will learn about the fundamentals of word processing, document, and paragraph and character formatting, working with templates, lists and tables. This course relies heavily on hands-on practical activities that allow you to learn the concepts by practising them on a regular basis, including relevant application to a medical office.
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- This course explores the use of electronic spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel. This course will present the MS Excel application interface, tools and features. You will learn about the fundamentals of spreadsheets, working with data, formatting cells, working with ranges of data and cells as well as applying functions and formulas to manipulate the data in the rows and columns of a spreadsheet. In addition, you will learn how to present tabular data in a variety of different chart formats. This course relies heavily on hands-on practical activities that allows you to learn the concepts by practicing them on a regular basis, including applications relevant to a medical office.
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| MED101 |
Medical Language I |
75 |
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- Medicine, like other professions, has its own language. Students will learn to work with the specialized terminology of medicine, including the pronunciation and spelling of terms to describe medical circumstances and situations.
Students will learn through descriptions, illustrations and exercises to identify the major anatomical features and systems of the body and the common pathologies, which can adversely affect these systems.
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| MED102 |
Medical Language II |
75 |
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- This course continues from Medical Language I, with the same delivery format and further areas of specialisation in medical terminology.
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| MED110 |
Health Care Communication and Interpersonal Skills |
25 |
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- This course is specially designed for the new health care professional. In any business or interpersonal contact, an impression of a person forms in the first 10 to 15 seconds, so it is crucial to the success of that relationship. The importance of the ‘customer’, and of customer relations, to business success is examined in this course, including through case studies and role playing. Students learn relevant techniques in human behavior and how they may be applied to improve customer (patient) relations in the medical office. Learning basic communication skills, especially related to the medical field, will assist the student in dealing with all kinds of patients. Understanding cultural differences and appreciating diversity will add another dimension in how to deal with patients and provide safer health care delivery in the medical office.
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| MED130 |
Medical Billing I |
75 |
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- All businesses need to invoice for services rendered and collect their revenues as quickly and efficiently as possible. Doctors’ revenue comes primarily from the provincial medical insurance scheme. Students will be introduced to the medical billing procedures in accordance with the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) requirements and create medical billing data using the BC Medical Association Guide to Fees and ICD-9 Diagnostic Codes. WorkSafe BC, the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC), and medical legal billing requirements are also discussed. Students also learn to perform medical billing data entry and preparation of billing statements using the Regent Smart series application, as well as understanding the transmission and receipt of data from the BC MSP office in Victoria. In the second section of this course, students will create patient databases and complete medical office billing procedures using the current software. Students will become familiar with all aspects of billing, including MSP, ICBC, WorkSafe BC, personal, and medical legal billing. They will also learn to schedule appointments, generate day sheets, and transmit claims. Course time is also dedicated to tutorials to learn the MSP system.
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| MED120 |
Medical Office Procedures |
75 |
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- This course presents complete and accurate coverage of the basic skills needed to perform effectively as a health office administrative assistant (MOA) in today’s fast-changing work environment. Study includes the use of real-life examples and scenarios to make key concepts come alive. Students learn about ethics, the transition of offices towards electronic environments, as well as discussions of future trends towards the role of technology in the field of medical office administration. From the knowledge and skills learned in this course, students also begin one of their term projects – a medical office procedure manual – the ‘general’ section completed in this course, and an advanced practice, comprehensive manual that is constructed throughout the entire program and completed after the final practicum-work experience.
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| MED150 |
Electronic Health Records |
50 |
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- Implementing electronic health records (EHRs) in Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative involving many stakeholders involved in the delivery of health care. Electronic health records (EHRs) are secure and private lifetime records that describe a person’s health history and care. They are made up of information from a variety of sources, including hospitals, clinics, doctors, pharmacies, and laboratories. This information is critical for treatment and is accessible to health care professionals.
B.C. is participating in a ten year plan led by the Federal Government's Canada Health Infoway to create a safer and more efficient healthcare system by creating electronic health records (EHRs).
In the course, students are introduced to work with simulated health records and learn the ins and outs of the system as they apply in a medical office. It provides a thorough understanding of EHR tasks and functional benefits that is continuously reinforced by actual EHR experiences. Students are updated with the latest EHR rules, regulations, and innovations, electronic orders and results, workflow examples, and billing codes.
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| MED160 |
Clinical Procedures I |
50 |
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- Students will learn techniques and procedures used to prepare and administer basic procedures and tests utilized in medical offices.
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| MED140 |
Medical Transcription I |
100 |
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- Transcription is integral to the efficiency of the medical doctor’s practice, providing the documentary records on patient cases that the physician is required by law to maintain. Students will become familiar with the various letters and reports routinely dictated by medical professionals by being introduced to the process of medical transcription using actual dictated medical data, in different accents. With an emphasis on speed and accuracy, students utilize transcription equipment and a variety of reference materials to learn the proper formatting, sentence and paragraph structure, punctuation, spelling, and grammar used in reports.
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- This course provides time for students to be introduced to various guest speakers from the medical profession, as well as visit relevant health care offices and facilities, in order to prepare for their practice education portion and their career as a Medical Administrative/Office Assistant. The course also includes First Aid, CPR and WHMIS.
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| CESE |
Career and Employment Strategies |
25 |
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- In addition to learning career-oriented skills, students learn how to get a job in their chosen profession. Our Employment Services Department will assist the graduate in resume writing, as well as preparing for job interviews. Our staff is sensitive to current job market trends and the needs of employers in each local market. Our graduates receive one of the most intensive job search programs available anywhere in North America, including the use of the Optimal Resume, online career tools that help job seekers build a better resume and cover letter, manage an online portfolio, hone interviewing skills, and develop a personal brand online.
Students will have the use of a computer lab which has unlimited Internet access, as well as job search resources. Facilitators will also be made available to advise on job finding resources, interview skills and techniques and to carry out mock interviews. Students review core program concepts and learning in order to market their skills effectively, including resume and cover letter preparation.
This course also looks at the planning, preparation, execution, and follow-up stages of an interview.
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| MED199 |
MOA Practicum-Work Experience |
100 |
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- This practicum will place students in actual workplaces related to their field of study where they are expected to act as a regular employee for the set time periods in order to gain the valuable “real world” experience, often sought by employers who are hiring. Students are encouraged to find their own work experience; however, once placed, continuation in the placement is a mandatory diploma requirement. This practicum is an unpaid work experience. Students and practicum hosts are provided with a practicum “package” that outlines the expectations of both the student and the host that need to be met to have a successful outcome.