Peninsula College’s Medical Assisting Program recently received national programmatic accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, on the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board, which will benefit current and former students.

“We’re very proud of our program and are happy to see it receive recognition that it meets or exceeds national standards for the medical assisting profession,” MA program director Rachel Pairsh said.

The Medical Assisting Program’s Certificate option has received the accreditation status, but students seeking the Associate of Applied Science degree also will be eligible for their Certified Medical Assistant exam (CMA) through the American Association of Medical Assistants and current and former students will now be eligible to join the AAMA and their state and local medical assisting organizations. All graduates from March 2014 to present are now eligible for the CMA exam and credentials.

“This is very important to us, since the CMA exam is the ‘gold standard’ test for medical assistants in the United States,” Pairsh said.

The Medical Assisting Program is accepting applications for the 2017-2018 academic year, with a submission deadline of 5 p.m. on June 1.

For more information, contact Pairsh at rpairsh@pencol.edu or 417-6414.