Congratulations to the following individuals for recently becoming certified clinical medical assistants (CCMAs) upon completing the eight-week MA training program and passing the final examination from the National Healthcareer Association: Chelsey Baugher, Carrera Cameron, Brianna Cordes, Emma Doles, Madilyn Ellison, Carina Garcia, Kaylia Kelley, Macie McIntosh, and Samantha Podd!

A pinning ceremony was held on Thursday, June 22 in the Innovation Center to recognize the group, which was the first MA Training class conducted by CRH in partnership with Ivy Tech. Vice President of Medical Practice Operations Ben Caughey; Associate Chief Medical Officer-CRHP and Chief of Staff Rachel Reed, MD; Director of Primary Care Jeryll Macdonald; and CRHP Education Coordinator Jill Fraizer, RN, spoke. 

Brianna Cordes, who had not previously worked in healthcare, pursued the MA certification as an opportunity to get into the field. She enjoyed the amount of clinical hours the trainees received. Brianna now works as an MA at Columbus Pediatrics.

Carrera Cameron, who had just received her phlebotomy certification just days before learning about the MA program, wanted to further her education. "I wanted to do something more with my life," she said. She enjoyed going to the different practices to figure out what she would be interested in and what her workflow would look like. During the program, Carrera asked program instructor Jill Fraizer if she could job shadow at another practice, so in addition to Columbus Pediatrics and Southern Indiana Heart and Vascular, she job shadowed at Neurology and Sleep Sciences and Columbus Regional Health General Surgery. Carrera is now an MA at Columbus Internal Medicine Associates. 

One of the benefits of the program is students are paid during the program. That allows them to both go to school and work. Jill Fraizer said all of the students appreciated that aspect. Jill also shared that another benefit of the program is it is skills-based, allowing the trainees to be better prepared when they take on MA positions. 

In addition to the medical assistant trainees, we also want to recognize Jeryll Macdonald, Jill Fraizer, and the following medical assistants for serving as trainers to the trainees: Brittany Webster, MyCare; Amanda Risley, Columbus Internal Medicine Associates; Cindy Flora, Doctors Park Family Medicine; Lisa Reyes, Rau Family Medicine; Leticia Salcedo, Sandcrest Family Medicine; Brittany McDole and Miranda Foga, PromptMed; Alesha Martinez, VIMCare; Tonia Roop, Columbus Family Medicine; Gayle Kerns, Family and Internal Medicine; Kelly Oakley, Southern Indiana Heart & Vascular; and Megan Session and Andrea Carpenter, Columbus Pediatrics.