VGCC celebrates Medical Assisting profession


Students and faculty from the Medical Assisting program at Vance-Granville Community College recently celebrated Medical Assistants Recognition Week (Oct. 15–19). Each year, the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) designates the third full week in October to honor and recognize the multi-skilled professionals who function as members of the health care delivery team and perform administrative, clinical and laboratory procedures. During MAR Week, on Oct. 17, VGCC Medical Assisting students offered free blood pressure screenings to students, faculty and staff at the college’s Franklin County Campus near Louisburg, where the program is based. The event helped not only to raise awareness of the profession but also to offer individuals important information about their health.

“Medical Assistants are truly at the heart of health care, as the theme for this year’s MAR Week indicates,” said Donna Gardner, the head of the VGCC Medical Assisting program. “You will be hard-pressed to find a doctor’s office that does not employ Medical Assistants! Graduates of our program gain hands-on experience through their externships at local employers, which prepare them for numerous career opportunities.” With their unique versatility, medical assistants are proving to be the allied health professional of choice for this decade and beyond. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical assisting continues to be projected as one of the fastest-growing occupations across the country.

At VGCC, students may either complete a diploma in Medical Assisting or continue their studies to complete an Associate in Applied Science degree. Because VGCC’s program is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, graduates are eligible to sit for the AAMA certification examination to become Certified Medical Assistants. For more information, call Donna Gardner at (919) 496-1567, ext. 3607, or (252) 738-3607.