Program Courses
MAA160 / Clinical Procedures
Students will learn techniques and procedures used to prepare and administer basic procedures and tests utilized in medical offices.
MAA150 / Electronic Health Records
Implementing electronic health records (EHRs) in Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative involving many stakeholders involved in the delivery of health care. Electronic health records (EHRs) are secure and private lifetime records that describe a person’s health history and care. They are made up of information from a variety of sources, including hospitals, clinics, doctors, pharmacies, and laboratories. This information is critical for treatment and is accessible to health care professionals. B.C. is participating in a ten year plan led by the Federal Government's Canada Health Infoway to create a safer and more efficient healthcare system by creating electronic health records (EHRs). In the course, students are introduced to work with simulated health records and learn the ins and outs of the system as they apply in a medical office. It provides a thorough understanding of EHR tasks and functional benefits that is continuously reinforced by actual EHR experiences. Students are updated with the latest EHR rules, regulations, and innovations, electronic orders and results, workflow examples, and billing codes.
MAA110 / Health Care Communication and Interpersonal Skills
This course is specially designed for the new health care professional. In any business or interpersonal contact, an impression of a person forms in the first 10 to 15 seconds, so it is crucial to the success of that relationship. The importance of the ‘customer’, and of customer relations, to business success is examined in this course, including through case studies and role playing. Students learn relevant techniques in human behavior and how they may be applied to improve customer (patient) relations in the medical office. Learning basic communication skills, especially related to the medical field, will assist the student in dealing with all kinds of patients. Understanding cultural differences and appreciating diversity will add another dimension in how to deal with patients and provide safer health care delivery in the medical office.
MAA130 / Medical Billing I
All businesses need to invoice for services rendered and collect their revenues as quickly and efficiently as possible. Doctors’ revenue comes primarily from the provincial medical insurance scheme. Students will be introduced to the medical billing procedures in accordance with the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) requirements and create medical billing data using the BC Medical Association Guide to Fees and ICD-9 Diagnostic Codes. WorkSafe BC, the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC), and medical legal billing requirements are also discussed. Students also learn to perform medical billing data entry and preparation of billing statements using the Regent Smart series application, as well as understanding the transmission and receipt of data from the BC MSP office in Victoria. In the second section of this course, students will create patient databases and complete medical office billing procedures using the current software. Students will become familiar with all aspects of billing, including MSP, ICBC, WorkSafe BC, personal, and medical legal billing. They will also learn to schedule appointments, generate day sheets, and transmit claims. Course time is also dedicated to tutorials to learn the MSP system.
MAA101 / Medical Language I: Foundations
Medicine, like other professions, has its own language. Students will learn to work with the specialized terminology of medicine, including the pronunciation and spelling of terms to describe medical circumstances and situations.
Students will learn through descriptions, illustrations and exercises to identify the major anatomical features and systems of the body and the common pathologies, which can adversely affect these systems.
MAA102 / Medical Language II: Body Systems
This second course of three parts on medical language focuses on the various body systems. Subjects include: the digestive system; additional suffixes and digestive system terminology; urinary system; male and female reproductive systems; nervous system; cardiovascular system; respiratory system; blood system; lymphatic and immune systems; musculoskeletal system; skin; sense organs; and endocrine system.
MAA103 / Medical Language III: Special Topics
The third and final course on medical language focuses on special topics including: cancer medicine (oncology); radiology and nuclear medicine; pharmacology; and psychiatry.
MAA120 / Medical Office Procedures
This course presents complete and accurate coverage of the basic skills needed to perform effectively as a health office administrative assistant (MOA) in today’s fast-changing work environment. Study includes the use of real-life examples and scenarios to make key concepts come alive. Students learn about ethics, the transition of offices towards electronic environments, as well as discussions of future trends towards the role of technology in the field of medical office administration. From the knowledge and skills learned in this course, students also begin one of their term projects – a medical office procedure manual – the ‘general’ section completed in this course, and an advanced practice, comprehensive manual that is constructed throughout the entire program and completed after the final practicum-work experience.
