Medical Administrative Assistant

About the Program

Our hybrid program prepares you for an entry-level position in a hospital, clinic, long-term care facility, or doctor's office in as little as four months. Instruction includes valuable skills critical to the medical office such as scheduling patient appointments, insurance, basic bookkeeping, medical terminology, and medical office procedures.

Upon successful completion, students will be prepared to sit for the Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) certification exam through the National Healthcareer Association’s (NHA).

Program Requirements

You will need a high school diploma or a GED^®. Additionally, the majority of healthcare facilities require a background and drug screen of all students who enter their facility; therefore all healthcare career students are required to successfully complete a background check and drug screen upon entering any healthcare career program. Students who are not successfully cleared will be unable to complete the clinical portion of the healthcare careers program and thus, will not be eligible to complete the healthcare careers program.

Completion of a student health profile and current American Heart Association BLS for Healthcare Provider certification are also required prior to clinical.

After completing the coursework, students will develop their skills during an 80-hour clinical externship. Upon successfully completing the 322-hour program, students will be prepared to sit for the Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) certification exam through the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Please direct any question to Amanda Horn at ahorn@nullcecil.edu or (410) 287-1008.

Required Courses

You will need to complete the following courses, totaling 322 hours of instruction/externship experience:

Program Approval

National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)

Cecil College is approved by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) to offer distance education in the member states and territories. Student complaints relating to consumer protection laws offered under the terms and conditions of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), must first be filed with the institution to seek resolution. The student should begin the complaint process with the institution and if resolution is not found, the student would contact the Institution’s Home State SARA Portal Entity, Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). For more information, please refer to the SARA complaint process.

Supervised Clinical and Field Training Experiences

Through participation in NC-SARA and compliance with statutory regulations related to training in individual states, Cecil College is approved to offer limited, supervised clinical field experiences in 3 U.S. states to eligible students. The states include Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. These are the locations currently approved for student supervised clinical and field training. Individual state regulations are subject to change without prior notice and the College does not guarantee locations for clinical and field training experiences.

Certification Requirements

The Medical Administrative Professional program prepares the graduate to take the NHA CMAA exam. The Medical Administrative Professional program prepares graduates to take the national certification exam that meets the requirements in all 50 states. Since requirements may change, prospective students should contact their state for information on the applicable certification board to determine whether the program meets requirements for licensure in the state where students are located.

For information about course fees, class times, and location, please visit the Continuing Education and Workforce Development Non-Credit Course Schedule.