Medical assisting pre-apprenticeship students start health clinic observations
Dec. 4, 2024 / Nine students in a new medical assisting pre-apprenticeship program have started clinical observations at Cascades East and Sky Lakes Primary Care clinics, helping with patients and practicing the skills they learned in the classroom.
During the observations, medical assistants direct the students in such tasks as calling patients from the waiting room, taking weights and heights, and attending appointments. In a related simulation lab, students also were able to practice mental cognition tests they learned about in class, check vital signs on an infant and toddler, and learn about oxygen testing.
“The first observations have been amazing,” said Kelsey Hammond, a CTE (career and technical education) health occupation teacher at Henley High School who teaches the medical assisting course. “They were really able to take what we learned in class the first 12 weeks and be clinically tested on the material from medical professionals.”
Klamath County School District began offering medical assisting pre-apprenticeship at Mazama and Henley high schools this fall. The new program partners with Sky Lakes Medical Center to provide students with a full year of medical assisting college-level coursework.
Hammond is teaching the course to eight Henley students this year. Another student from Mazama is taking the course as an independent study under the supervision of the school’s health occupation teacher, Lauren Lorenz. All nine students attend observation hours and labs through the partnership with Sky Lakes Medical Center.
The coursework goes into depth on an array of medical subjects including medical asepsis, sterilization and disinfection, vital signs, pediatric and geriatric care, medication administration, radiology and diagnostic imaging, gynecological and prenatal care, and physical examination procedures.
Students who complete the pre-apprenticeship will be eligible for a one-year post-graduation certified medical assistant training program at Sky Lakes Medical Center that prepares students for national certification.
