Ohio University Southern is offering a variety of allied health training and education certificate programs, in partnership with Condensed Curriculum International, to help meet the need for qualified applicants in in-demand careers.

According to an August 2017 report by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, four of the top ten in-demand fields in the state were allied health professions.

One of the benefits to the student of pursuing a certificate program at the Southern Campus is the opportunity to earn an alternative academic credential rather than the traditional undergraduate degree.

Coursework in certificate programs tends to be compressed, focusing almost entirely on a specific, in-depth topic.

Dean of Ohio University Southern, Dr. Nicole Pennington, said the Campus will launch several certificate programs in partnership with Condensed Curriculum International.

“The Southern Campus will offer certificate courses in clinical medical assistant, pharmacy technician and medical billing and coding,” Pennington said. “These programs help us meet needs in our region’s labor force for skilled workers in allied health fields” she said.

The Clinical Medical Assistant Program includes 140 hours of classroom instruction plus 160 hours of clinical placement.

Classes will be from 7-10:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Tuesday, and running until Feb. 6.

Student tuition is $2,599 which includes textbooks.

The clinical medical assistant program will train students to assist physicians in the clinical responsibilities of a medical office.

Instruction includes among other things preparing patients for examination and treatment, routine laboratory procedures, diagnostic testing, technical aspects of phlebotomy and cardiac life cycle.

Students will review topics like phlebotomy, pharmacology, the proper use and administration of medications, taking and documenting vital signs, cardiology including proper lead placements, a professional workplace behavior, ethics and the legal aspects of healthcare.

To be eligible for the clinical rotation, students must successfully complete the 140 hour program, submit to a thorough background check, drug screening and meet other requirements.

Upon successful completion of this program, students would be eligible to sit for the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) national examination.