MAA140 / Medical Transcription
Transcription is integral to the efficiency of the medical doctor’s practice, providing the documentary records on patient cases that the physician is required by law to maintain. Students will become familiar with the various letters and reports routinely dictated by medical professionals by being introduced to the process of medical transcription using actual dictated medical data, in different accents. With an emphasis on speed and accuracy, students utilize transcription equipment and a variety of reference materials to learn the proper formatting, sentence and paragraph structure, punctuation, spelling, and grammar used in reports.
MSE4 / Microsoft Excel
This course introduces the students to spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel 2013. Relying very heavily on a hands-on practical training approach, students learn by doing through skills based simulations, training, and assessments. The course starts with an overview of spreadsheets and how to use the common features and functions of Microsoft Excel. The course then focuses on the core features of Microsoft Excel where students learn how to enter and format data and use the various functions and formulas to manage and manipulate the data. The course will then continue with more advanced topics such as performing quantitative analysis with logical, lookup, and various mathematical and financial functions. Depicting data visually is an important feature of Excel. Students will learn how to work with charts in Excel to produce a variety of different charts based on data housed in a spreadsheet. Finally, students will learn to handle large volumes of data with data sets and tables.
SSS4 / Student Success Strategies
Students will gain a better understanding of themselves through an exploration of their personal attributes, transferable skills and learning styles. This course will introduce techniques for time, conflict, and stress management and develop interpersonal communication skills. Fundamental study and motivation skills will be covered, preparing students to excel in their program of choice.
KBDZ / Keyboarding
This assigned requirement (no hours designated within the total program hours) provides the student firstly with an introduction to the fundamentals of keyboarding to help them reinforce their English language skills and develop their ability to key and compose information.
Students will be introduced and guided through this assignment to help them develop both speed and accuracy while applying the proper keyboarding techniques and position with a goal to reach a passing requirement of an accurate typing speed exceeding 50 wpm. Students will also develop their proofreading and word processing techniques.
Computer labs are available to students during the college’s operating hours; the keyboarding software is web-based so students can also practice off-campus as well. Regular monitoring by a facilitator will ensure students receive ample support and stay on track to reach the required outcome.
MEC4 / Medical Emergency - First Aid Procedures
This course provides students with the knowledge and skills that are required to recognize and prevent medical and dental emergencies within a medical/dental office. It will prepare students to assist the physician/dentist in administering immediate care for the client in the medical office environment. Students also participate in CPR and First Aid training.
Lectures, reading assignments, and laboratory projects will provide a basic understanding of medical emergencies and the role of the office assistant in assisting with the administration of care used in the office. This information permits the student to interpret and relay information and to communicate to the health care team and emergency workers.
Note: This one-week course may extend beyond 20 hours due to First Aid and WHMIS training on specific days, which may be being full-day hours.
MSW2 / Microsoft Word
This course introduces the students to word processing with Microsoft Word 2013. Relying very heavily on a hands-on practical training approach, students learn by doing through skills based simulations, training and assessments. The course starts with an overview of Microsoft Office 2013 where you will learn about the common features of the Office applications and file management fundamentals. The course then focuses on the core features of Microsoft Word where students learn proper document formatting, organization and editing using the tools and features of the ribbon. The course will then continue with more advanced topics such as working with tables, lists, objects, templates footnotes and endnotes and mail merges. Finally the course will explore the collaboration features of Word 2013 that allow users to share and collaborate on documents through the use of track changes, sharing and reviewing and the use of SkyDrive.
MED197 / MOA Practicum
This practicum will place students in actual workplaces related to their field of study where they are expected to act as a regular employee for the set time periods in order to gain the valuable “real world” experience, often sought by employers who are hiring. Students are encouraged to find their own work experience; however, once placed, continuation in the placement is a mandatory diploma requirement. This practicum is an unpaid work experience. Students and practicum hosts are provided with a practicum “package” that outlines the expectations of both the student and the host that need to be met to have a successful outcome
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CES4 / Career & Employment Strategies
This course builds on the skills learned in the Student Success Strategies course. It provides information on how to use the communication skills learned in order to make a successful presentation to a prospective employer. Students also learn how to uncover the hidden job market and identify employment opportunities. Self-assessment during this course allows students to identify their personal skills that are transferable to the workplace and to describe these skills to a prospective employer. Students are videotaped during a mock interview and participate in the analysis of their performance in the “interview”.
