The Alabama Community College System endorses the Americans' with Disabilities Act. In accordance with College policy, when requested, reasonable accommodations may be provided for individuals with disabilities.
Physical, cognitive, psychomotor, affective and social abilities are required in unique combinations to provide safe and effective medical assisting care. The applicant/student must be able to meet the essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations throughout the program of learning. Admission, progression and graduation are contingent upon one's ability to demonstrate the essential functions delineated for the medical assisting program with or without reasonable accommodations. The medical assisting program and/or its affiliated clinical agencies may identify additional essential functions. The medical assist ing program reserves the right to amend the essential functions as deemed necessary.
In order to be admitted and to progress in the medical assisting program one must possess a functional level of ability to perform the duties required of a medical assistant. Admission or progression may be denied if a student is unable to demonstrate the essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations.
The essential functions delineated are those deemed necessary for the medical assisting program. No representation regarding industrial standards is implied. Similarly, any reasonable accommodations provided will be determined and applied to the respective medical assisting program and may vary from reasonable accommodations made by healthcare employers.
The essential functions delineated below are necessary for medical assisting program admission, progression and graduation and for the provision of safe and effective medical assisting care. The essential functions include but are not limited to the ability to:
Medical Assisting and Phlebotomy
The following essential functions as identified by this department are necessary for participation in this program at Wallace Community College:
- Must be able to maintain normal balance.
- Must be able to lift at least 40 pounds.
- Must be able to hear high and low frequency sounds produced by the body and environment. (Example: heart sounds, telephone, and transcribing)
- Must be able to visibly detect changes in or around the clinical site.
- Must have tactile sense to distinguish contrasting structures and vibrations. (Example: palpate pulse, intercostal spaces, veins, and keyboards)
- Must be able to smell body and environment odors. (Example: electrical equipment burning or infected wounds)
- Must be able to coordinate eye and hand movements. (Example: releasing a blood pressure cuff valve while observing the blood pressure gauge, focusing microscopes, and word processing)
- Must be able to coordinate fine and gross motor movements with hands. (Example: able to give injections, perform phlebotomy, and word processing)
- Must be able to see different color spectrums. (Example: bright red drainage of opposed to serous drainage, distinguish positive and negative urinalysis reactions, and proofreading documents)
- Must be able to comprehend readings, speak and write the English language legibly. (Example: writing notes in patient’s charts, taking telephone messages, giving messages to physicians)
- Must be able to send familiar message(s) to the receiver and interpret the feedback appropriately. (Example: receiving telephone orders from a physician or obtaining a history from a patient)
- Must be able to correctly perform simple mathematical computations. (Example: administering drugs, bookkeeping, and formatting documents)
- Must be able to demonstrate a mentally healthy attitude which is age appropriate and congruent with the local and cultural norms.
- Must be able to operate devices with gauges, dials, and/or a CRT component.
- Must be able to participate in all aspects of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Must be able to move quickly throughout the clinical site.
No recommendation is made or implied with regard to the level of reading or writing required for this program. This is an academic matter which will be discussed with the student after administration of the College placement / compass test and a conference with a counselor or advisor. The instructor reserves the right to amend and augment this listing if, in his/her judgment, the safety of the student or of others in the instructional setting is in jeopardy.
Every effort is made to create a learning environment similar to the actual workplace. However, Wallace Community College cannot predict the essential functions as identified by various employers. The skills identified on this essential functions form are those which the instructor/department think are necessary for participation in the program. No representation regarding industry standard is implied.