Beginning in September, Monroe College will offer an Associate Degree program in Medical Assisting at both its Bronx and New Rochelle campuses. Monroe is the first college to offer a program of this kind in Westchester or the Bronx. In Medical Assisting at Monroe, students will learn to coordinate patient care, be effective team members in the delivery of healthcare, and develop multiple skills and talents in a wide variety of clinical and administrative tasks.

"This is our first foray into clinical programs," said Vice President for Academics, Dr. Stephen Waldow, whose background is in radiation biology and medical lasers. "As with all our academic programs, Medical Assisting will be taught by working professionals with modern technology and facilities. The ultimate objective is to give students entrée into rewarding careers."

Medical Assisting is designed to pave the way for career opportunities in a wide variety of settings, such as in single or group medical practices, hospitals, clinics, palliative care centers, rehabilitation facilities, long term care facilities, public health centers, home health care, school health care, correctional facilities, psychiatric facilities, dialysis centers, reproductive care centers, medical laboratories, assisted living centers, and managed care companies.

Students who graduate from the Monroe College Medical Assisting program will find an expanding profession. New York State Department of Labor’s occupational projections reveal a 53.3% increase in the number of medical assistants that will be required between 2000-2010.

"Academically, the new program in Medical Assisting will be a boon for Monroe students," said Allied Health Sciences Department chairman Gary Albert. "This program will interface with the college’s too.

recently approved upper-division program leading to the Bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration, providing opportunities for further study and advancement."

The Medical Assisting program will include clinical courses in lab procedures, emergency medical applications, phlebotomy, and EKG procedures and administrative offerings in medical terminology, pharmacology, insurance, billing, and medical coding. Medical Assisting students will also have the opportunity to participate in the college’s comprehensive Cooperative Education program of internships and externships.

As an integral part of the program, Monroe will be teaching the Medical Assisting clinical courses in a custom designed hands-on simulated hospital setting, containing a technologically sophisticated nurse’s station, hospital beds, examination tables, and equipment for taking vital signs.

For an application or more information, call Monroe College at 800-55-MONROE or visit www.monroecollege.edu . Financial aid is available for eligible students.