Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program

Program Overview

Shawnee Health’s Medical Assistant Apprenticeship program is broken up into three main stages.

29-week NIMAA online training & 240-hour externship: Complete coursework at your own pace while developing essential clinical skills and gain practical experience with the guidance of a preceptor at Shawnee Health (10-12 hours weekly). Upon completion of this stage you will sit for you Certified Medical Assistant Exam.
2000-hour paid apprenticeship: After completing your externship, transition to a full-time apprenticeship where you’ll finish your required hours and prepare for your certification exam.
2 Year Employement Obligation

Program Highlights

Paid externship: Earn while you learn! You are earning income from day one of the program.
Flexible learning: Complete 20-30 hours of online assignments each week, with regular skills labs and seminars to support your development.
Comprehensive training: Once you’ve completed the NIMAA program and passed your certification exam, you’ll start a full-time apprenticeship at Shawnee Health.
Employment opportunity: After completing the program, fulfill a two-year employment commitment with Shawnee Health.

NIMAA Program FAQ’s

What is the class schedule for the program?

The program is 28 weeks long and requires a commitment of approximately 30 hours/week. Each student’s weekly schedule varies based on their assigned clinical time and online content can be completed on their own schedule.

What fees do I need to pay?

There are no fees for the program at all!

What is the demand for medical assistants?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 23 percent growth in demand for medical assistants from now through 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.

What does the NIMAA Curriculum involve?

The curriculum includes an entire set of skills and courses for the medical assistant of the future. The curriculum has a heavy emphasis on communication skills with patients, including agenda setting, goal setting and self management support. It covers all traditional subjects, including rooming patients, vital signs, and teach-back at the end of the visit. Then we add NIMAA’s unique focus on integrated team-based primary care, covering areas such as: working in an interprofessional team (understanding the different team roles and activities); understanding how the MA contributes to care coordination; learning approaches to health coaching and self-management support for patients, including motivational interviewing; understanding a population health perspective; and working with the team to address the needs of a large panel of primary care patients. Our curriculum provides instruction online, including synchronous video conference sessions with instructors. Then students practice in the clinic setting with the guidance of a preceptor.

The interactive online coursework combined with clinical experience from day one sets NIMAA apart from other online programs. Students have access to their instructors through Moodle, Zoom, phone, and email. Students also participate in a weekly video synchronous seminar with their instructor and classmates to discuss and breakdown topics.

What certificate or credential will graduates receive?/What exams can the students take?

There is a NIMAA certificate with significant value in and of itself because of the reputation in primary care of the founders and leaders of this program. Currently, NIMAA students sit for the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) medical assistant exam just before graduation.

How is NIMAA different than traditional MA programs?

NIMAA teaches students traditional MA skills, such as rooming patients, taking vital signs, and administrative responsibilities. However, NIMAA goes beyond traditional MA programs by teaching students collaborative and critical thinking skills for effective team based care, patient portal management, and patient health coaching.