Updated Content 03/18/2026
You’ve made an important decision about your future: you’ve decided to enter the healthcare field by training to become a medical assistant. Congratulations on choosing a career as a medical assistant! Now that you’ve chosen your dream job, it’s time to plan your path to get there. Many healthcare employers require you to have some combination of education, skills, experience, and certifications* to get hired as a medical assistant.
Medical assistants are important members of the healthcare team and provide hands-on patient care, so healthcare employers must ensure these professionals are well-trained and qualified to perform the specific job duties.
With over a century of experience educating and training students to become medical assisting professionals, East Ohio College (EOC) knows just what you need to do to start your journey to becoming a medical assistant.
Enroll in a Medical Assistant Training Program
Healthcare jobs are more specialized now than in the past, and each member of the healthcare team must be trained in exactly what they will be doing while on the job. This specialized knowledge and training help ensure that patients receive high-quality care and a positive patient experience.
Due to specialized training requirements, many healthcare employers want candidates to complete programs tailored to each position. For those who want to become medical assistants, this means enrolling in a medical assisting program that prepares you with the knowledge and skills you will need once you begin your career.
At East Ohio College, our Clinical Medical Assistant program trains students to excel in this exciting healthcare career. After students complete their medical assisting degree, they’re prepared to work in medical facilities like hospitals, urgent care centers, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, chiropractors’ offices, and more.
Learn Hands-On Skills and Gain Experience
In addition to completing a medical assisting training degree program, you will need to learn the hands-on skills that medical assisting professionals use on a daily basis in their careers. Most of us have probably interacted with medical assistants at some point while receiving patient care at a medical facility, so we all know the importance of these professionals being well-trained.
This is why it’s so important for these valuable healthcare professionals to learn a variety of hands-on skills and gain experience using them while completing medical assisting classes.
While enrolled in EOC’s Clinical Medical Assistant program, students learn many valuable hands-on skills that they will use in their careers. Taking vital signs, assisting with physical exams, performing lab tests, drawing blood, and assisting with simple surgeries are among the hands-on skills students will learn.
In addition to practicing these valuable skills in their medical assisting classes, East Ohio College students can gain real-world experience through an externship. Students will complete their externship with a real-world healthcare provider as part of their medical assisting training, providing actual experience that will set them up for success when it’s time to apply for jobs, and start their career. This real-world experience is a great addition to a student’s resume and can set them apart from other candidates when applying for medical assisting positions.
Prepare for Industry Certification
Healthcare employers want candidates to have the necessary education, skills, and experience, but many also require medical assisting professionals to become certified. Gaining a professional healthcare industry certification shows potential employers that you have been evaluated by a third-party certification agency and meet industry-specific competency standards.
Certifications are issued by organizations that set standards for the knowledge and skills required to become certified. Because of these high-quality standards, employers know that people who have earned the certification have met the required standards. This makes those who hold healthcare industry certifications more valuable to employers, because they know these candidates can get the job done.
The Clinical Medical Assistant program at EOC is designed to prepare students to sit for several National Healthcareer Association certifications, including the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant*, Certified Phlebotomy Technician**, and Certified EKG/ECG Technician** exams. Earning these valuable certifications by preparing and sitting for the exam shows that you have the knowledge and skills to succeed as a medical assistant.
Become A Medical Assistant At East Ohio College
Now that you know the steps required to start your journey to become a medical assistant, you’re ready to get started! Choosing a medical assisting degree program that can help you gain the education, training, skills, experience, and certification* to succeed in your career can be difficult. You may have questions or be unsure of what to do next, so let our admissions team at EOC help you create a plan that works for you.
With smaller class sizes, a personalized learning environment, student support, and career services, EOC is an excellent choice for you to achieve your dream of becoming a medical assistant.
Request information to chat with an East Ohio College admissions team member today!
*Certification is contingent upon passing this industry certification exam. Required/Included in Tuition/Fees.
*Certification is contingent upon passing this industry certification exam. Optional at own expense.
Certifying entities are independent and not affiliated with or connected to East Ohio College in any manner.