Earn a Certificate and Enter the Workforce in Nine Months with MCC

With Middlesex Community College’s nine-month Medical Assisting program, students learn the knowledge and skills they need to enter the healthcare workforce immediately. The full-time program is completed over two semesters with an externship in the spring. One hundred percent of the students who go through MCC’s program and pass their certification exam are hired into jobs, according to Claudia Guillen, MCC’s Director of Medical Assisting.

“The demand for medical assistants in jobs is very high right now,” Guillen said. “This program is wonderful for anyone starting in the medical field. As a medical assistant, there are a lot of opportunities. They are making good pay and they’re really needed.”

Jeff Belanger, of Chelmsford, turned to MassHire to help him get into the healthcare field after acting as his mother’s primary caregiver for five years. The organization led him to Middlesex where he started taking courses and practicing clinical procedures in the basic skills lab. While he learned from knowledgeable and passionate professors – including Guillen – his externship experience helped Belanger “put the knowledge I am learning to use.”

“My experience here at MCC and what I am learning is priceless,” Belanger said. “I feel that the knowledge I am learning is truly preparing me for my future in the medical field.”

From Cambodia, Middlesex is Phanou Khiev’s first educational experience in the United States. Her decision to come to the college – after 19 years away from school – was due to MCC’s diverse student body and reputation for having an “advanced” medical assisting program. From clinicals to labs, practicing skills and learning how to be a professional in the field, “my overall experience here at MCC has been great,” Khiev said.

“Professors are helpful, understanding and try their best to make the program learnable and as flexible as possible,” Khiev said. “The students help each other with group study and try to understand each other, sharing their experiences. The program makes me feel that I am ready to start my practice anytime.”

At MCC’s Spring 2022 Health commencement ceremony, both Belanger and Khiev received the Medical Assisting Awards for Academic Excellence and graduated with certificates in Medical Assisting. Each is looking forward to starting their new careers.

To help students fit the program into their schedules, MCC’s program offers hybrid options with online classes and face-to-face labs. With a background of working in the Medical Assisting industry and other healthcare fields, Guillen chose to bring her knowledge and experience to Middlesex because of the emphasis community colleges put on teaching and preparing students for the workforce. From jumpstarting educational pursuits to finding them jobs, community colleges “provide a lot of help to students,” according to Guillen.

“Medical assisting is a wonderful start,” Guillen said. “You get to know your patients, you do a lot of teaching. There’s a lot of opportunities for growth.”